A thread in Non-Political Chat about the Garamantes made me think: how do we keep the Sahara "green"? I know this is a geographic POD, but I don't think it's necessarily ASB. I know nothing about meteorology, so obviously any POD would have effects on the rest of the world, but lets ignore those for now.
Keep the Sahara Green
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PhilippeO
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Wetter, Warmer Earth TL
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=3082&highlight=wetter+warm
the POD is Antartica and Australia never separate.
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=3082&highlight=wetter+warm
the POD is Antartica and Australia never separate.
I've heard overgrazing had some to do with it, but I'm not sure how much.
Could the Sahara be reduced in size with just a human POD?
Could the Sahara be reduced in size with just a human POD?
Yeah, by find a better way of judging wealth than by the size of your goat-herds.
Not sure you can. The Earth goes through a series of Green Sahara phases, the most recent ending around 4000BC. We might in the future find a way to make the Sahara green, but I don't think it's possible to stop it from desertifying.
Just today was the documentary on the same topic on History Channel. Since every 20 thousand years the Earth tilts a bit the area where monsun rains fall moves, and that was the most important cause for the green Sahara. The last stop in that cycle was 5 thousand years ago, and Sahara as we know it today formed in just under 200 years of absence of usual rainfalls. But all that water that fell remains till this day deep under ground ( quantity is equivalent to that of all the six Great Lakes in N.America if not more ) and the plan is that by drilling hundreds of wells ( already done ) they will try to reclaim large parts of the dessert and making them into agricultural lands.
But on the other hand if Sahara never came to be as it was today there would not be a massive exodus of people towards the Nile and its delta ( 8000 B.C. and onward ) and the civilization of ancient Egypt would not the as impressive as it was/is.
But on the other hand if Sahara never came to be as it was today there would not be a massive exodus of people towards the Nile and its delta ( 8000 B.C. and onward ) and the civilization of ancient Egypt would not the as impressive as it was/is.
In places like the negev and, iirc yemen, fancy work capturing what rain there is allows/allowed trees to grow in very arid places. Get a similar culture all along an edge of the sahara, and you might be able to keep the desert at bay. Of course, such a culture would be very vulnerzble to warlike nomads with hungry goats, so maybe it would really work.
A Portion of the Sahara can be removed by stopping the Vandals or later the Fatimids from destroying the North African Farmland.
The Saharan pluvial was because of the fluctuating northern line of the monsoon rains. You can't stop that without a geographical PoD which belongs in ASB. Stopping the Romans from deforesting North Africa and the Muslims from constant overgrazing by goats and North Africa's medditeranean zone stays in a larger area with better farmland.
Interesting stuff - I'd never heard about that exodus idea.
I think if the Sahara was green then the history of Sub-Saharan Africa would certainly be very different, since the Sahara has acted like a barrier to cultural diffusion.
Am I right in thinking that the camel wasn't native to the Sahara and prior to the camel being introduced, the Sahara was even more of a communicatiuon barrier.
Introducing Kudzu to the Nile River Delta could be a later POD. Sure it gets out of control, but it also creates a quick and easy solution to greening arid climates, feed livestock (who fertilize the soil), and promote an overall better economy.
The Sahara would be more difficult than the Dust Bowl, but Kudzu can make it happen over time.
The Sahara would be more difficult than the Dust Bowl, but Kudzu can make it happen over time.
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Introducing kudzu anywhere will be a terrifying ecological disaster like the earth has never seen.
That's a common misconception. Yes, it spreads quickly and without natural predators can overgrow in lusher climates. If it is used properly and eaten by livestock (as in Asia) it's a wonder vine.
In a desert, kudzu could become an invaluable terraformer.
Can it survive, though? Its root complex would need to go very far down to hit water.
Kudzu roots go incredibly far down (feet upon feet), but maybe not far enough to reach water in the Sahara. However, Kudzu in the Nile Delta and along the coasts would move water and more fertile soil inward over the years, effectively greening the Sahara.
Once the inhabitants stop using it for useful purposes, it would become known as a weed but it wouldn't destroy anything like it did in the American South. Vine covered Pyramids would look amazing.
At least until the Kudzu vines penetrate the cracks between the blocks to reach for moisture and eventually destroy the whole structure a bit like the strangler fig in Cambodia is doing to Khmer temples.
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