THE NATURAL EMIRATES

In recent years, thanks largely to active studies and publications by enthusiastic amateurs, the United Arab Emirates has won increasing recognition internationally for the variety of its habitats and wildlife, so much so, that it has now been acknowledged as one of the top four destinations in the whole of the Middle East for bird-watching tours.

The UAE is also the home to significant, though small, populations of the endangered Arabian leopard, the caracal, and a remnant population of recently rediscovered Arabian tahr, while its coastal mangroves are among the most extensive to be found anywhere around the Arabian peninsula.

The UAE's natural heritage offers the discerning visitor something more than the readily available sun, sea, sand and shopping. The variety of landscape, habitat, animal and plant life represents a rewarding experience to the long-term residents of the country as well as thousands of visitors a year that are now discovering the special appeal of the UAE.

For the government of the UAE it presents a continuing challenge to maintain the delicate balance of the eco-system as well as to protect this important aspect of the UAE's heritage.

The Climate of the United Arab Emirates

The Weather

Situated between 22 and 26 degrees north, the United Arab Emirates lies within a sub-region of the northern desert belt, characterised by scanty and erratic rainfall, and high levels for temperature, humidity, and sunshine. Winter sunshine averages eight hours per day, while the summer figure reaches as high as eleven hours a day. Despite this apparently stable climatic picture, the weather does show a remarkable degree of local variability, throwing up thunder storms, fog, gale force winds, sand storms and, of course, rain. Average precipitation figures count for relatively little here since the range of readings , from one year to the next often exceeds twice the nominal ''average'' figure , i.e. roughly 8 cm (80 mm) per year. Most rain falls in the winter months, from November to April. Less frequent, but nevertheless important rainfall occurs in isolated summer showers, carried into the area by south-westerly monsoons, and often occurring at the eastern edge of the great Rub al Khali, along the borders between Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia.

Weather Chart

The weather chart during much of the year shows a ridge of high pressure extending southwards into central Saudi Arabia with lower pressure over the eastern Gulf. Prevailing light to moderate north-westerly winds, known by their Arabic name shamal, meaning 'north', are associated with mid-latitude disturbances. Along the western coastal plain, sea breezes tend to dominate with light south-south-easterlies at night being replaced by moderate north-westerlies during daytime. This pattern changes on the east coast where the proximity of the mountains results in gusty and less predictable wind shifts. A good strong blast of northerly shamal is usually preceded in the UAE by strong southerly winds, raising desert sands and reducing visibility. The shift to northerly winds may be quite sudden and can be accompanied by rain, thunder storms, or dust-storms. At sea, conditions can become quite difficult for small boats with force seven winds whipping up twelve foot high waves. In summer, weather charts usually indicate a broad area of low pressure, extending from the western Sahara, across the Arabian peninsula and across Asia, to China. Local pressure variations in the Gulf combine with this to create weather conditions in the UAE. Steady north-westerlies, predominating in the central and northern regions of the Gulf, do not generally extend as far south as the UAE. When they do so, sea conditions around Abu Dhabi become quite rough, while the rest of UAE's coastal waters experience only slight swells.

The UAE is the first country in the Middle East to introduce the Satellite Delivered Information System technology (SADIS), a weather forecasting technology which covers the globe, with the exception of Polar Zones. According to the National Meteorological Authority (NMA), which is affiliated to the Ministry of Communications, the system supplies data on temperature, humidity, volcanoes and wind directions. It also enables the UAE to receive the latest forecasts for centers all over the world through direct contact with the world center in London. The NMA has qualified forecasters to operate the system, and is currently training more forecasters to operate it.

Wind

Arabic interest in the weather and in the different types of winds blowing across the desert stems from the Bedouin tribes, for whom changes in weather could mean the difference between life and death. For them, each wind had its own characteristics and was known by a different name; thus, the main period of storms was Al-Barih al-owd, while the minor storm period was called Al-Barih al-sagheer. The first major Shamal occurring around May 25th is the Al-Haffar, or the driller since it drills huge depressions in the desert dunes. The second, arriving in early June, coincides with the dawn star, Thorayya (Pleiades) and is therefore named Barih Thorayya. During this one, which is somewhat more violent than the others, fishermen tend to remain in port, not just because of the wind's strength, but because ancient folklore tells them that this wind devours ships! Near the end of June, the last shamal arrives, known as the Al-Dabaran. It is a violent wind, continuing for several days. Local residents keep doors and windows firmly barred in a battle against the all-penetrating fine dust driven by these shamal winds into every conceivable nook and cranny.

