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by   on February 8th, 2007

 

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Why is there sand in hot deserts?

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  • by canadianhelper on February 9th, 2007

    canadianhelper

    desertification--is a complex process. It involves multiple causes, and it proceeds at varying rates in different climates. Desertification may intensify a general climatic trend toward greater aridity, or it may initiate a change in local climate.

    Desertification does not occur in linear, easily mappable patterns. Deserts advance erratically, forming patches on their borders. Areas far from natural deserts can degrade quickly to barren soil, rock, or sand through poor land management. The presence of a nearby desert has no direct relationship to desertification. Unfortunately, an area undergoing desertification is brought to public attention only after the process is well underway. Often little or no data are available to indicate the previous state of the ecosystem or the rate of degradation. Scientists still question whether desertification, as a process of global change, is permanent or how and when it can be halted or reversed.

    Desertification became well known in the 1930's, when parts of the Great Plains in the United States turned into the "Dust Bowl" as a result of drought and poor practices in farming, although the term itself was not used until almost 1950. During the dust bowl period, millions of people were forced to abandon their farms and livelihoods. Greatly improved methods of agriculture and land and water management in the Great Plains have prevented that disaster from recurring, but desertification presently affects millions of people in almost every continent.

    Increased population and livestock pressure on marginal lands has accelerated desertification. In some areas, nomads moving to less arid areas disrupt the local ecosystem and increase the rate of erosion of the land. Nomads are trying to escape the desert, but because of their land-use practices, they are bringing the desert with them.

    It is a misconception that droughts cause desertification. Droughts are common in arid and semiarid lands. Well-managed lands can recover from drought when the rains return. Continued land abuse during droughts, however, increases land degradation. By 1973, the drought that began in 1968 in the Sahel of West Africa and the land-use practices there had caused the deaths of more than 100,000 people and 12 million cattle, as well as the disruption of social organizations from villages to the national level.

    While desertification has received tremendous publicity by the political and news media, there are still many things that we don't know about the degradation of productive lands and the expansion of deserts. In 1988 Ridley Nelson pointed out in an important scientific paper that the desertification problem and processes are not clearly defined. There is no consensus among researchers as to the specific causes, extent, or degree of desertification. Contrary to many popular reports, desertification is actually a subtle and complex process of deterioration that may often be reversible.

    Learn more here:
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/deserts/desertification/

    US Geological Survey.

    Comments

    • Brilliant answer!!

      Gonzo

      by Gonzo on February 9th, 2007

    • Now that is one of the best answers I have read, love your work.

      Dog_Star

      by Dog_Star on February 9th, 2007

    • Guys..I'm only cutting an pasting...I think we should thank the tax payers for paying for the USGS!

      canadianhelper

      by canadianhelper on February 9th, 2007

    • No matter, you gave a brilliant answer in the true spirit of AB, a good answer to a good question!

      Dog_Star

      by Dog_Star on February 9th, 2007

    • Yeah, you actually took the time to research this. Well done,keep it up.

      Gonzo

      by Gonzo on February 9th, 2007

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