Resources in Hot Arid Environments (DP IB Geography): Revision Note

Opportunities in Hot Arid Environments

• Hot arid environments provide a range of opportunities for development, including:

  • Energy 

    • Solar energy in areas such as the Mojave, Desert

    • Wind, including the Tarfaya complex in the Sahara Desert

    • Coal mining, such as the Thar coalfield

  • Mineral extraction

    • Reserves of a range of minerals include copper, uranium, and coal in the USA Western Desert, phosphorus and gypsum in the Thar Desert

  • Tourism 

    • Desert safaris in the Kalahari Desert

    • Horseback riding in the Namib Desert

    • Staying in a traditional Ger (Mongolian Yurt) in the Gobi Desert

    • Balloon flights such as those over the Namib Desert

  • Agriculture

    • Irrigation enables large scale agriculture in areas such as the Arabian Desert and Gobi Desert

    • Subsistence farming occurs in many desert environments

Challenges in Hot Arid Environments

• The harsh, hot, and arid environment pose a range of challenges for any development

• Water availability

  • The lack of readily available water increases costs and can deter people from moving to areas for work

  • However, as the population increases, the demand for water also increases, but not all aquifers are usable

    • Some aquifers are hyper-saline (they are many times saltier than seawater)

    • Some become polluted by mining processes, such as the use of arsenic in gold extraction

  • Many arid regions have deep-level aquifers and where pit mining occurs, water flows into the pit from the aquifer

    • The Pilbara region of Australia lies on a water-bearing aquifer that is just 100 to 250 metres below surface

    • Many commercial mining operations in the region start below the water table and have to pump the water out of the pit daily

    • Water is pumped to a holding tank and then used to process the 'ores' or sprayed on roads to dampen dust

• Extreme temperatures: which can reach 50 ^°C 

  • This leads to high levels of evaporation and water shortages

  • It makes working very difficult and tiring

• Mineral extraction

  • The abundant stores of natural resources can lead to political tensions over contested land or borders

    • Western Sahara has rich phosphate reserves, but there has been a long-running territorial dispute between Morocco and its indigenous Sahrawi people 

  • Abandoned pits can flood, creating artificial lakes, although if polluted or hyper-saline, they have no economic or recreational value

  • Open-cut mining creates unstable slopes and are environmentally damaging as it exposes previously-covered toxic or dangerous materials

    • Uranium is open-mined in the Sahel Desert (in Niger), where the rock is crushed before being dumped for chemical leaching 

    • There are enough harmful substances and radon emissions in the mining tailings to damage the local ecosystem for many generations

  • Underground mines can collapse and cause land subsidence

• Accessibility

  • There is a lack of roads due to low population

  • Pipelines, roads and railways need to be built to withstand the high temperatures

  • Sand often covers the roads

  • Most of the desert areas are inaccessible and are only accessed by flying into the region

Case Study: Thar Desert

Development opportunities in the Thar Desert

Location of the Thar Desert

Opportunities

• Subsistence farming

  • In depressions between the sand dunes, any precipitation collects; grasses grow and animals can graze

  • Goats provide milk and meat for the communities

• Commercial farming

  • The construction of the Indira Gandhi canal allows irrigation

  • This enables crops such as wheat and cotton to be grown for sale on a commercial scale

• Tourism 

  • Tourists are attracted to seeing the different species found in the deserts on desert safaris 

  • The desert is a hub for migrating birds, which many tourists visit to see

  • There has been an increase in ecotourism 

• Mineral Extraction

  • The extraction of gypsum, limestone, feldspar, kaolin and phosphorus all takes place within the Thar Desert

• Energy 

  • The Jaisalmer Wind Park is the world's fourth-largest wind farm

  • Coal extraction: It is estimated there are reserves of 175 billion tonnes of coal

  • Oil and gas: Large reserves of oil and gas have been found under the Thar Desert

  • The Bhadia Solar Park covers more than 22 square miles and is one of the world's largest

Challenges

• Extreme temperatures

  • In the hottest months of May and June, temperatures often reach 50 °C.

  • Working in the high temperatures for miners, farmers, etc... is extremely challenging

• Water supply

  • Precipitation in the Thar desert is very low (120–240 mm)

  • Evaporation rates are high

  • Natural ponds: called tobas, provide people with water in remote areas

  • In some areas, over-irrigation has led to salinisation when the water evaporates, leaving the salt behind

  • The 650-kilometre Indira Gandhi Canal provides water for drinking and irrigation

• Inaccessibility

  • The Thar Desert is over 230,000 km²

  • The road network across the vast area is limited

  • On the roads that do exist, tarmac may melt due to the high temperatures

  • Roads quickly become covered in sand

  • City of Jaisalmer has become a honeypot tourist site because access to other areas is so expensive and difficult