Why Floods Threaten One of the Driest Places in the World

One of the most water-scarce regions on Earth is now experiencing a dramatic atmospheric shift that's pushing moisture onto Oman's northern coast at rates more than 1.5 times the global average, according to a Washington Post investigation of global atmospheric data [non-paywalled source]. The change has turned extreme rainfall into a recurrent source of catastrophe across the Arabian Peninsula. In the 126 years between 1881 and 2007, just six hurricane-strength storms hit Oman or came within 60 miles of the country. At least four more have made landfall in the past 15 years alone.

Research from Sultan Qaboos University analyzing 8,000 storms across 69 rainfall stations found that half of all rain in Oman falls within the first 90 minutes of a 24-hour storm. These intense bursts quickly overwhelm the desert's ability to absorb water and send flash floods racing through wadis -- normally dry riverbeds where many communities are built. In response, Dubai is constructing an $8 billion underground stormwater network spanning more than 120 miles. Oman has agreements to build 58 new dams and is studying 14 major wadis that funnel to its al-Batinah coastline.

News Flash!

[SlashbotAgent]

Don't build communities in river beds or on flood planes.

Whether you live in Oman or Mississippi USA, if you get flooded because you built in a river bed or the Mississippi flood plane, I have no fucking sympathy!

Re:

[Tablizer]

Don't build communities in river beds or on flood planes.

If it rains long enough in one place, then most of it becomes either a river bed or flood plane (or gets eroded by one).

Re: News Flash!

[flyingfsck]

Exactly, but simple people will keep spouting the same tropes regardless, since they do not know basic geography and geology.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

You make it sound simple! Find a regulatory body that can stand up to landowners, developers, and people who think the price of housing is already too high and you'll find a place with no development in floodplains.

And while you're at it, get a Supreme Court that upholds wetlands protections.

Re:

[Retired Chemist]

One of things that tends to make a desert a desert is a poor ability to absorb water, so yes it tends to run off and not be collected. The article says that they are building a stormwater system, which will presumably allow them to collect the water. Whether the local soil (which is very sandy) will be suitable for most crops is still doubtful.

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[fluffernutter]

I was once trying to explain to a fellow Slashdotter that even if the precipitation and temperature patterns change to grow tropical plants further north that the soil still won't support it for many years of small plants decaying and building up to grow big plants. They insisted that we could 'treat the soil' so that it would support the big plants immediately.

Re:

[Retired Chemist]

Well in theory we could, in practice, of course, it is totally impractical to do so on a significant scale.

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[unixisc]

What does Israel do? The Negev is still a desert, but they have managed to develop a lot in terms of agricultural capacity

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[Retired Chemist]

Several things. In large part they have diverted all of the water from the Jordan river for agriculture. Also, a lot of the Negev is still pretty much unused for agriculture. Aside from being dry it is also very hilly and rocky and would not be good agricultural land even if there was water.

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[sabbede]

The plants that live in the desert are very good at absorbing water. How many seasons before they fix the sand enough for it to become soil?

Re:

[Retired Chemist]

Given the density of the vegetation about 10,000 years. Parts of the Arabian Peninsula were quite fertile in Old Testament times. The climate has been drying out for thousands of years as the deserts moved north with the warming climate. We may have reached a tipping point in some areas where monsoon type conditions are appearing.

Re:

[unixisc]

If nothing else, they can create reservoirs of water that can be used for drinking, cooking and other uses. Even if it can't be used for agriculture. If it exceeds capacity, maybe they can run water pipelines to Saudi Arabia, which can then require less desalination capacity

It's good to see these Gulf countries use their money on such projects, rather than what they used to

Re:

[noshellswill]

Your point is sneaky/snarky, but valid. Dump the rain-water on purpose !! If Oman wanted sandy-clay-loam instead of sandy deserts Sultan Haitham bin Tariq would have bought it 5 years ago ... or 10. Why wait for the flood? But, perhaps Oman does not want to have yeoman farmers bowing to Allah and His gifted wheat crops ... NOT the Sultan. Money grubbing Western oilmen will kiss the Sultans ass for black gold while hoping wheat seeds never leave Alberta.

What a strange set of coincidences.

[Tschaine]

As the planet rotates, the sunny side absorbs energy from the sun, mostly in the visible-light range, and the dark side radiates that energy, mostly in the infrared range.

Air with more CO2 in it transmits less infrared radiation than air with less CO2 in it.

Manmade CO2 emissions have skyrocketed over the last few decades.

Warmer air absorbs more water than colder air.

Oman saw hurricanes 6 times in 126 years, and then 4 times in 15 years.

It almost makes one wonder whether these are all connected somehow.

Re:

[Retired Chemist]

They are connected. The whole global warming issue breaks down into several parts. Part 1, the climate is warming, this is unquestionable, it has been going on since the end of the last ice age. Part 2, the trend is accelerating, also true, there are measurements of global temperature that confirm it. Part 3, this is caused by human actions, more controversial and what actions have what effects depends on a lot of modeling that is not always well supported. Part 4, what should we do about it, this is p

Re:

[boa]

> the people who we have elected around the world to address it, are better at politics that at actually solving problems.

True. The problem won't be solved in time. Shit will hit the fan.

Re:

[Narcocide]

*meant to type "politically divisive"

Re:

[Narcocide]

(Modded down by "big CO2" apparently.)

Re:

[fluffernutter]

Except the models are the best explanation we have as to why 3 started at exactly the same time as the industrial Revolution. No one who believes otherwise has been able to explain it in another way.

Re:

[Retired Chemist]

No argument with that. However, predictions are always a dangerous game to play, particularly with systems as complex as these.

Re:

[fluffernutter]

Still you go where logic and available evidence takes you.

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[Retired Chemist]

Logic and politicians in the same sentence?

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[fluffernutter]

I can't speak for America. The electorate gave up logic for interesting TV.

Re:

[quenda]

It almost makes one wonder whether these are all connected somehow.

Thankyou Captain Obvious. We had no idea what it was alluding to until you saved us!
Now tell me water is wet.

Re:

[Tschaine]

"Using marine and lake sediments, scientists have identified over 230 of these greenings occurring about every 21,000 years over the past eight million years"

And the last one was 9000 years ago. So, right now, we're at the opposite end of that cycle - a time when it is normally dry, not wet.

From the article you linked to:

"Our results demonstrate the sensitivity of the Sahara Desert to changes in past climate. They explain how this sensitivity affects rainfall across north Africa. This is important for under

Soaking it up.

[Ostracus]

You Might Already Be Living in a “Sponge City” [dwell.com]

Migrating monsoon

[Mspangler]

I wonder if it will eventually migrate enough to regreen the Sahara. (Regreen, not regret you idiot computer).