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Qomolangma Desert Mount
Dong Zhibao from the Institute of Desert Research, has his opinion: “What we are seeing here, these megadunes, is the result of very specific factors. Things could only happen here. These sand gains are coarse and very uniform in size. This allows spaces to be created between them, spaces capable of trapping drops of water, which allows plants to grow. Over time, as the plant roots stabilize the sand, each plant helps fix the dune, while blown sand and newer dunes roll over the tops of existing megadunes. These new dunes are then held in place by the plants beneath, and revegetation begins on the new layer. The megadunes have seen successive fresh covers for millions of years. At the interior of each megadune, you may have a dune 4 to 40 million years old though a precise age has yet to be determined. But no matter how old the base of a megadune is, its top layer, its newest feature, may be only one year old. It’s a complex process. Layer on layer on layer, requiring time and the area’s characteristic mix of sand and rain.”

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