home Diets and weight loss Dry rain as a unique desert phenomenon. Rain in the desert Does it rain in the desert

Dry rain as a unique desert phenomenon. Rain in the desert Does it rain in the desert

Deserts have always been distinguished by a very arid climate, the amount of precipitation is many times less than the amount of evaporation. Rain is extremely rare and usually comes in the form of heavy downpours. High temperatures increase evaporation, which increases the aridity of deserts.

The rain that falls over the desert often evaporates before it even reaches the surface of the earth. A large percentage of the moisture that falls on the surface evaporates very quickly, only a small part ends up in the ground. Water that gets into the soil becomes part of the groundwater and moves over vast distances, then comes to the surface and forms a source in the oasis.

Desert irrigation

Scientists are confident that most deserts can be turned into blooming gardens using irrigation.

However, great care is needed here when designing irrigation systems in the driest zones, because there is a great danger of huge losses of moisture from reservoirs and irrigation canals. When water seeps into the ground, the groundwater level rises, and this high temperatures and arid climate contributes to the capillary rise of groundwater to the surface layer of soil and further evaporation. Salts dissolved in these waters accumulate in the surface layer and contribute to its salinization.

For the inhabitants of our planet, the problem of transforming desert areas into places that will be suitable for human life has always been relevant. This question will also be relevant because over the past few hundred years, not only the population of the planet has increased, but also the amount of area occupied by deserts. And attempts to irrigate dry areas up to this point have not led to tangible results.

Experts from the Swiss company Meteo Systems have been asking this question for a long time. In 2010, Swiss scientists carefully analyzed all past mistakes and created a powerful structure that causes rain.
Near the city of Al Ain, located in the desert, experts installed 20 ionizers, similar in shape to huge lanterns. In the summer, these installations were systematically launched. 70% of experiments out of a hundred ended successfully. This is an excellent result for a settlement not spoiled by water. Now residents of Al Ain will no longer have to think about moving to a more prosperous countries. Fresh water obtained from thunderstorms can be easily purified and then used for household needs. And it costs much less than desalination of salt water.

How do these devices work?

Ions charged with electricity, produced in huge quantities by aggregates, are grouped with dust particles. There are a huge number of dust particles in the desert air. Hot air, heated by hot sands, rises into the atmosphere and delivers ionized masses of dust into the atmosphere. These masses of dust attract water particles and saturate themselves with them. And as a result of this process, dust clouds become rain clouds and return back to the earth in the form of showers and thunderstorms.

Of course, this installation cannot be used in all deserts; air humidity for effective operation must be at least 30%. But this installation may well solve the local problem of water shortage in arid areas.

Gobi Desert. We stayed in the sands of Khongoryn-Els for two days, in tents right under the dunes...Photos and text by Anton Petrus

1. The sun was burning mercilessly, well, that’s why it’s a desert. But closer to sunset the weather began to change, and clearly not for the better.

Black clouds swirled over the dunes and a sharp wind blew. Not even the wind, but a wind machine! Yes, such that they had to stand near the tents so that they would not be carried away into the deserted distances.

By the way, pay attention to the tracks on the left on the dune - this is the track of the “ascendants” who were brought in packs by cars. A UAZ arrives, a Mongolian hand points to the dune, and everyone obediently rushes up. And gaining almost 200 meters along the sand is really difficult...

2. We stood with our tents in our arms for almost two hours. During this time, we all managed to go through the peeling procedure with a gentle sand scrub, and we ate it tightly. Well, there is more dandruff in my hair. Particularly deserted.

3. But when the wind died down, you could take your camera and go film the approaching storm. A beautiful, magical sight that can frighten and enchant at the same time.

4. At the foot of the dunes there was a lot of greenery, such a threshold of sandy hell)

5. There were also small reservoirs where goats, sheep, camels and other hairy creatures came to drink in the mornings.

6. Contrast of wet and dry sand and lead clouds on the horizon. The combination is wild.

7. In the distance, beautiful udder-shaped clouds appeared in the sky. A rare and beautiful sight, it’s a pity they were far away...

8. Meanwhile the storm was approaching. It is traditionally believed that there is no rain in the desert. But this is not about the Gobi, that’s where they go. And in winter there is not only no heat, there is wild cold up to 40 degrees!

