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A Lost World Beneath the Sands: The Discovery of Ancient Lakes and Rivers in Arabia
Daily Galaxy ^ | April 05, 2025 | Lydia Amazouz

Posted on 04/06/2025 12:07:14 PM PDT by Red Badger

A recent study has uncovered the existence of ancient lakes, rivers, and a massive water-formed valley beneath Arabia’s vast desert.

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A recent study has uncovered a long-forgotten landscape hidden beneath the vast expanse of Arabia’s Empty Quarter—one of the driest and most desolate regions in the world today. The groundbreaking research, published in Communications Earth & Environment, reveals that the desert was once home to ancient lakes, rivers, and valleys, formed during periods of high rainfall between 11,000 and 5,500 years ago. This discovery sheds new light on the dramatic environmental shifts that occurred in the region during the late Quaternary period, particularly the so-called “Green Arabia” phase.

The research team, led by Dr. Abdallah Zaki and Professor Sébastien Castelltort of the University of Geneva, in collaboration with Professor Abdulkader Afifi of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and Professor Michael Petraglia of Griffith University, documented the presence of a massive ancient lake and a large water-formed valley. This team of international scientists has provided crucial insight into how the region’s ecosystems once flourished due to the monsoonal rains brought from Africa.

The “Green Arabia” Period: A Land of Lakes and Rivers

The team’s findings paint a picture of a much wetter Arabia, with vast lakes and rivers replacing the arid landscape we see today. “Based on a series of ages, it appears the lake peaked about 9,000 years ago during a wet Green Arabia period that extended between 11,000 to 5,500 years ago,” said Dr. Abdallah Zaki, the study’s lead author. The ancient lake was not only massive but played a central role in shaping the region’s landscape. It was estimated to be 1,100 square meters in size and 42 meters deep, a stark contrast to the dry environment that defines the region now. The increased rainfall during this time turned the desert into a thriving ecosystem, making it one of the most significant climatic periods in the region’s history.

Distribution of palaeohydrological and geomorphic records, archaeological sites, modeled streams, major monsoon systems, and the study site in Arabia. Credit: Communications Earth & Environment (2025).

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However, the lake’s existence did not last forever. Professor Sébastien Castelltort explains that the lake eventually breached due to the increased rainfall, triggering a catastrophic flood that carved out a 150-kilometer-long valley in the desert floor. “Owing to increased rainfall, the lake eventually breached, causing a great flood and carving out a 150 km–long valley in the desert floor,” Castelltort added. This flood marked a dramatic shift in the landscape and serves as a powerful reminder of how quickly the environment can change.

From Oasis to Desert: The Changing Landscape of Arabia

The once-water-filled landscape provided fertile ground for the development of grasslands and savanna-like conditions, allowing hunting and gathering societies to thrive. This period marked a significant change for the populations in the region. “The formation of lake and riverine landscapes, together with grasslands and savanna conditions, would have led to the expansion of hunting and gathering groups and pastoral populations across what is now a dry and barren desert,” said Professor Michael Petraglia. Archaeological evidence found along these ancient water networks supports the theory that humans once inhabited the area, taking advantage of its once-abundant resources.

The impact of these climatic shifts was profound. By around 6,000 years ago, rainfall began to decline dramatically, signaling the end of the “Green Arabia” period. As the region became drier and more arid, populations were forced to migrate to more hospitable areas. This transition led to significant changes in the lifestyle of the region’s nomadic populations. “By 6,000 years ago, the Empty Quarter experienced a strong decline in rainfall, which would have created dry, arid conditions, forcing populations to move into more hospitable settings and changing the lifestyle of nomadic populations,” added Petraglia.


TOPICS: History; Outdoors; Religion; Weather
KEYWORDS: arabia; desert; godsgravesglyphs; iwbg; neolithic; rivers; youngerdryas
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To: Carry_Okie

The climate was much wetter during the Pleistocene.


