Bina Ramesh, Hamza Hasan, Louis Masson,

1
The Desert

• Bina Ramesh, Hamza Hasan, Louis Masson,
• Alyssa Elicone, and Kathleen Zhou

2
desert Climate Type

• A Desert in Baja, Mexico

3
Temperature

• During the day, the temperature is high because
  the humidity is low and the suns rays dont get
  blocked.
• During the nighttime, heat is lost because the
  low humidity cant maintain the temperature.
• The average annual temperature exceeds 30 degrees
  Celsius.
• Temperatures can exceed 50 degrees Celsius during
  the summer.

4
Temperature

• Temperatures can go lower than freezing during
  the winter.
• The temperatures during the fall and spring are
  pretty much constant.
• Deserts are typically windy, which make the
  temperatures feel even more extreme.

5
Temperature
Fall Winter Spring Summer
During the Day 23.4 33.5 degrees Celsius. 19.4 22.4 degrees Celsius. 26.7 34.1 degrees Celsius. 36.4 37.1 degrees Celsius.
During the Night 9.0 19.0 degrees Celsius. 4.9 6.9 degrees Celsius. 10.4 18.4 degrees Celsius. 21.2 22.3 degrees Celsius.
6
Precipitation
Fall Winter Spring Summer
0-30mm per month 30-60 mm per month 0-15 mm per month 0-1mm per month
A desert is defined as having 250mm of
precipitation per year or less
7
Desert Soil Type

• Desert in Australias Simpson Desert

8
Soil

• Deserts contain rocks, sand, gravel, clay, and
  silt.
• Desert soil contains high amounts of minerals but
  low amounts of organic matter. Having low amounts
  of organic matter causes the soil to have a low
  water holding capacity, which makes water
  evaporate faster and makes the soil rich in
  sodium and calcium ions. This leads to saltpans,
  where little to no plants can grow.

9
soil

• The top layer of the desert contains sand, small
  rocks and gravel, and little organic mater.
• The second layer contains nutrient-poor soil.
• The third layer is a layer of salt which leaches
  nutrients. This layer is rock fragments.
• Dried up riverbeds in the desert contain sand,
  salt, clay, and silt.

10
Desert Vegetation

• Taken in the Sand dunes in Death Valley National
  Monument, California.

11
Desert Vegetation

• Because of hot, dry weather, the desert biome
  does not have many plants
• The plants present in the desert have learned to
  adapt
• Desert biome contains xerophytes

12
Xerophytes

• Plants which have adapted to survive in an
  environment that lacks water.
• Some characteristics are
• Preserving moisture
• Storing water
• Nocturnal activity

13
Some examples of Xerophytes

• Most cacti are considered Xerophytes
• Barrel cactus

• Cylinder shaped body- holds water
• Waxy skin (seal in moisture)
• 3-4 inch spines (shade and moisture)
• Sonoran Desert plant

14
Some examples of Xerophytes

• Pancake prickly pear cactus

• Sonoran/ Mojave Desert
• Small leaves (preserve water)
• Roots adapted to dry weather
• Pancakes can store water

15
Some examples of Xerophytes

• Joshua Tree

• Mojave Desert
• Produces fruit
• Roots store water and keeps nutrients
• Leaves grow upwards to catch water

16
Some examples of Xerophytes

• Brittle Bush

• Mojave Desert and Colorado Desert
• Leaves provide insulation
• Traps moisture in the air

17
Animal Life in the Desert

• Taken in the Gobi desert which occupies Northern
  and Northwestern China in Asia.

18
Animal Life in the Desert

• Rodents
• Lizards
• Camels
• Snakes
• Insects
• Owls
• Hawks
• Small birds

• Hawks
• Owls
• Pelicans
• Storks
• Lion
• Red Kangaroo
• Hyena
• Zebra

19
Adaptations in the Desert

• Animals that live in the desert adapt their
  bodies and behaviors to the deserts climate.
• These adaptations allow them to survive in the
  deserts extreme temperatures(both hot and cold).

20
Adaptations in the Desert

• Animals learn to do the following things
• Survive on minimal amounts of water
• Find shade for hottest parts of the day
• Dig holes in the ground to find cooler soil
• Be nocturnal
• Spend time in burrows

21
The Colorado Desert lizard

• Has toes that are fringed with elongated, pointed
  scales so they can run across steep dunes and
  then stop suddenly and wriggle out of sight into
  the cooler layers of sand.
• Its special eyelids and countersunk lower jaw
  keep out sand grains.

22
Sidewinder

• uses a sidewinding motion to move across the
  hot sand so that only a small portion of its body
  touches the hot sand at one time.

23

• Kangaroo Rats

• Camel

• Survive almost entirely on water metabolized from
  seeds they eat. They neither sweat nor pant like
  other animals to keep cool

• can drink an excessive amount of water in one day
  (around 30 gallons!) or survive for a relatively
  long time without drinking any water.

24
Human Factors

• Taken in Takartibah, Libya

25
How Humans Have Adapted

• Often lived as nomads
• Followed infrequent rains
• Loose fitting clothing head cloths
• Maximize air circulation and minimize exposure to
  sun
• Had some sort of shelter
• Nomads such as Bedouin tribes had tents
• Pueblo Indians had adobe huts

26
How modern civilization has adapted

• Desert farming
• Techniques used to allow humans to harvest crops
  in a normally inhospitable environment
• Irrigation enables crops meant for areas of
  higher precipitation to grow
• Canals often used for irrigation
• Drip irrigation uses less water than traditional
  methods
• Alternatively or additionally, can use plants
  acclimated to desert (jojoba, date palms, etc)

27
How modern civilization has adapted

• Pipelines
• Lack of drinking water no longer a problem
• Buildings and air conditioning
• Protect humans from excessive heat

28
The pros and cons of the desert
Advantages Disadvantages
Low humidity Mild winters Lots of sun More undeveloped space Less crowded Potential jobs in salt mining industry Different types of animals and plants Excessive heat Risk of dehydration / heatstroke Sandstorms Less lush landscape Potential negative impact on environment
29
Works Cited

• How is human life possible in a desert? -
  Curiosity. Web. 16 Nov. 2011.
  lthttp//curiosity.discovery.com/question/human- l
  ife-possible-in-desertgt
• Lozinsky, Georgia. "Animals of the Desert."
  Habitat Awareness Desert Page. N.p., 2002. Web.
  12 Nov 2011. lthttp//inchinapinch.com/hab_pgs/te
  rres/desert/ desert.htm
• People of the Desert. Web. 16 Nov. 2011.
  lthttp//www.ahsd25.k12.il.us/curriculum/africa/de
  sertpeople.htmgt