Once Lush Sahara Dried Up Over Millennia, Study Says

National Geographic News ^ | 5-8-2008 | James Owen

[SunkenCiv]

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[Bellflower]

In the 80’s a space shuttle used an Imaging Radar Instrument that showed rivers that use to flow in the eastern Sahara. I have tried to find the images but have not been able to. I am fascinated with what the Sahara Desert use to be like and what possibly may lie beneath it such as underground water and/or minerals and oil.

[Avoiding_Sulla]

FYI on your current efforts.

[Fred Nerks]

http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/captions/earth/wadikuf.htm

ancient riverbed.

[Carry_Okie]

I am familiar with pollen studies. My guess is that this is a grant-funded scientist claiming more from a study than is justified by the data.

Pollen in a lake is heavily influenced by local effects due to the lake itself, around which the desert will accrue more slowly. AFIK, it is very difficult if not impossible to distinguish pollen generated locally from that thousands of miles away if only because "local varieties" migrate under changing conditions. So to say he knows what happened in Western Egypt for example, from analysis of samples taken from a lake bottom in Chad, is a massive stretch given the dispersion of the pollen at its sources and its confusion with other sources over an extended interval long ago.

Interesting story with some valuable data. I don't think the conclusion is likely to be supportable by the data.

[neverdem]

A Slow Birth for the Sahara

Shift From Savannah to Sahara Was Gradual, Research Suggests

[SunkenCiv]

Sahara dried out slowly, not abruptly: study
Reuters | Thu May 8, 2008 2:10pm EDT | Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent
Posted on 05/08/2008 2:12:41 PM PDT by suthener
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2013235/posts