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Water in Arid Areas - Basic Facts and Examples of Environmental Implications, Supply and Conservation

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Land and its Uses — Actual and Potential

Part of the book series: NATO Conference Series ((E,volume 10))

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Abstract

The arid and semi-arid regions of the world cover somewhat over one third of its total non-glaciated land areas (Walton, 1969). There are several bases for defining the arid zone, and it can be subdivided into semi-arid, arid, and extremely arid areas on widely differing criteria, but its main characteristic of a deficient precipitation input in relation to the often very high potential évapotranspiration output is the ultimate cause of deserts. Thus deserts may be produced by combination of a low but not insignificant annual rainfall with very high temperatures, which results in rates of evapotranspiration so high that all but a minute share of the rainfall returns to the atmosphere almost immediately, making no contribution to usable surface or subsurface water storage. Conversely, regions with low temperatures over much of the year, and therefore relatively low values of evapotranspiration, may have decidedly arid characteristics because of very low precipitation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Earth Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Givat-Ram, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel

    A. P. Schick

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  1. A. P. Schick
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Penicuik, Midlothian, Scotland

    F. T. Last  & B. G. Bell  & 

  2. Commission on Lead in the Environment, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    M. C. B. Hotz

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© 1986 Plenum Press, New York

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Schick, A.P. (1986). Water in Arid Areas - Basic Facts and Examples of Environmental Implications, Supply and Conservation. In: Last, F.T., Hotz, M.C.B., Bell, B.G. (eds) Land and its Uses — Actual and Potential. NATO Conference Series, vol 10. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2169-9_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2169-9_17

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-2169-9

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