9. But the spectacle is amazing. Black, dramatic clouds over golden sands! It's exciting. And if you add heavy thunderclaps to this...

10. Panorama of an approaching storm from 7 vertical frames to create the effect of presence)

11. The thunderstorm came at night, when it was blazing, thundering and pouring. But the worst thing was in the middle of the night. I’m lying in a tent, listening to the raging thunderstorm and hearing a terrible groan-cry, as if something ghostly had risen under the flashes of lightning. And this groan echoed through the dunes... We decided that it was a camel that had fought off its own in the darkness of the night. But anything can happen, and the answer is not always so obvious...

why it rarely rains in the desert and why there is a lot of sand there and got the best answer

Answer from plane planes[guru]
Deserts arise where dry air ALWAYS comes, from which all the rain has already poured out before. Sand is small pebbles of a certain size, why are there no pebbles of a different size in the desert? Because smaller ones are carried away by the wind (from the Sahara, to the very middle Atlantic Ocean, for example), but the larger ones cannot be moved by the wind, so they roll in the wind, forming sand dunes and pebbles of only one size.

Answer from ~+ Katty +~[active]
An area is considered a desert if it receives no more than 25 cm of precipitation per year. As a rule, deserts form in a hot climate, but there are exceptions. Most deserts have a lot of rocks and stones and very little sand. In many deserts there is no rain for several years in a row, then there is a short downpour, and everything starts all over again. The driest is the Atacama Desert in South America. Until 1971, not a drop had been spilled there for 400 years. Artesian waters are known to exist in several places in the desert, but their high boron content makes them unsuitable for irrigation.

Answer from Rafael ahmetov[guru]
The question is turned upside down. It is not in the desert that it rarely rains and there is a lot of sand, but on the contrary, deserts are formed where it rarely rains and there is a lot of sand. The rains come from the clouds. Clouds bring cyclones. Cyclones form mainly on the coasts of seas and oceans. While the cyclones reach the central regions of the continent, all the water from the clouds in the form of rain spills along the road, so there is little rain in the central regions of the continents. If the soils are not sandy, then the water remains on the surface (absorbed shallowly into the soil), so the existence of vegetation is possible. If there are sandy soils, then water from rare rains easily seeps deep into the sand and there is little water on the surface. Plants don't have enough water and don't grow. Such a place is called a desert.

Answer from Anna Osadchaya[guru]
The rain comes from the evaporation of water, of which there is a lot in the desert =)))

Answer from Yoman Kavun[expert]
WHY IS THERE NO WATER IN THE DESERT?
What is a desert? A desert is a region where only special forms of life can exist. All deserts lack moisture, which means that existing life forms had to adapt to survive without water.
The amount of precipitation determines the volume and types of plant life in the region. Forests grow where there is sufficient rainfall. Grass cover is common where there is less rainfall. Where there is very little precipitation, only certain plant species characteristic of deserts can grow.
Hot deserts near the equator, such as the Sahara in Africa, are located in the subtropical zone, where sinking air becomes warmer and drier. The land in these areas is very dry, despite the proximity of the ocean. The same can be said about the deserts in northwestern Africa and western Australia.
Deserts located far from the equator were formed due to their distance from the oceans and their moist winds and due to the presence of mountains between the desert and the sea. Such mountain ranges trap rain on their seaward slopes, while their reverse slopes remain dry.
This phenomenon is called the “rain barrier” effect. Deserts Central Asia located beyond the barrier of the Himalayan mountains and Tibet. Deserts Great Basin, in the western part of the United States, are protected from rain by mountain ranges such as the Sierra Nevada.
Deserts vary greatly in appearance. Where there is enough sand, winds create sand hills, or dunes. Exist sandy deserts. Rocky deserts consist mainly of rocky soil, rocks that form fantastic cliffs and hills, as well as uneven plains. Other deserts, such as those in the southwestern United States, are characterized by barren rocks and arid plains. Winds erode tiny soil particles, and the gravel that remains on the surface is called “desert pavement.”
In most deserts there are different kinds plants and animals. Plants growing in deserts have virtually no leaves to reduce the evaporation of plant moisture. They may be equipped with thorns or thorns to repel animals.
Animals that live in deserts can long time do without water and obtain water from plants or in the form of dew.