Most desert birds are restricted to areas near water, such as river banks. Kaffiyehs are secured around the head with a cord called an agal. Sure, our planet looks like a watery blue marble from space, but one-third of Earth's land surface is partially or totally desert. Nomadic cultures are those that do not have permanent settlements. A place that receives less than 25 centimeters (10 inches) of rain per year is considered a desert. What Percentage of the Earth's Land Surface is Desert? Previous visualizations have looked at forests in terms of the area they cover. [/caption] 6. It is estimated that 68% of the Earth's land exists in the Northern Hemisphere, while 32% is located in the Southern Hemisphere. How everywhere chemicals help uterine fibroids grow, A look inside the world of the Neanderthals, Japan confronts a stark reality: a nation of old people, Why the new Alzheimers drug elicits optimism and caution, Feeling sick? Of this remaining 29 percent, deserts of all types constitute an estimated 33 percent, or one-third, of the. Similar lush conditions existed as recently as 25,000 years ago. Consider the following statements made by two students debating why the oceanic and continental plates move: Student 1: The plates are moving because the mantle material is constantly moving. More than 25 percent of the Earth will experience serious drought and desertification by the year 2050 if the attempts made by the Paris climate agreement to curb global warming are not met,. 2. . Long-sleeved, full-length, and often white, these robes shield all but the head and hands from the wind, sand, heat, and cold. This heavy fog drifts onto land. Temperatures range from 90F (32C) in summer to 70 F (21C) in winter, but frosts are common in winter nights. These windbreaks anchor the soil and prevent sand from invading populated areas.In Chinas Tengger Desert, researchers have developed another way to control wandering dunes. The oil industry draws companies, migrant workers, engineers, geologists, and biologists to the Middle East.DesertificationDesertification is the process of productive cropland turning into non-productive, desert-like environments. For example, increasing temperatures lead to the loss of nitrogen, an important nutrient, from the soil. When the air moves over the mountaintop and begins to descend the leeward slopes, there is little moisture left. As a result, wind and water erode the nutrient-rich topsoil. Freak FloodsDeserts are defined by their dryness. Interior DesertsInterior deserts, which are found in the heart of continents, exist because no moisture-laden winds reach them. Heres how to save yours from ending up in a landfill. Heat prevents microbes from converting nutrients to nitrates, which are necessary for almost all living things. You have the permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited. In other words, about 30 percent of incoming solar radiation is reflected back into space and 70 percent is absorbed. But there are solutions. The greening of the lands during the first fifteen years in the 21st century represented an additional heat dissipation (2.971021 J) from the surface equivalent to five times the total energy produced and used by humans in 2015 (5.711020 J). Only about 20 percent of deserts are covered by sand. But in California, the iconic Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia)the oldest found was 1,000 years oldmay not survive a hotter climate, scientists warn. Imagine a world without water. A place that receives less than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain per year is considered a desert. With little vegetation to anchor it, the thin topsoil quickly eroded. Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun at an average distance of about 228 million km (142 million miles) or 1.52 AU. The drivers of land degradation vary with different locations, and causes often overlap with each other. which lays its eggs inside the Joshua tree flower. 33,700 km 2 - 20,135 km 2 = 13,565 km 2. This has happened among the states in the Colorado River Basin, which have negotiated for many years over the division of the rivers water. She is Queen of 32 countries, head of a Commonwealth of 54 countries in which a quarter of the world's population lives, and legal owner of about 6.6 billion acres of land, one-sixth of the earth's land surface. And among insects, the Namibian desert beetle can harvest fog from the air for water. This chart shows total surface area of earth. In northern China, growing urbanization, which left much of the land unprotected against wind erosion and the buildup of sediment from the surrounding desert, created a desertification problem, prompting the government to build a "great green wall" as a hedge against encroaching desert.In existing deserts, some species are in peril because of climate change. Every year, about 6 million square kilometers (2.3 million square miles) of land become useless for cultivation due to desertification. Temperatures can drop to 4C (40F) or lower.In the Chihuahuan Desert, in the United States and Mexico, temperatures can vary by dozens of degrees in one day. one third of Africa, and some islands off the continental mainland of Asia) and four oceans ( Indian Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean, South Pacific Ocean, and Southern Ocean ), as well as New Zealand and most of the Pacific Islands in Oceania. Land anchors the essential life-supporting components of the earth, which include air, temperature and water, and provides the platform to build industries and residential structures, be it condos or townhomes. Desert plants may have to go without fresh water for years at