Temperatures

The summer months, from June to September, are too hot for comfort. Midday temperatures range from 35°C to 42°C, and occasionally top 49°C at the height of summer. During this period there is a sharp drop in night time temperatures, with these falling to roughly half the midday readings, i.e. 20°C to 28°C, and providing a welcome respite from the searing heat of the day. Gulf waters exert a modifying influence on coastal zones, which experience less dramatic diurnal fluctuations in temperature, and higher humidities than inland regions. Although the evenings are not so cool, coastal towns do have the advantage of pleasantly refreshing sea-breezes . Mountainous regions are also cooler and less humid. From December to March, the climate is considerably more equable with midday temperatures ranging from 25 to 35°C and falling to as low as 9°C at night.

Geology of the UAE

While it is quite easy to picture the vast low coastal plains and desert of the UAE as once having been underwater, forming a shallow sea-bed, it is less easy to envisage the rugged peaks of Ras Al Khaimah as sharing similar origins, and yet one close look at their multi-layered twisted, crumbling structure reveals certain evidence of this.

The ancient sea, once covering the whole region, rose and fell, influenced by major world climatic changes, and deposited its sediments for at least 500 million years. The layer of rocks thus formed is in places several kilometres thick and deep down, in air tight pockets of this ancient sea-bed, processes of decomposition have created oil and gas reserves providing the means for Man to transform the modern landscape.

Earth movements folded and tilted these once horizontal layers during the mid-Tertiary, creating in the process scenic mountains such as Jebel Hafit. This, and several other outcrops, including Jebel Howayyah (popularly known as 'Fossil Valley', near Al Ain) have been formed by erosion of an arched fold of sedimentary rocks.

Cutting deep into the sedimentary series, erosion has exposed Upper Cretaceous ('Simsima') limestone; the remains of an offshore reef where corals , molluscs , echinoderms and other forms of sea-life once flourished. Here the amateur fossil hunter may encounter rock preserved samples of ancient marine-life, especially corals, rudists (oysters which look like corals) , clams, oysters, gastropods and even some ammonites. Similar finds may be made at Jebel Faiyah.

An interesting feature which observers sometimes find difficult to explain is the existence of various rocks and minerals in the midst of a limestone series. These may consist of lavas, gypsum of various colours, hematite iron ore and mauve or green shales. Origins of these are clearly separate from the biologically created limestone.

The explanation lies in upsurges of salt deposits from beneath the limestone layers: extreme pressure on these, caused by overlying rocks, squeezes them up towards the surface through any weaknesses or cracks, dragging with them rocks from deep within the crust, sometimes from 6,000 metres down. When the salt rock pierces the surface it is quite rapidly eroded, depositing the boulders and debris it has brought up with it. Current examples of this phenomenon may be seen at Jebel Dhanna, Sir Bani Yas, Das, Zirku and on several other islands.

Unlike the Asir mountains along the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia and Yemen, which have dominated the landscape for hundreds of millions of years, the Hajar range is a relatively recent phenomenon, only 15 to 20 million years old. It is a geologically distinct feature, separate from the sabkhas, desert and low jebels discussed above.

From a geologist's viewpoint these tall mountains, forming a natural boundary between Oman and UAE, are of great interest since they offer a relatively rare opportunity to examine oceanic rocks, such as basalts, lavas and oozes, formed at the site of a mid-oceanic ridge more than seventy million years ago.

During the Cretaceous period the movement of oceanic plates resulted in this segment of the earth's crust being dragged towards Arabia and eventually being pushed onto the edge of the peninsula.

Great pressures were clearly involved in the process, altering crustal rocks and lavas into green-grey ophiolites and dark brown gabbros which we see today on the majestic craggy peaks south of Dibba and Masafi. At first this movement did not necessarily entail uplift of the oceanic rocks above sea-level, and they did in fact form a new sea-bed on top of which other sediments were deposited. This may be observed from the road to Hatta, and through Jebel Faiyah, where Upper Cretaceous limestones are resting on top of an older sea-bed of lavas.

Today's scenery is primarily a relic of the Ice Age during which a much wetter climate resulted in large rivers tearing down the mountains, cutting into their sides, and carrying vast quantities of gravel, pebbles and boulders.

Once washed out, they formed huge alluvial fans, filling-up the valleys and extending on to the surrounding plains. Since then, sun and wind have continued to weather rock surfaces while flash-floods can still result in alluvial deposits.

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