Six thousand years ago, the Sahara was lush and green. The Earth's precession (wobbling) has been blamed as the main cause for the vast climate changes between arid desert and green land in the Sahara. Nevertheless, this book reveals that the Earth's precession only serves as a perturbation to trigger the transitions. The main control is the stability of the water cycle in the Sahara. About 5700 years ago, the Green Sahara suddenly started to wither. The wilting began in the standalone Great Chotts Basin, which is in the rain shadow of the Atlas Mountain ranges. When the water cycle stability in this basin was broken, the Great Chott Lakes dried quickly and the strong rain shadow effect became fully active, triggering desert formation. The desert expanded east and south, like a spreading wildfire powered by the westerlies and trade winds. This led to desertification and aridification in North Africa, West Asia, and the Mediterranean which have continued synchronously until this day.
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