Short Answer

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Short Answer
Answer each question with a few sentences.

This activity contains 10 questions.

Look at this image of the Aral Sea, a large water body in Central Asia. The red areas are vegetation in this false-color view from outer space. What can you tell about the surrounding landscape? [source]

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

Now compare these two images of the Aral Sea taken in 1962 and 1987. What might account for the changes in the shoreline and adjacent topography of this inland sea over 25 years? Is it desertification? Why or why not? (Hint: Think about the use of water for cropland irrigation in an arid region where drought is common.) [source]

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

Why is interior drainage particularly common in desert areas?

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

What landform is shown in the center of the photo, beyond the dunes? Explain how it forms. [Photo courtesy of John Aubert, copyright 2005]

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

This photograph shows the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, located in the Basin and Range Province. What are these types of salt pans called, and why are they common in this region?

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

What is the difference between a sandstorm and a duststorm? The obvious answer is that one involves sand and the other involves dust. Yet how are the two types of sediment different, and why do they behave differently in an eolian context?

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

This satellite image shows an excellent example of eolian transport of sediment. (It may take a while to load, but it's worth it.) The accompanying source information is ambiguous about whether this is a dust or sand storm. Considering that the sediment is being carried over 1000 miles (1600 km), what do you think it is? On what do you base your decision?

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

This space shuttle photograph shows another part of the Sahara, the Murzuk Sand Sea [Libya]. What type of desert is this, and what is its defining characteristic? [Source]

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

Rain is extremely rare in this part of the Sahara today and may fall only once every decade or two. What evidence can you see in the photograph indicating that the climate was wetter in the past?

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

This is an astronaut photograph taken from the International Space Station of the Issaouane Erg , located in eastern Algeria. There are two classic dune forms visible, in the lower left (below A) and center right (left of B), respectively. What are they and what do they tell you about the wind direction? Also, what do you think the bluish white features (C) are? [Source]

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

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