Was Arabia Green?

[Cordoba]

Did a major change in the climate of the Arabian Peninsula take place more than 5,000 years ago?

Did the Peninsula have flowing rivers and green medows before turning into a desert?

What does science tell us of that era?

 

[kai]

this may be of interest to you Cordoba
Saudi Aramco World : Early Mankind in Arabia

 

[Cordoba]

Thanks Kai

"No one knows how many glacials and interglacials crosscut the Pleistocene; deep-sea cores suggest that there were at least 10. And while ice sheets did not cover Arabia, climate changes certainly affected the whole region (See Ammco World, March-April 1980)

During glacial episodes, Arabia became cooler and drier. In warmer interglacials, the climate became milder and more humid, and therefore more attractive for human occupation."

Here is some background on more recent climate change in the Peninsula, by a leading expert on deserts from Boston University, Dr. Farouk Al-Baz:

Islam Online- Health & Science Section

When All Was Green

"The places we call deserts today were not deserts only 5,000 years ago," said El-Baz, explaining the origins of desert water to IslamOnline.net. "From 5,000 to 11,000 years ago, they were savannah-like environments. They were covered by grass. There were rivers, lakes, plants, animals and man. Before that, there was a dry period. Before that, there was another wet period between 25,000 and 35,000 years ago, and on and on. The latest cycle that we could measure is between 270,000 and 320,000 years ago. And we assume that the cycles continue beyond that." ...

The Medows of Arabia ...

Islam Online- Health & Science Section

 

[kai]

a very interesting subject , Cordoba thanks for bringing it up

 

[.lava]

Did a major change in the climate of the Arabian Peninsula take place more than 5,000 years ago?

Did the Peninsula have flowing rivers and green medows before turning into a desert?

What does science tell us of that era?

once upon a time deserts were oceans, rivers. underneath desert sand their trace could be seen thanks to today's technology. i think there are some hadiths that says world would not end before middle east become very green

 

[Cordoba]

Some years ago (1998) there was a research paper published either in Nature magazine which studied the correlation between the weather of Greenland and that of the Arabian Peninsula

Schulz, H., von Rad, U. and Erlenkeuser, H. 1998. Correlation between Arabian Sea and Greenland climate oscillations for the past 110,000 years. Nature 393: 54-57. <A href="http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/pubs/schulz1998/schulz1998.html">Data.

 

[Cordoba]

What Muslims do believe regarding cliamte change as mentioned here some time ago is that the Arabian Peninsula will one day return to be green with medows and flowing rivers as it used to be thousands of years ago

http://ibn1brahim.wordpress.com/2008/04/06/arabia-will-become-meadows-and-rivers-again/

There are satellite pictures taken in recent years in the Sounthern Eastern part of the Peninsula which clearly show the path of 2 main rivers which dried a long time ago.

Research in this field is very important as it may help us understand how the world climate changed so drastically not that long ago (we're talking about 5,000 years or so ago), which could help us project a more accurate future scenario of our global climate fluctuations

 

[Booko]

There has also been some research done that might indicate the sea level was much lower at one point and the Tigris and Euphrates rivers met somewhere that would be underwater in the Arabian sea now.

There was some comment that perhaps that was the area where the legendary Adam and Eve's civilization was, which would explain why archeologists have been unable to track anything down from that time that would fit.

Unfortunately, I cannot vouch for that information or cite anything particularly scholarly. It was something I ran across in a documentary, but it didn't seem to be one of those "documentaries" that is more about pushing some sort of agenda or trying to garner attention for the sake of attention.

 

[Cordoba]

The ancient strong civilization of 'Aad, mentioned in The Qur'an, which flourished in the Southern Eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula (north of Oman) is being researched

From recent satellite images, it seems they did have flowing rivers which dried out thousands of years ago

This may give us a clue on what it was like at that time, and research would be very useful for projecting expected future climate change in Asia and around the world

 

[Cordoba]

Here is another brief general summary of what happened:

Arabian Peninsula Climate Change

As the European ice cap melted during the last Ice Age, some 15,000 years ago, the climate in the peninsula became dry. Vast plains once covered with lush grasslands gave way to scrubland and deserts, and wild animals vanished. River systems also disappeared, leaving in their wake the dry river beds (wadis) that are found in the peninsula today.

This climate change forced humans to move into the lush mountain valleys and oases. No longer able to survive as hunter-gatherers, they had to develop another means of survival. As a result, agriculture developed – first in Mesopotamia, then the Nile River Valley, and eventually spreading across the Middle East.

