干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

Satellite data and ground rainfall measurements have been used to study variations in the size of the Sahara Desert from 1980 to 1997. Through a combination of the satellite and ground data, the 200 mm yr(-1) precipitation boundary was mapped for the Saharan-Sahelian region by year. Although highly significant year-to-year variation in the size of the Sahara Desert has occurred, no systematically increasing or decreasing trend from 1980 to 1997 was evident, The area of the Sahara Desert varied from 9 980 000 km(2) in 1984 to km(2) in 8 600 000 1994 and had an average 1980-1997 area of 9 150 000 km(2).