1. The Sahara Desert and the Nile River are the two components of Egypt's natural environment. In Egypt, 99% of the population lives on only 5.5% of the total area, residing along the banks of the Nile. This small percent represents the only farmland in Egypt. Annual flooding of the Nile supplies water for crop production. Without this water source, civilization in Egypt would be very different.
2. Records indicate that a drought caused the demise of Egypt's Old Kingdom (2686-2181 BCE) Because of an insufficient water supply, food production decreased, the population suffered from famine, and the political system destabilized. Scientists have recently investigated whether other evidence supports the theory that a shift in dimated to political upheaval in Egypt about 4,200 years ago
3. One group of researchers removed a sediment core from the Nile de ta. The layers within this sediment core allowed researchers to investigate environmental conditions over thousands of years. The researchers Hypothesized and observed that periods of low concentrations of pollen from Wetrand plants and elevated concentrations of microscopic charcoal would occur together indicating decrease in vegetation and an increase in natural res during drought years
4. A second group of researchers also examined sediment cores by analyzing shifts in the amounts of sediment deposited over time. These researchers Vypothesized that decrease in info would correspond to diminished vegetative cover, which in turn would land to an incre in erosion. This increase in erosion represented drought-e conditions and could be served forger des of munt win the cores
During a drought, the decrease in rainfall will reduce the amount of vegetation that can grow and increase the occurrence of natural fires, so an elevation in _______ and a reduction in _______ should be found in the cores,