The Saudi Club

A picture of 2 dry rivers near Aad’s habitations taken by satellite (Oman)

Discovering the Habitations of “Aad”

 

[Cordoba]

Going from Science to Religion, what can we expect in the future?

In this hadith, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, says:

"The Last Hour will not come before wealth becomes abundant and overflowing, so much so that a man takes Zakat out of his property and cannot find anyone to accept it from him, and till the land of Arabia returns to be meadows and rivers."

When will this happen?

Only God knows

 

[Cordoba]

Underground Water Reservoir in Makkah: The Well of Zamzam

A well of fresh water which has been giving water to millions of pilgrims each year for 1400 years

IslamWeb - Zamzam Water: The history & significance -II

 

[sooda]

Here is another brief general summary of what happened:

Arabian Peninsula Climate Change

As the European ice cap melted during the last Ice Age, some 15,000 years ago, the climate in the peninsula became dry. Vast plains once covered with lush grasslands gave way to scrubland and deserts, and wild animals vanished. River systems also disappeared, leaving in their wake the dry river beds (wadis) that are found in the peninsula today.

This climate change forced humans to move into the lush mountain valleys and oases. No longer able to survive as hunter-gatherers, they had to develop another means of survival. As a result, agriculture developed – first in Mesopotamia, then the Nile River Valley, and eventually spreading across the Middle East.

The Saudi Club

A picture of 2 dry rivers near Aad’s habitations taken by satellite (Oman)

Discovering the Habitations of “Aad”

FYI

 

[paarsurrey]

Did a major change in the climate of the Arabian Peninsula take place more than 5,000 years ago?

Did the Peninsula have flowing rivers and green medows before turning into a desert?

What does science tell us of that era?

It is interesting indeed.
Regards

 

[sooda]

Thanks Kai

"No one knows how many glacials and interglacials crosscut the Pleistocene; deep-sea cores suggest that there were at least 10. And while ice sheets did not cover Arabia, climate changes certainly affected the whole region (See Ammco World, March-April 1980)

During glacial episodes, Arabia became cooler and drier. In warmer interglacials, the climate became milder and more humid, and therefore more attractive for human occupation."

Here is some background on more recent climate change in the Peninsula, by a leading expert on deserts from Boston University, Dr. Farouk Al-Baz:

Islam Online- Health & Science Section

When All Was Green

"The places we call deserts today were not deserts only 5,000 years ago," said El-Baz, explaining the origins of desert water to IslamOnline.net. "From 5,000 to 11,000 years ago, they were savannah-like environments. They were covered by grass. There were rivers, lakes, plants, animals and man. Before that, there was a dry period. Before that, there was another wet period between 25,000 and 35,000 years ago, and on and on. The latest cycle that we could measure is between 270,000 and 320,000 years ago. And we assume that the cycles continue beyond that." ...

The Medows of Arabia ...

Islam Online- Health & Science Section

5,000 years ago is too recent. Core samples and geology indicate it was more like 10,000 years ago when the glaciers began to retreat.

 

[Audie]

Did a major change in the climate of the Arabian Peninsula take place more than 5,000 years ago?

Did the Peninsula have flowing rivers and green medows before turning into a desert?

What does science tell us of that era?

Desertification is an interesting topic, and a
most depressing one.
Climate does change, on its own. But
bad agricultural practice is enormously damaging,
and humans have certainly created far more
desert that way than any change in climate
in human history.

 

[columbus]

I have often wondered, why is there such a huge swath of aridity? From the Atlantic coast of Africa, across the Arabian peninsula, and far into Asia, there's this big desert.
I understand why the American southwest is so arid. The mountains suck all the moisture out of the westerly winds blowing in from the Pacific ocean. But, why the Sahara and across?
Tom

 

[sooda]

Desertification is an interesting topic, and a
most depressing one.
Climate does change, on its own. But
bad agricultural practice is enormously damaging,
and humans have certainly created far more
desert that way than any change in climate
in human history.

The Arabian desert developed about 12-15,000 years ago when glaciers north of Arabia began to retreat. At the end of the last ice age.

 

[Audie]

The Arabian desert developed about 12-15,000 years ago when glaciers north of Arabia began to retreat. At the end of the last ice age.

I probably will not get into a discussion of historical
geology with you. In the event, what I said is
accurate.

 

[sooda]

I probably will not get into a discussion of historical
geology with you. In the event, what I said is
accurate.

Geology of Arabia was very much a topic of discussion among the geologists in Arabia because they dealt with it every day. The oil business is like that.