Abstract
WHEN I reviewed1 the book by Lieut.-Colonel R. A. Bagnold on the “Physics of Desert Sands and Dunes”, I noted a statement by the author that dust-storms, as distinct from sand-storms, were of comparatively rare occurrence in the Egyptian desert, whereas dust-storms were being reported in the news as interfering with the fighting in the Middle East every few days. At the time, I regarded the term dust-storm, as being somewhat loosely applied by the reporters, and to include sand-storms, but I have recently had the opportunity of reading a paper2 by Prof. F. W. Oliver which throws new light on this point. Prof. Oliver has lived since 1935 at Burg-el-Arab, thirty miles west of Alexandria, and he states that changes have occurred in recent times. The average dust-storm frequency from 1935 to 1939 was 5 a year over the period January to May ; in the same period of 1940 there were 8, and in 1941 there were 32 storms. The total number for the year 1941 was 54, and in addition to the increased frequency, the severity was much greater.
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NATURE, 48, 480 (1941).
"Some Remarks on Desert Dust-Storms". By F. W. Oliver . Pp. 16. (Alexandria: Whitehead Morris (Egypt), Ltd., 1942).
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HEYWOOD, H. Frequency of Dust-storms in the Egyptian Desert. Nature 150, 293 (1942). https://doi.org/10.1038/150293a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/150293a0
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