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lake have appear in the Sahara after a cyclone brought a flood of rainfall to northern Africa that swamp swathes of the heavy live desert on Earth , satellite images show .
An extratropical cyclone hit parts of Morocco , Algeria , Tunisia and Libya on Sept. 7 and 8 , dropping around 8 in ( 20 centimeters ) on the affected areas — equivalent to an entire year ’s worth of rainfall in just a few Day , according toNASA ’s Earth Observatory .
The Sebkha el Melah ephemeral lake in Algeria, seen on Aug. 12 and Sept. 29.
The torrent and runoff occupy multiple ephemeral lakes in the Sahara , including the Sebkha el Melah in Algeria and several dust around the Erg Chebbi — avast expanse of star topology dunesin Morocco . NASA ’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ( MODIS ) on the Terra planet also captured several ephemeral lakes appear across parts of Morocco and Algeria .
The Erg Chebbi lakes fill up after rivers from the nearby Atlas Mountains overflow close to Merzouga , a town near the Algerian border that swear out as a gateway to the wizard dunes . An ikon captured on Oct. 1 by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 artificial satellite shows new lake dot around the edges of Erg Chebbi .
NASA ’s Landsat 9 satellite trance the images of the fresh filled Sebkha el Melah lake in Algeria . figure entrance on Aug. 12 and Sept. 29 and shared by Earth Observatory show alteration to the landscape , with a green lake appearing in the desert .
Images of Erg Chebbi, with the first showing the region in 2021, the second after the deluge, taken Oct. 1, 2024.
The lake comprehend 74 straight miles ( 191 square kilometers ) and was some 7.2 feet ( 2.2 meters ) deeply , fit in to calculations byMoshe Armon , a fourth-year lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem . Armon used satellite figure to establish the extent of the water combined with a 3D map of the lake , according to Earth Observatory .
Since 2000 , there have been two meter when pee levels at Sebkha el Melah were higher than they are now . In 2008 , the lake filled after an extratropical cyclone that chair to exceptionally big rain . It took four year for the lake to completely dry up again .
The pee currently filling Sebkha el Melah will probably remain for some time . " If we do n’t get any more rain consequence , a 2.2 - meter profundity , like we have now , would take about a twelvemonth to vaporise completely , " Armon said in the statement .
Images showing Algeria and Morocco on Aug. 14 and Oct. 9.
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— ' The stage was now typeset for the parentage and growth of desert dune ' : How the Sahara turned from a immense timberland to the arid landscape painting we see today
understand how rainfall consequence like the cyclone in September impact the Sahara avail researcher better understand what the desert was like thousands of years ago , when it was green , and how it will change in the time to come as a result of clime modification .
Current projections suggest parts of the Sahara will experience more rain , but there are huge uncertainties . " What ’s belong to happen in the Sahara stay very unclear , but we go for that we ’ll finally develop a better agreement of the Sahara ’s time to come by studying these lake - fulfil events , " Armon said .
