DSRT – a world of contrasts

If we think about desert we imagine a big expanse of sand, with dunes and with the sun beating down. That is a true but incomplete image. A Desert, by definition, is a big, arid, uncultivable and depopulated extension, characterized by an annual precipitation of less than 200 mm of rain. Some deserts are always cold, like the Gobi desert in Asia and the polar deserts of the Antarctic and Arctic, which are the world’s largest. Others are mountainous. Only about 20% of deserts are covered by sand. The largest desert on Earth is Antarctica, which covers 14.2 million square kilometers. It is also the coldest desert on Earth, even colder than the planet’s other polar desert, the Arctic. How can both the Sahara and Antarctica be deserts? The reason is that they both see little precipitation during the course of a year, typically around 25 centimeters, or less. This makes them both difficult places for plants and animals to live.”DSRT – a world of contrast” is a magazine about this unknown and fascinating biome.