Desert

Environmental Engineering

ESCI 314 -1
Group 6’s Report about “DESERT”

9 July 2014
Submitted By: Baltazar, Kenneth Regin I. Umali, Francis San Agustin, Joshua Manuel Sisracon, Julius Vergara, Jules Villena, Eldie Naza

Submitted to: Engr. Julius Angelo M. Lozada

Types of Deserts

Trade wind deserts
The trade winds lie in areas crossed by the trade winds. in two belts on the equatorial sides of the Horse Latitudes heat up as they move toward the Equator. These dry winds dissipate (disperse or scatter) cloud cover, allowing more sunlight to heat the land. Most of the major deserts of the world
Midlatitude deserts
Occur between 30° and 50° N. and S., pole ward of the subtropical high pressure zones. Located in interior continents. Also called “cold desert” due to its very cold winters.
Rain shadow deserts
Rain shadow deserts are formed because tall mountain ranges prevent moisture-rich clouds from reaching areas on the lee, or protected side, of the range. As air rises over the mountain, water is precipitated and the air loses its moisture content. A desert is formed in the leeside "shadow" of the range.
Coastal deserts
Coastal deserts generally are found on the western edges of continents near the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. They are affected by cold ocean currents that parallel the coast. Because local wind systems dominate the trade winds, these deserts are less stable than other deserts.
Polar deserts
Polar deserts are areas with annual precipitation less than 250 millimeters and a mean temperature during the warmest month of less than 10°C. Polar deserts on Earth cover nearly 5 million square kilometers and are mostly hard bedrock or gravel plains. Sand dunes are not prominent features in these deserts, but snow dunes occur commonly in areas where precipitation is locally more abundant. Temperature changes in polar deserts frequently cross the freezing point of water. This "freeze-thaw" alternation forms patterned textures on the ground, as much as 5 meters in diameter.
Most of the interior of Antarctica is a polar desert, despite the thick ice cover. Conversely, the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, although they have been ice-free for thousands of years, are not necessarily polar desert: they are kept "dry" by katabatic wind.
How people live in Deserts
Clothing
Clothing is versatile and based on robes made of rectangles of fabric. Long-sleeved, full-length, and often white, these robes shield all but the head and hands from the wind, sand, heat, and cold. White reflects sunlight, and the loose fit allows cooling air to flow across the skin.
Types of Clothes:
Thobe - a full-length, long-sleeved white robe.
Abaya - a sleeveless cloak that protects the wearer from dust and heat.
Djebba - a short, square pullover shirt worn by men.
Kaffiyeh - is a rectangular piece of cloth folded loosely around the head to protect the wearer from sun exposure, dust, and sand. It can be folded and unfolded to cover the mouth, nose, and eyes. Turban - similar to a kaffiyeh, but wrapped around the head instead of being secured with an agal. Turbans are also much longer
Shelter
Ancient people at deserts constructed huge apartment complexes in the rocky cliffs. These cliff dwellings, sometimes dozens of meters off the ground, were constructed with thick, earthen walls that provided insulation. Although temperatures outside varied greatly from day to night, temperatures inside did not. Tiny, high windows let in only a little light and helped keep out dust and sand.
In rural areas, hot days turn into cool nights, providing welcome relief from the scorching sun. But in cities, structures like buildings, roads, and parking lots hold on to daytime heat long after the sun sets. The temperature stays high even at night, making the city an “island” of heat in the middle of the desert. This is called the urban heat island effect. It is less pronounced in desert cities than cities built in heavily forested areas. Cities like New York City, New York, and Atlanta, Georgia, can be 5 degrees warmer than the surrounding area. New York was built on wetland habitat, and Atlanta was built in a wooded area. Cities like Phoenix, Arizona, or Kuwait City, Kuwait, have a much smaller urban heat island effect. They may be only slightly warmer than the surrounding desert.
Names of people on each desert:
Thar – Sindhis & Kolhis
Arabian – Bedouin
Karakum – Turkmen
Sahara – Tauregs
Kalahari - Bushmen
Australian - Aboriginals
Importance of Desert to humans
PEOPLE AND THE DESERT: People have a variety of uses for deserts. The desert is popular for tourism and recreation. Often people visit to see the beautiful sand colors and rock formations. Many people enjoy visiting the desert because it is a quiet place to get away from the business and noise of cities and spend time in the open land. The desert offers many types of recreation, for example, rock climbing, hiking and dirt biking. Mining, grazing, road building, and utility projects take place in the desert. Because of desert sensitivity, it is important that desert uses be managed properly to protect the wildlife and habitat.
Mineral Wealth
