DesertBY: RJ TATUM, SCOTT RAKES, DANIEL

ADAMS

ANIMALS IN DESERT!!• Birds- Roadrunner, Ostrich, Vulture• Reptiles- Sidewinder Rattlesnake, Texas

Banded Gecko, Texas Horned Lizard• Arthropods- Arizona Bark Scorpion, Black

Widow Spider (western)• Mammals- Kangaroo, Meerkat, Pronghorn,

Black-Tailed Jackrabbit, and Many other Foxes And Rabbits.

WHAT DEFINES A DESERT!• A desert is defined simply by the

amount of rainfall that falls in an area in conjunction with the amount of evaporation. In essence, its any area that receives on average less than 10 inches of rainfall per year, and where the yearly evaporation is more than 10 inches of rain a year.

WHERE DESERTS ARE FOUND??• Deserts are found around the

globe, generally around a belt of 30 degrees north and south latitude where global wind patterns carry down dry air from the upper atmosphere.

THE CLIMATE OF A DESERT!!• Arid climates are those which average less than 10 inches

of precipitation a year. • Potential evaporation exceeds precipitation in the annual

water budget. • Furthermore, rainfall is highly localized and relatively

unpredictable in terms of when it will occur, although usually there are seasons of highest probability for precipitation.

• Annual variation in total precipitation may also be great. Temperatures are also variable.

• They may exceed 100° F on summer afternoons, but dip by 20-30 degrees or more at night.

• Winters are cool to cold: "hot deserts" rarely experience frost; "cold deserts" may have prolonged periods of below freezing temperatures and snowfall.

WHY ARE DESERTS SO HOT??• Deserts are hot primarily because of the lack of

water. • When the sun shines on the ground, all of the

absorbed sunlight goes into raising the ground's temperature.

• If there was moisture in the soil, much of this heat would go into evaporation of some of the water, pumping water vapor in the air, and keeping the soil cooler that it would otherwise be.

• This cooling is from the "latent" heat of evaporation that is required to change liquid water into water vapor.

INTERESTING FACTS!!!• Deserts are cold at night: Because of

the lack of water in the ground, and little water vapor in the air, most deserts can get quite cool at night.

• Dry ground does not retain as much heat as moist ground, and water vapor is the most important greenhouse gas, so dry air allows the surface to cool rapidly at night through loss of infrared radiation to outer space.

• It has been estimated that the Sahara Desert actually loses more infrared radiation than it gains solar radiation from the sun.

HOW CAN YOU HAVE FUN IN THE DESERT???

• Human Destruction!

DESERT PLANT LIFE Many plants can only live

in the desert because they are designed to hold in water for long periods of time.

Great example is the cactus.

Hollow on the inside to hold water.

DESERT PLANT LIFE CONT’D. More plants than

people would think.

Highly adapted to the dry heat.

Great importance to the animals, providing most of the food and water.

DESERT FOOD WEB Not as many

animals as other biomes.

More plants than people usually think.

Few mammals, more reptiles and birds.

QUIZ 1. Name 3 animals that live in the

desert biome. 2. Where are deserts found around the

world? 3. What are 3 characteristics of a

desert? 4. What’s the average amount of

rainfall for deserts around the globe? 5. Why are deserts cold at night?

WORKS CITED! www.bing.com www.google.com www.newton.k12.ma.us www.blueplanetbiomes.org/desert.htm