Process of desert formation

Process of Desert Formation
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Process of desert formation
Introduction
A desert can simply be defined as a dry environment or place that gets rainfall which is less than 25 inches annually. It is a place that is characterized by dry conditions and thus the presence of minimal plant and even animal cover on the desert biomes. The desert regions lack moisture almost for the whole year and therefore also if they receive some rainfall, it is still lost through evaporation. In the world, deserts cover 33% of the earth surface.
Formation of Deserts
Deserts are formed through a process called weathering. The formation results from rainy seasons following each other during the winter season and the constant dry conditions during the summer. With the increased glaciations experienced, the areas with high pressure accelerated the spreading of the deserts to other parts. A good example is the Lake Chad which is found in the Sahara desert. The lake used to be larger and more profound than its current state in the present. In addition to that, some deserts like the Andes were formed as a result of trade winds. The presence of mountain ridges acts as barriers for the moistened winds from the sea that bring a cooling effect on the land and also bring about rainfall. Once the currents from the oceans reblocked, desertification is promoted on the surrounding surface. Dunes also result from winds that move around the sandy mountains, and their different shapes depending on the direction of the weekend (Ward, 2016).

Constitutes a Desert
Primarily, deserts are characterized by minimal precipitation and no vegetation at all. In cases where there is some vegetation, then it happens to be shrubs which are well adapted to survival in such climatic conditions. A significant adaptation characteristic of plants in this regions is the spiky leaves and thick cuticles that enhance minimization of water loss. Thus, with the presence of such vegetation as shrubs, animals which are also adapted to staying in such an environment can be found in the deserts. Most of the animals are nocturnal, and thus they keep and the shade during the day when it’s sunny and hot to minimize loss of energy (Ward, 2016). As much as there have been attempts of people to stay in the deserts mainly the nomads, it still has not been well adapted because survival becomes difficult. However, with the advancing technology in the modern world, deserts are in future going to be a habitation for human beings.
Types of Deserts
Considering different characteristics, deserts can be classified into four main areas;
Hot and Dry Deserts
Such kind of biomes experiences some little rainfall during the winter season and totally dry summer periods due to the low humidity experienced. The soils in this surfaces are well draining with no underground water. The soils are also rocky, and course textured thus the reason why there is minimal vegetation supported. Examples of such deserts include Southern Asian realm and Sonoran in North America (Ward, 2016).
Semiarid Deserts
For this kind of deserts, just like the hot and dry ones, the summer season is characterized by long and dry hot temperatures and the winter has some little rainfall (Ward, 2016). The distinct factor in this deserts is that they experience cool nights which help the animals and plants to reduce moisture loss. Examples of this deserts include the Nearctic realm and Montana.
Coastal Desert
Coastal Deserts experience slightly higher amounts of rainfall compared to the semiarid and deserts. The soils are well textured and porous thus well drained with an average amount of salt content. The deserts are mainly found in the cool to warm areas such as the Atacama of Chile (Ward, 2016).
Cold Deserts
Unlike other types of desert, this particular model considerably gets a right amount of rainfall with snowfall during the winter season. Additionally, the summer seasons are not fully characterized by dry conditions, but occasionally there is some rainfall downpour. Most of the animals that survive in this environment are burrowers (Ward, 2016).
Conclusion
Evidently, the brief study of deserts brings to our attention the kind of environment and weather conditions that are experienced in the desert biomes. Additionally, as much as the biomes are not well accustomed to human habitation, they support some few plant and animals which are well adapted to such survival.
Reference
Ward, D. (2016). The biology of deserts. Oxford University Press.