When the Sahara Was Green
Satellite imagery reveals the existence of a lake the size of Massachusetts under the desert of the Sudan—a resource that could begin providing water in as little as three years, according to Farouk El-Baz, director of the Boston University Center for Remote Sensing. El-Baz says the fact that his native country of Egypt is almost entirely desert, with only 6 percent of the land supporting the country’s economy, motivated him to learn more about the geology of deserts. After describing how geologists interpret pictures taken from outer space, El-Baz presents satellite images of the Sahara, explains what they reveal about the region’s geography, and discusses the implications of his findings.
Presenter(s): Farouk El-Baz
Date: October 10, 2007
Location: Devlin 008
Sponsor(s): Center for Human Rights and International Justice; Department of Geology and Geophysics; Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Program
URL: http://frontrow.bc.edu/program/elbaz/
The information on this page is accurate as of October 2007