Desert Studies - A Global View
Abstract
Results of work on summary reports of the surficial geology and geomorphology of Coastal Peru, Western Desert of Egypt/Sudan, and deserts of China (including the Taklimakan, Badan Jarain, and Hohsi Corridor) are outlined. Sections of summary reports on these hyperarid regions have been published as journal articles, interim technical reports, and abstracts. Significant new findings have been described in interim published reports on the Western Desert. These include the discovery of a buried paleofluvial terrain, over printed by eolian erosion and deposition, which controls the topography and trafficability of much of southwest Egypt and northwest Sudan. A new model for the Western Desert relates a series of superposed river networks, concealed beneath a centimeters-to-meters thick veneer of wind blown sand sheets and dunes to the composition and distribution of surficial and subjacent geologic units, including soil parent materials. A key finding has been the role of groundwater carbonate deposition in recording the sequence of Quarternary fluvial episodes and climatic fluctuations in this region, as well as the present-day influence of the caliche deposits on te radar responses of interfluve, valley fill, and inset channel units. Preliminary results of field reconnaissance, Landsat, and Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-A and SIR-B) studies of deserts in Northwest China show evidence there, too, of radar signal penetration through dry sand to underlying bedrock and alluvium.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 23, 1985
- Accession Number
- ADA161453
Entities
People
- Carol S. Breed
- John F. Mccauley
- Maurice J. Grolier