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Camels

the ships of deserts

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27 views1 page

Camels

the ships of deserts

Uploaded by

y sh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Deserts have been defined and classified in a number of ways, generally combining

total precipitation, number of days on which this falls, temperature, and humidity,
and sometimes additional factors.[8] For example, Phoenix, Arizona, receives less
than 250 mm (9.8 in) of precipitation per year, and is immediately recognized as
being located in a desert because of its aridity-adapted plants. The North Slope of
Alaska's Brooks Range also receives less than 250 mm (9.8 in) of precipitation per
year and is often classified as a cold desert.[9] Other regions of the world have
cold deserts, including areas of the Himalayas[10] and other high-altitude areas in
other parts of the world.[11] Polar deserts cover much of the ice-free areas of the
Arctic and Antarctic.[12][13] A non-technical definition is that deserts are those
parts of the Earth's surface that have insufficient vegetation cover to support a
human population.[14]

Potential evapotranspiration supplements the measurement of precipitation in


providing a scientific measurement-based definition of a desert. The water budget
of an area can be calculated using the formula P − PE ± S, wherein P is
precipitation, PE is potential evapotranspiration rates and S is the amount of
surface storage of water. Evapotranspiration is the combination of water loss
through atmospheric evaporation and through the life processes of plants. Potential
evapotranspiration, then, is the amount of water that could evaporate in any given
region. As an example, Tucson, Arizona receives about 300 mm (12 in) of rain per
year, however about 2,500 mm (98 in) of water could evaporate over the course of a
year.[15] In other words, about eight times more water could evaporate from the
region than actually falls as rain. Rates of evapotranspiration in cold regions
such as Alaska are much lower because of the lack of heat to aid in the evaporation
process.[16]

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