21 posted on 04/06/2025 12:43:21 PM PDT by crusty old prospector
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To: Slicksadick

https://news.griffith.edu.au/2025/04/04/unearthing-the-lush-vibrant-past-of-the-worlds-largest-desert/


22 posted on 04/06/2025 12:44:20 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Doctor Congo

https://news.griffith.edu.au/2025/04/04/unearthing-the-lush-vibrant-past-of-the-worlds-largest-desert/


23 posted on 04/06/2025 12:44:28 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: captmar-vell

Expedition Bible: Eden’s Lost River
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwCdZ4CbA-E&t=1423s


24 posted on 04/06/2025 12:50:41 PM PDT by Fai Mao ( All Democrats need to go to prison.)
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To: Jim Noble

“ The Earth’s climate changes constantly.”
I think the goats are to blame, they eat everything green.


25 posted on 04/06/2025 12:57:24 PM PDT by 9422WMR (🪉)
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To: MtnClimber
Global cooling Uhhh...no...

Global warming Uhhh...no...

Global climate change.

I wonder what they'll pull out of their butts next.

26 posted on 04/06/2025 1:02:10 PM PDT by airborne (Thank you Rush for helping me find FreeRepublic! )
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To: Red Badger

More climate change thing. Loss of trees and top soils, exposes sand, clays, and other wind-vulnerables . . . that are moved around <— sometimes to great distances.

Happened to the tip of Cape Code, effectively forcing the Pilgrims community from there, to the mainland.

Now, progressives object to climate change.


27 posted on 04/06/2025 1:06:47 PM PDT by linMcHlp
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To: Dilbert San Diego

Natural gas stoves in the caves probably.


28 posted on 04/06/2025 1:10:10 PM PDT by iamgalt
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To: Red Badger

If the lake was 1100 sq kms then it would be about 6 and a half times bigger than the Sea of Galilee.

I would like to know what kind of fish was in the lake, the Sea of Galilee has Tilapia.
(I keep comparing to the Sea of G because it is the biggest lake in the area I know of)


29 posted on 04/06/2025 1:16:13 PM PDT by Doctor Congo
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To: Doctor Congo

Unknown unless they find fossils................


30 posted on 04/06/2025 1:19:37 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: GingisK

It’s not just Earth, it’s nearly every scientific area of study, think of how much has been learned from the James Webb Space Telescope...the idea of a “Big Bang” happening and starting the formation of galaxies by the billions appears to be more of a SWAG instead of well-founded scientific hypothesis.

Medical technology is another area where what we know to be true is seemingly always changing.


31 posted on 04/06/2025 1:27:52 PM PDT by srmanuel
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To: srmanuel

We know so little, really.


32 posted on 04/06/2025 1:33:37 PM PDT by GingisK
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To: Doctor Congo

Is my math wrong?
______

Yes,
1100 sq meters is 0.11 square km. That’s about 28 acres.
A sizable pond.
They probably meant 1100 sq km.


33 posted on 04/06/2025 1:38:29 PM PDT by AZJeep (sane )
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To: Red Badger

same with the Sahara desert


34 posted on 04/06/2025 1:41:16 PM PDT by faithhopecharity ("Politicians aren't born, they're excreted." Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 to 43 BCE))
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To: 9422WMR
So Shakespeare was almost right.
First, kill all the lawyers and the goats.
35 posted on 04/06/2025 3:05:26 PM PDT by BipolarBob (I'm trying to be good but sometimes it's too much fun being bad.)
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To: Red Badger
That should be 1100 Square Kilometers.

Yeah. 1,100 square meters is a square a bit bigger than 33 meters per side.

36 posted on 04/06/2025 3:20:49 PM PDT by Pilsner
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37 posted on 04/06/2025 3:43:44 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: Red Badger; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; ...
Thanks Red Badger.

38 posted on 04/06/2025 3:45:59 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: Fai Mao

Good info, thanks for the link.


39 posted on 04/06/2025 4:21:52 PM PDT by captmar-vell
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To: GingisK

It’s said that it took ten to twelve thousand years to from humans being hunter gathers to walking on the moon.
Modern day humans have been on this planet For at least 250,000 years. That is enough time for at least twenty civilizations to develop.🤔


40 posted on 04/06/2025 5:27:32 PM PDT by BiteYourSelf ( Earth first, we'll strip mine the other planets later.)
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