Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction
- 2 The atmospheric dynamics of deserts
- 3 The climates of the world deserts
- 4 Atmospheric and surface energy budgets of deserts
- 5 Surface physics of the unvegetated sandy desert landscape
- 6 Vegetation effects on desert surface physics
- 7 Substrate effects on desert surface physics
- 8 Desert-surface physical properties
- 9 Numerical modeling of desert atmospheres
- 10 Desert boundary layers
- 11 Desert microclimates
- 12 Dynamic interactions among desert microclimates
- 13 Desert rainfall
- 14 Anthropogenic effects on the desert atmosphere
- 15 Changes in desert climate
- 16 Severe weather in the desert
- 17 Effects of deserts on the global environment and other regional environments
- 18 Desertification
- 19 Biometeorology of humans in desert environments
- 20 Optical properties of desert atmospheres
- Appendix A Glossary of meteorological and land-surface terms
- Appendix B Abbreviations
- Appendix C Units, numerical constants, and conversion factors
- Appendix D Symbols
- Appendix E Maps of the world
- Hints to solving some problems and exercises
- References
- Index
- Plate section
- References
17 - Effects of deserts on the global environment and other regional environments
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction
- 2 The atmospheric dynamics of deserts
- 3 The climates of the world deserts
- 4 Atmospheric and surface energy budgets of deserts
- 5 Surface physics of the unvegetated sandy desert landscape
- 6 Vegetation effects on desert surface physics
- 7 Substrate effects on desert surface physics
- 8 Desert-surface physical properties
- 9 Numerical modeling of desert atmospheres
- 10 Desert boundary layers
- 11 Desert microclimates
- 12 Dynamic interactions among desert microclimates
- 13 Desert rainfall
- 14 Anthropogenic effects on the desert atmosphere
- 15 Changes in desert climate
- 16 Severe weather in the desert
- 17 Effects of deserts on the global environment and other regional environments
- 18 Desertification
- 19 Biometeorology of humans in desert environments
- 20 Optical properties of desert atmospheres
- Appendix A Glossary of meteorological and land-surface terms
- Appendix B Abbreviations
- Appendix C Units, numerical constants, and conversion factors
- Appendix D Symbols
- Appendix E Maps of the world
- Hints to solving some problems and exercises
- References
- Index
- Plate section
- References
Summary
Whether the flesh is forgotten or the mind becomes doubly sensitive to its prickings, whether the spirit grows drowsy or gains in lucidity, the desert is first and foremost a mirror in which one can see the world and maybe also glimpse the face of God. The only certainty is that sooner or later you will see yourself.
Mahin Tajadod, Iranian poet A place of trials (1994)These hours of the desert night, unsoftened by mild moonlight, have always seemed to me somehow terribly lonely, cold, and cruel … That night I did not feel as though I were looking up into the universe, but as though a new dimension had become visible and lay beneath me. I had the dizzying sense of plunging downward into infinite space. The merciless sensation of the coldness of space, of the vast void out there, was intensified by the absolute stillness of the desert night until it became inhuman, unbearable.
Uwe George, German naturalist and desert explorer In the Deserts of This Earth (1977)Heaven knows that flood can be frightening enough. But … The dust is different … It does not bring the sharp, quick, desperate terror of flood, but instead a slow, chilling, and pervasive horror, perhaps out of keeping with any immediate damage, but right enough in the long run.
Paul Sears, American author and environmentalist Deserts on the March (1935)We tend to think of deserts as isolated and remote from other parts of the planet.
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- Chapter
- Information
- Desert Meteorology , pp. 445 - 456Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2004