Deserts and Desert Environments (PDF)

Preface. 1. Introduction: Defining the Desert System. 1.1. Defining the Desert System. 1.2. Evolution of Deserts. 1.3. Indices of Aridity. 1.4. Desert Surfaces. 1.5. Tectonically Stable and Unstable Deserts. 1.6. Deserts of the Past. 1.7. Changing Human Perspectives on Deserts. 2. Deserts of the World. 2.1. Introduction: the Extent of Global Aridity. 2.2. Global Deserts. 3. The Climatic Framework. 3.1. Introduction: Classification of Deserts by Temperature. 3.2. Weather Data. 3.3. Atmospheric Controls: Surface Boundary Layer. 3.4. Temporal and Spatial Variability of Climatic Influences. 4. The Hydrologic Framework. 4.1. Introduction. 4.2. The Water Balance in Deserts. 4.3. Water Budgets. 4.4. Surface Runoff and Floods. 4.5. The Chemical Quality of Surface and Soil Water. 4.6. Water Resources. 4.7. Case Study: the Waters of the Tigris-Euphrates Basin and the Impact of Modern Water Management. 5. Lake Systems: Past and Present. 5.1. Introduction to Desert Lakes. 5.2. Types of Lake. 5.3. Lakes of the Global Arid Environment. 6. Weathering Processes and Hillslope Systems. 6.1. Introduction. 6.2. Weathering. 6.3. Weathering Forms. 6.4. Duricrusts. 6.5. Desert Varnish. 6.6. Hillslope Processes. 6.7. Composite Surfaces (Pediments). 7. Desert Soils and Geomorphic Surfaces. 7.1. Introduction. 7.2. The Nature of Soils in Arid and Semiarid Regions. 7.3. Soil Description and Classification. 7.4. Soil Characteristics of Arid Regions. 7.5. Inorganic and Biological Soil Crusts. 7.6. Spatial Heterogeneity in Soil Properties and the Ecohydrology of Patterned Vegetation Zones. 7.7. Surface Volume Changes. 7.8. Surface Types: Hamada and Stone Pavements. 8. Water as a Geomorphic Agent. 8.1. Introduction. 8.2. Groundwater Sapping in Slope and Valley Development. 8.3. Piping Processes in Channel and Slope Evolution. 8.4. Fluvial Processes. 8.5. Fluvial Landforms. 9. Aeolian Processes. 9.1. Introduction. 9.2. Near-surface Flow. 9.3. Wind Processes. 9.4. Landforms of Accumulation: Sand

Julie Laity is a Professor at California State University, Northridge, USA. Her work has focused on deserts, looking at aeolian, fluvial, and groundwater systems, and the impact of environmental degradation on wind-blown sand and dust events. Her research on groundwater-sapping systems and wind erosion has been used to aid our understanding of Martian environments.

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