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Map
showing the location of the Namib
sand sea in southern Africa.
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Ian
Livingstone, the Professor of Physical Geography, leads a UK consortium of
geographers who are working on the geomorphological development of the planet’s
sandy deserts, concentrating in particular on the Namib Desert in southern
Africa. This team has developed a digital geomorphological atlas for the Namib,
and most recently has been involved in field investigations that will help us
to understand the desert’s geomorphological history. Professor Livingstone
started his research career in the Namib over 30 years ago, and since then has
worked in deserts in Australia, USA, Tunisia and Oman, but he returns to the
Namib whenever he can.
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| Automatic weather station |
The
latest field excursion was undertaken in August/September 2013. It involved
visiting an automatic weather station in the northern part of the sand desert
that was established in 2012 to download the data that the weather station had
collected and to carry out maintenance. The team then moved to the southern
part of the sand sea to establish a second weather station which will allow
them to compare the wind climate in the two areas.
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Sand dune in the Namib
Desert
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Alongside this, they
undertook work on the form and the sediments of the dunes. The techniques used
included surveying the dunes using a total station, gaining images of the
internal structure of the sediments of the dunes using ground-penetrating
radar, and collecting samples to help us ascertain the age of the dunes using luminescence
dating techniques. The team has already published some of its research in
academic papers and more are on their way. They have also presented their
findings at international conferences.
Students
in geography at Northampton can learn more about the development of deserts in
a final year module called ‘Dryland Environments’. In recent years the Department
has also provided its students with the opportunity to undertake field study of
a desert with a two-week trip to the Mojave Desert in California.
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