Desert Rub’ Al-Khali Is the Largest “Sand Sea” in the World, but It Was a 138-Foot-Deep Thriving Lake 8,000 Years Ago
Earth has gone through a multitude of changes. Tectonic plates and environmental changes have significantly altered landforms. Researchers recently found out about the past of a desert in Asia, stated Popular Mechanics. Details about the past have been published in Communications Earth & Environment.
The subject of the study is Rub’ al-Khali—also known as "The Empty Quarter" in English. The desert covers the lower third of the Arabian Peninsula. The study claims that in the past, the arid desert was a lake. Researchers believe the lake possibly reached its largest size around 8,000 years ago. These assertions were made based on the reconstruction of the desert's ancient landscape, stated La Brújula Verde. The reconstruction was done with the aid of sediment analysis and terrain features. Findings indicate that the lake vanished from the area 6,000 years ago.
According to examinations, the lake came into existence during the 'Green Arabia' period, which lasted from 11,000 to 5,500 years ago. Before the lake, the region was a desert, but rainfall and flooding brought forth the transformation. Analysis of the region made the team claim that the lake in the region was once 138 feet deep and spanned 1,100 m² in area. At one point, the lake could have also created a 150-kilometer-long valley into the Earth, due to precipitation, stated Popular Mechanics. Scientists studied the sediments of the region to determine where the water for this supposed lake was coming from. Their results indicated that the flooding was facilitated by the northward expansions of African and Indian monsoons.
Researchers believe the lake possibly invited a lot of human habitation in the region. Michael Petraglia, a researcher in the study, said, "The formation of lake and river landscapes, along with grasslands and savannahs, would have facilitated the expansion of hunting, gathering, and pastoral groups into what is now a dry, barren desert. This is confirmed by abundant archaeological evidence found in the Empty Quarter and along its ancient lake and river systems."
The study further claimed that the lake caused the construction of a complex fluvial system and a watershed in the region. These structures possibly helped nomadic human groups to live in areas that have now become completely uninhabitable. The team thinks that the lake turned into a desert due to a decline in rainfall. In the present, the region receives just three centimeters of rainfall every year. The drying up of the lake must have caused the populations to migrate. Today, it is one of the most inhospitable regions in the world.
The findings showcase the close relationship between human lives and climate change. The alteration of environmental conditions had a direct impact on human habitation in the area. "Understanding how past climate changes shaped both the physical environment and the distribution of human populations is essential to interpreting today’s challenges," added Sébastien Castelltort, professor of Earth surface dynamics at UNIGE and co-author of the study. Castelltort hopes that the eventual fate of human habitation in 'The Empty Quarter' warns present civilization about the disastrous effects of a changing climate.