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
5 - Surface physics of the unvegetated sandy desert landscape
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
It was as if we were on a wholly lifeless planet. If one strayed behind a moment and let the caravan out of one's sight, a loneliness could be felt in the boundless expanse such as brought fear even in the stoutest heart. And the deeper we penetrated into the sand ocean, the stronger this feeling was. If the wind or a storm be a sign of life, the lack of it, however annoying it had been, had an almost crushing effect. Nothing but sand and sky; … all else is dead.
Gerhard Rohlfs, German explorer Briefe aus der Libyschen Wüste (Reports From the Libyan Wasteland) (Karl Alfred von Zittel 1875)I was standing there wholly alone, my body the center of a vast empty disk. The horizon around me formed one uninterrupted circle. The sky was a glaring colorless brightness, with not a cloud to be seen. Aside from me and the ground on which I stood, there was nothing but the brilliantly white, shimmering disk of the sun … An indescribable sense of loneliness and forsakenness overpowered me. Suddenly I no longer seemed to have any sense of spatial or temporal dimensions. Here, where there were no visible standards of measurement, I felt as if I had lost all the inner standards that gave me an awareness of time and place. An infinite distance appeared to separate me from the nearest living being, and it would take me forever, it seemed, to cover the distance.
Uwe George, German naturalist and desert explorer In the Deserts of This Earth (1977)- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Desert Meteorology , pp. 189 - 218Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2004