After the last ice age, the Sahara desert was transformed into an oasis of life. Full of green vegetation amidst the dunes and lakes in the arid caverns, this area experienced a complete display of nature.
Nearly nine million square kilometers of North Africa turned green. Spectacular animals such as hippos, elephants, antelopes, etc., were attracted by these beautiful landscapes. Prosperous pastures and large bushes highlighted the lush paradise of which currently no trace remains. Now, the desert is a hostile terrain.
Few species can be seen among its sandy dunes. Tiny insects and some reptiles have found an ideal home there, but other enormous species decided to leave for less complex places to survive. However, this evolutionary change in the land raises a disturbing question: can the Sahara Desert re-emerge as a green oasis? In time it is possible that yes, the Sahara could be green again.
According to Kathleen Johnson, associate professor of Earth systems at the University of California, the Earth changes its orbital rotation every 23,000 years. This means that when the Sahara was green, the rotation was different.
The result of this rotation was the African Humid Period, a phenomenon that could be repeated. However, Johnson assures that it is difficult to predict this, because greenhouse gas emissions have unbalanced the planet’s climate.
For this reason, it is unclear whether the Sahara Desert could become green again. It is possible that the tilt of the Earth thousands of years ago caused an oasis. Today, even though the planet began to tilt 8,000 years ago, it is not known for sure if this will make any difference for the African area.
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How does the Earth’s rotation affect the Sahara Desert?
The origin of all changes on the planet lies in its relationship with the universe. It changes due to gravitational interactions with the moon and other massive planets. This constant relationship of energies and masses produces periodic changes in the world.
One of these changes is the “wobble,” explains Peter de Menocal, director of the Climate and Life Center at the Earth Observatory in Columbia. The wobble is the change in Earth’s tilt that places the Northern Hemisphere closer to the sun in the summer every 23,000 years.
This transformation generates the right climates for the green Sahara to be reborn. But nothing lasts forever, and this desert oasis abruptly disappears. It is said that the completion of the green cycle of the Sahara Desert took only 200 years.
The change in solar radiation was the cause, and the landscape suddenly changed. But this does not mean that the green Sahara will never return. The next peak of summer sunshine in the northern hemisphere, which will drive the growth of desert vegetation, could occur in about 10,000 years.
This period is totally predictable, the only thing that is not known with certainty is whether it will affect this cycle. Meanwhile, the generations of today and the next 10,000 years will not see it with their own eyes. It will be the human beings of the future who will witness (or not) the transformation of the Sahara Desert. All we have to do is imagine a space full of life and nature.