KOMPAS.com – Desert is one of the unique landscapes formed from sedimentation. Sediments formed in the area desert is aeolis sedimentation. The following is desert formation process!
Deserts are dry areas of the earth’s surface with very low rainfall and extreme temperatures. Deserts are formed from aeolian sedimentation that relies on wind power.
Evaporation of water
The process of desert formation begins with the evaporation of water from both the oceans and land. Evaporation of water by sunlight creates warm air with high humidity. Warm air is forced up into the atmosphere.
Warm air that rises into the atmosphere is replaced by cooler air. This causes a shift in the air column and forms wind.
Also read: Sedimentation: Definition and Types
It’s raining at the equator
Reported from Encyclopedia Britannica, warm, moist air rises around the equator, cools, forms clouds, and turns to rain. Leaving a cooler air mass with much lower humidity.
The wind is formed
The cooler air mass will be pushed down, replaced by warmer air.
These air masses then form winds that move away from the equator. On its way, the air mass loses more and more water vapor and carries various kinds of matter.
The wind breaks and erodes everything in its path, be it rocks, buildings, dust, sand, or soil. Bring along these materials in it and start doing wind deposition or aeolis sedimentation.
Also read: Reasons for the Formation of Deserts on the Australian Continent
Reported from National Geographic, the wind is the main sculptor of the desert that can build dunes up to 180 meters high. Matter such as sand and dust carried by the wind, pounded various objects.
Produces weathering and helps carry more particles into the wind. The wind will then deposit all the material it carries and form a dry area called a desert.
Because they are formed from sedimentation by the wind, deserts are not fixed. They can shift for tens of meters in just one day.
Winds create different desert landscapes according to the sediments they carry and geographical conditions. Thus, deserts are divided into several types such as subtropical deserts, coastal deserts, rain shadow deserts, and also polar deserts.
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