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Catchment and Channel Hydrology

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Geomorphology of Desert Environments

Abstract

Solar radiation, wind, and water are the driving agents of desert landscapes. Water has four major roles to play. First, in sustaining any life forms that exist; secondly, as a chemical substance which interacts with other chemical substances, notably salts; third, as a medium of transport of mass; and, fourth, as a direct source of energy. The last role, though small by comparison with the roles of solar and wind energy, may none the less be critical in determining the threshold of operation of runoff, through its impact on infiltration. Since infiltration is one of the major thresholds in dryland morphological development, the factors which control it have a role out of all proportion to the energy involved.

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  1. John B. Thornes
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, State University of New York at Buffalo, 14261, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Athol D. Abrahams

  2. Department of Geography, University of Keele, ST5 5BG, Keele, Staffordshire, UK

    Anthony J. Parsons

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© 1994 Athol D. Abrahams and Anthony J. Parsons

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Thornes, J.B. (1994). Catchment and Channel Hydrology. In: Abrahams, A.D., Parsons, A.J. (eds) Geomorphology of Desert Environments. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8254-4_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8254-4_11

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