If we are to stop and reverse the degradation of arid and semiarid lands, we must understand how and why the rates of climate change, population growth, and food production adversely affect these environments. The most effective intervention can come only from the wise use of the best earth-science information available. Selected Readings Bagnold, R. A., 1941, The physics of blown sand and desert dunes: Methuen, London, 265 p. (A classic treatise concerning the origin and evolution of dunes.) Breed, C. S., and others, 1979, Regional studies of sand seas, using Landsat (ERTS) imagery: _in_ McKee, E. D., ed., A study of global sand seas: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1052, p. 305-397. (A study of selected sand seas based on analysis of remote sensing images, surface wind summaries, and available literature.) Cook, R. U., and Warren, Andrew, 1973, Geomorphology in deserts: University of California Press, Berkeley, California, 374 p. (Examines the nature of landforms, soils, and geomorphological processes in the world’s deserts.) Eigeland, Tor, and others, 1982, The desert realm: National Geographic Society, Washington, 304 p. (A well illustrated discussion of deserts of America, Africa, Asia, and Australia.) Ericksen, G. E., 1983, The Chilean nitrate deposits: American Scientist, v. 71, p. 366-374. (A discussion of the origin of the Chilean nitrate deposits which has puzzled scientists for more than 100 years.) Gerster, Georg, 1960, Sahara-desert of destiny: Coward-McCann, New York, 302 p. (How plants, animals, and people survive in the Sahara.) Greeley, Ronald, and Iversen, J. D., 1985, Wind as a geological process on Earth, Mars, Venus and Titan: Cambridge University Press, New York, 333 p. (Expands the classic work of Bagnold to discuss eolian processes in a planetary context. Describes the processes on all moons and terrestrial planets with atmospheres.) Hare, F. K., 1983, Climate on the desert fringe: _in_ Gardner, Ritz, and Scoging, Helen, eds., Mega-geomorphology: Clarendon Press, Oxford, p. 134-151. (The margins of many deserts are affected by tension between society and environment. This paper summarizes the climatology of arid zones.) MacMahon, James A., 1985, Deserts: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, 640 p. (An Audubon Society Nature Guide to the deserts of the United States, and their inhabitants.) McCauley, J. F., and others, 1984, Remote monitoring of processes that shape desert surfaces: The Desert Winds Project: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1634, 19 p. (Describes a new study on collecting weather data from solar-powered data-collection platforms in deserts. The data are relayed by a GOES satellite to the USGS in Flagstaff, Arizona, and converted to graphic form.)