American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1875-10-09
The Desert Of Sahara.

Now that the idea Of turning the Desert
of Sahara into an inland sea has been
preached some biologists are remonstrat-
| ing against the plan, urging thet it would
| tend to reduce the temperature OF the eli
mate of Europe and bring on another
glacial period. Within few weeks Mr..
Kinahan, of the Geological Survey of Ire
land, has written to the London Times
"that it is well known that the hot south
winds from Africa have q material effect
on the snow and ice of South Europe, and
in those years that there is a continuation
of winds from this quarter the snow-line
is raised, while the glaciers retreat further
up the valleys than ordinary. From this
| it appears probable, as has been suggested
by an eminent geologIst, that the retreat of
the ice and the snow into the higher por-
| tions of the European mountains followed
| the drying up of the sea THAT once occu-
pied the Sahara Desert. The hot winds
generated on the large expanse of sand
thus exposed have altogether changed the
climate OF Europe. If the suggestion
aforementioned is correct it would APP
pear that the inundation of the Sahara, if
practicable, would affect not only Africa
but also Europe. 1t should, therefore, be
inquired: Would the climate of South
Europe be so changed that eventually the
snow-line would descend to its ancient linn
its; that considerable portions of Italy,
Spain, France, Switzerland, etc., would be
enveloped in perpetual snow; while the
Rhine, Danube, and other rivers would lie
changed into great glaciers ?" Biologists
are more ready nowadays than formerly
to perceive the slight changes in the con-
tour and physiognOmy of a country, and
VARYING portions between masses Of
land and water may bring about in
portant changes in climate and me
distribution of animals and planes. II
strikes us, however that the notion ex-
pressed in the above quotation Is based on
a too narrow view of the subject. There
are probably few biologists who could be
induced to say that the glacial period in
Europe was brought on by changes in
Northern Africa. They rather look to
Northern and Arctic Europe and Asia.
On the other hand, we believe, if the mat
pean biologists, few would be willing to
acknowledge that q partial glacial epoch,
such as is indicated above. could be
brought back by turning the Sahara into
an inland sea- Tho wind that blows over
the Sahara is tempered by the Mediter-
ranean, and greatly lowered in tempera-
ture by the time it reaches the Apennines
and Alps We have felt the hot breath OF
the sirOcco on the slopes of Vesuvius. As
this same wind sweeps over the Apennines
and Alps, 1t undoubtedly tends to produce
the heavy annual rainfall of the southern
slopes of the Alps, which amounts from
sixty to ninety inches a year; and the
great precipitation of snow which feeds
the Alpine glaciers may be largely owing
to the influence of this to1tu, as the sirocco
is called, in the form it appears in Swiss
valleys. Possibly the change of the Sa-
hara into an inland sea might so reduce
the rainfall of the Italian and Swiss Alps
that the glaciers would actually diminish.
At all events the climate of Northern Eu-
rope and of the plains about Vienne
would not be much affected by the change.
Here the lowering of the climate would be
due to change in the climate of North
ern Europe and Asia. Probably while the
Sahara was in former times a sea, the
mammoth and cave bear and
other quarternary animals lived about the
foot of ths Alps, and in summer were
famed by the moist and temperate, not
hot and dry, south winds blowing over
the well-watered basin of the Sahara, and
the Mediterranean Sea, and the Italian
lakes.-N. Y. Tribune.