Q. Which of the following statements with regard to unique desert dynamics is/are correct?
1.The Gobi Desert is recognized as the fastest-expanding desert in the world due to severe anthropogenic desertification and wind-driven soil erosion.
2.Although the Antarctic Desert is a hyper-arid ecosystem, its permanent ice sheet structures hold nearly 90% of Earth’s liquid surface freshwater.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Answer: C
Notes:
Detailed Explanation:
- Statement 1 is correct: The Gobi Desert is expanding rapidly (losing over 3,600 sq km of grasslands annually to desertification), a process heavily driven by climate shifts, overgrazing, and deforestation in northern China and Mongolia.
- Statement 2 is correct: This is a classic geographical paradox. Antarctica gets almost no new precipitation (making it a desert), but its massive accumulated, permanently frozen ice sheets contain roughly 90% of the entire planet’s freshwater reserves.
