Trans-African drainage system of the Sahara: Was it the Nile?

Abstract

An exciting result of the first spaceborne radar scans of the eastern Sahara has been the recognition of drainage channels buried at depths of several metres below the dry desert sand. We relate these observations to the megageomorphological evolution of Africa and conclude that theradar river valleys may have been parts of an old Nile River system rather than courses cut by a postulated westward-flowing trans-African drainage system (TADS) extending from the Red Sea Hills to the Niger Delta.