The dry condition of deserts helps promote the formation and concentration of important minerals. Gypsum, borates, nitrates, potassium and other salts build up in deserts when water carrying these minerals evaporates. Minimal vegetation has also made it easier to extract important minerals from desert regions. According to United Nations statistics, over 50 percent of world copper comes from deserts in Mexico, Australia and Chile. Other minerals and metals like bauxite, gold and diamonds can be found in large quantities in the deserts of China, the United States and Namibia. Desert regions also hold 75 percent of known oil reserves in the world.
Bio-prospecting
Desert plants have adapted special properties to help them survive in harsh desert climates. Scientists believe that certain chemically based adaptations can have medical applications in humans. According to a UN report on the global outlook of deserts, a recent survey of plants in Israel’s Negev desert found plants that could be used to fight malaria.
Archeological Discoveries
Arid conditions are ideal for preserving human artifacts and remains. Mummified human remains found in countries like Peru, China and Egypt have taught present day archaeologists about ancient civilizations. For example, in March 2010, the New York Times reported that scientists working in western China discovered a 4,000-year-old cemetery of 200 corpses with European facial features. Discoveries such as these help shape modern understanding of how our societies first formed.
Carbon Sinks
According to an article in Science Daily in April 2008, desert sands are an important carbon sink on Earth. Scientists discovered that bacteria living in the sands of the Kalahari desert in Africa help gather and store carbon dioxide from the air. Since carbon dioxide is one of the prime causes of global warming, these desert sands may play a critical role in preventing additional carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
Agricultural development
Because of their warm climate, deserts also export agricultural products, produced under irrigation, to non-desert areas. Agriculture and horticulture are already profitable in many deserts, as in Israel and Tunisia, and have great further potential. A new non-conventional desert export is derived from aquaculture, which paradoxically, can be more efficient in water use than desert plants, and can take advantage of the deserts’ mild winter temperatures and low cost of land. Biologically-derived valuable chemicals, produced by micro-algae as well as medicinal plants, are also manufactured in deserts, capitalizing on their high year-round solar radiation, and exported to global markets. Besides the ongoing export of wild plant products from deserts to non-deserts, there is a pharmaceutical potential in desert plants which is yet to be tapped.
Science Development
Research carried out in deserts has enriched the knowledge of the history of our universe and planet, and of life on earth. Deserts attract scientists of every discipline, ranging from testing grounds for planetary exploration equipment, to research on meteorites (well-preserved due to the slow rate of desert rock weathering), to astronomical observations, and archaeological and geomorphologic studies. Many areas of research benefit from the desert’s clean atmosphere, low human disturbance, dry climate, sparse vegetation cover, minimal cloud cover, and thin soils .
Relocation Sites
The growth of desert cities, clearly evidenced in industrial countries in the mid-twentieth century, has attracted the migration of non-desert people into desert habitats, drawn by new employment opportunities and the availability of cheap housing. In recent years, the influx of tourists to deserts, seeking the dry and sunny climate, has encouraged migration to deserts as well. Finally, in developing countries, specifically in Sub-Saharan Africa, periodic droughts in non-desert drylands draw thousands of rural migrants and nomads to adjacent desert cities in search of food and employment.
TOURISM
Tourism is a growing industry in desert areas. With many deserts experiencing sunny and dry weather all year round, deserts are an ideal destination for holidays. In many deserts, resorts, hotels and even vast entertainment complexes are being built for tourists to visit, including Las Vegas and Palm Springs in the USA, Yulara Resort near Uluru and HammamFaraun and Na'ama Bay in Egypt. Many of these resorts do not take into account issues like waste disposal. Many tourists leave their rubbish in the desert, littering it with unsightly and ecologically unsafe materials like plastic bottles and food wrappers. Sometimes sewerage is simply pumped into the water off the coast of a desert, creating ecological problems. Water is also pumped from rivers to make resorts green and beautiful. This can cause some of the same problems that arise from diverting water for irrigation.
Desert Pros:
A desert is considered a sanctuary to specific animal and plant life.
Particular ancient civilization has been found to have existed in some deserts.
Deserts have abundant soil minerals and nutrients.
Desert Cons:

Lack of Water
Extreme Weather Conditions