Geomorphology of Desert Environments

Abstract

About one-third of the Earth’s land surface experiences a hyperarid, arid, or semi-arid climate, and this area supports approximately 15% of the planet’s population. This percentage continues to grow and with this growth comes the need to learn more about the desert environment. Geomorphology is only one aspect of this environment, but an important one, as geomorphic phenomena such as salt weathering, debris flows, flash flooding, and dune encroachment pose major problems to desert settlement and transportation. The geomorphology of deserts has been the subject of scientific enquiry for more than a century, but desert geomorphology did not emerge as an identifiable subdiscipline in geomorphology until the 1970s when the first textbooks on the subject appeared, namely Geomorphology in deserts in 1973 and Desert landforms in 1977. Also, in 1977 the Eighth Annual (Binghamton) Geomorphology Symposium was devoted to the theme ‘Geomorphology in Arid Lands’ and the proceedings of the symposium were published in the same year. The 1980s have seen the appearance of titles dealing with particular topics within desert geomorphology, the most notable of these being Urban geomorphology in drylands and Dryland rivers. As we enter the 1990s, a new generation of textbooks on desert geomorphology has reached the bookstores. Arid zone geomorphology and Desert geomorphology incorporate the advances in knowledge that have occurred during the past 20 years but are primarily written for the college student. By contrast, the present volume assumes that the reader already has some knowledge of desert geomorphology. It is pitched at a level somewhat higher than the standard text and is intended to serve mainly as a reference book.