Shifts to the Sahara

1992/02/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Geologia

In general, it is recognized that the Sahara, the largest desert on Earth, is growing or spreading.

However, an American study, NASA's C. I. Led by tucker and friends, the Sahara has decreased since 1984. According to data collected by meteorological satellites in polar orbit between 1980 and 1990, the evolution of the surface of the Sahara has been as follows:

8,633.000 km2 in 1984 9,992.000 km2 in 1990 9,269.000 km2

The border between barren and semi-arid Sahara has been changing in the last 10 years. Therefore, between 1980 and 1984 the desert traveled 240 km south. But between 1984 and 1986 the desert border extends 143 km north. During the year 1987, it was delimited to the south in 1988 towards the north. Finally, in the years 1989 and 1990 the border moved south.

According to Tucker and his friends, the mobility of the border depends on the amount of rain he has made at every moment.

However, to obtain a clearer result, a few decades must pass, in which data can be collected.