Mankind and Deserts 1: Deserts, Aridity, Exploration and Conquests

ISBN-13: 9781786306302 / Angielski / Twarda / 2021 / 176 str.

Fernand Joly; Guilhem Bourrie

Spis treści

Foreword ixYvette DewolfChapter 1. Introduction: The Concept of a Desert 1Fernand Joly1.1. All about a word 11.2. Arriving at a definition 21.2.1. What is a desert? 21.2.2. Conceptual deserts: deserts that have been experienced 41.3. The world of deserts 51.4. Deserts of the world 71.5. To know more 9Chapter 2. Conquering Deserts 11Fernand Joly2.1. Prehistoric times 112.2. The dawn of history 132.2.1. The Near and Middle East - Sahara 142.2.2. Central and East Asia 172.2.3. America 192.2.4. Southern Africa - Australia 212.3. Knowledge of deserts in prehistory 222.4. Antiquity 232.4.1. The Near East - Sahara 232.4.2. The Middle East 242.5. Deserts known to Antiquity 262.6. Deserts as corridors of migration 282.7. Deserts: the birthplace of religions 292.7.1. Polytheistic religions 302.7.2. Buddhism 312.7.3. Judaism 322.7.4. Christianity 332.7.5. Islam 362.8. Deserts and empires in the Middle Ages 382.8.1. The Arabs 382.8.2. The Turks 412.8.3. The Mongols 442.9. Deserts known at the end of the Middle Ages 462.9.1. Travelers and merchants 482.9.2. Medieval geography of deserts 522.10. To be continued ... 602.11. References 62Chapter 3. Aridity 65Fernand Joly3.1. Where we examine semantics 653.2. Causes of aridity 673.2.1. Meteorological causes 673.2.2. Geographic causes 753.2.3. Human causes 843.3. Climatic factors and the numerical expression of aridity 863.3.1. Precipitation 873.3.2. Temperatures 953.3.3. Evaporation 993.3.4. Aridity indices 1033.4. Nuances in aridity 1093.4.1. Phytogeographic criteria 1103.4.2. Hydrological criteria 1103.4.3. Geomorphological criteria 1113.4.4. Soil use criteria 1113.4.5. Sub-desert aridity 1113.4.6. Desert aridity 1123.4.7. Hyper-aridity 1143.4.8. Conclusion 1153.5. Variations in climatic aridity over time 1163.5.1. Variations on a geological scale 1163.5.2. Climatic changes in the Quaternary period 1233.5.3. Variations on a historic scale - droughts 1333.6. Unusual phenomena caused by or promoted by aridity 1403.7. Aridity and drought 1443.8. References 145List of Authors 151Index 153

O autorze

Fernand Joly (1917?2010) studied the Sahara at the Institut Scientifique Cherifien (Institut Scientifique de Rabat) in Morocco. He then entered the CNRS and Paris VII University, where he developed geomorphology and guidelines for cartography, pioneering digital data treatment. He is the author of Glossaire de geomorphologie.Guilhem Bourrie, a member of the Academie d?Agriculture de France, is a pedologist and geochemist. He has worked on water quality in soils in Brittany, Provence, Algeria, Brazil, Chile and Mexico.