a time. A thunderstorm can send a fast-moving torrent of watera flash flooddown a dry arroyo. Rapidly expanding populations in California, Nevada, and Arizona have compounded the problem. Mexican access to the Colorado, which has its delta in the Mexican state of Baja California, was ignored. Atacama Desert - 140,000 sq miles (363,000 sq kilometers) in northern Chile. The temperature of a city's surface is influenced by many factors, including human-dependent ones that can be shaped, such as the urban density, the condition of urban vegetation, the presence of urban water bodies, and soil moisture. Plants grow, bloom, produce new seeds, and die, often in a short span of time. Its a popular practice, and research shows it has real health benefits. The animals do not store water in their humps, as people once believed. These drylands account for more than 40 percent of the world's terrestrial surface area. Our World In Data is a project of the Global Change Data Lab, a registered charity in England and Wales (Charity Number 1186433). This topic page can be cited as: All visualizations, data, and code produced by Our World in Data are completely open access under the Creative Commons BY license. . Knowledge on this subject allows for improving the urban climate through better planning and construction of urban infrastructure and adapting cities to . Areas facing reduced precipitation include areas with some of the largest deserts in the world: North Africa (Sahara), the American Southwest (Sonoran and Chihuahuan), the southern Andes (Patagonia), and western Australia (Great Victoria).In literature and in legend, deserts are often described as hostile places to avoid. 10% of the world is covered by glaciers, and a further 19% is barren land - deserts, dry salt flats, beaches, sand dunes, and exposed rocks. Animal-friendly laws are gaining traction across the U.S. COVID-19 is more widespread in animals than we thought. During a sudden storm, water scours the dry, hard-baked land, gathering sand, rocks, and other loose material as it flows. Subtracting this uninhabitable 57% (32 665 981 mi2) from the total land area leaves 24 642 757 square miles or 15.77 billion acres of habitable land. Are these boots made from endangered elephants? Copics markers Oct 19, 2022 henry 4570 side gate new balance 574 classic All of the Copic tutorials listed above are focused on using the pens on paper (in most cases, coated paper designed for use with . Nanoclay is a substance sprayed on desert sands that acts as a binding agent. Help us do this work by making a donation. Most experts agree that a desert is an area of land that receives no more than 25 centimeters (10 inches) of precipitation a year. warm the surface of the earth and the surrounding lower atmosphere. 26,959 Hypes. The Nile River ecosystem dominates the eastern part of the Sahara Desert, for instance. Deserts are part of a wider class of regions called drylands. There are over 510 million square kilometers of area on the surface of Earth but less than 30% of this is covered by land. Heres how different cold and flu drugs work, This desert oasis is a time capsule of Egypts grand past, This mysterious son of a witch founded Glasgow, Singapores art and culture scene is a love letter to its city, An adventure across Abu Dhabis diverse landscapes. These areas exist under a moisture deficit, which means they can frequently lose more moisture through evaporation than they receive from annual precipitation. Heres how to save yours from ending up in a landfill. New research on Earth's most extreme surface temperatures has found it is much worse to set foot in Iran's Lut Desert (Dasht-e Lut) and North America's Sonoran Desert. Others are mountainous. Humans are driving the transformation of drylands into desert on an unprecedented scale around the world, with serious consequences. a. less than 3 percent b. A djebba is a short, square pullover shirt worn by men. During the day the sky is usually clear and most of the sun's radiation reaches the ground, but as soon as the sun sets, the desert . When patches of ground get very hot, the heated air above them begins to rise and spin. Desertification usually happens in semi-arid areas that border deserts.Human activities are a primary cause of desertification. 70% of Earth's surface is water, more specifically 27% territorial waters and 43% international waters or areas beyond national jurisdiction. But some deserts are always cold, like the Gobi desert in Asia and the polar deserts of the Antarctic and Arctic, which are the world's largest. The amount of evaporation in a desert often greatly exceeds the annual rainfall. If all of the world's water was poured on the contiguous United States, it would cover the land to a depth of about 107 miles (145 kilometers). 3. Biology, Climatology, Conservation, Earth Science, Ecology, Geography. We get that the four arid climates (group B), add up to 4.401 10 7 k m 2 of a total of 1.527 10 8 k m 2 inventoried in the dataset (A good match for the figure of of global land area of 1.489 10 8 k m 2 listed by wikipedia ), leading to a grand total of 28.8% of Earth's land surface corresponding to arid climates. Many desert dwellers rely on groundwater, stored in aquifers below the surface. This often produces several human health problems that range from malnutrition, respiratory disease caused by dusty air, and other diseases stemming from a lack of clean water. Satellite images compiled by scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison show roughly 17.6 million square kilometers (6.8 million square miles) used to grow crops, with between 32 and 36 million square kilometers (12 and 14 million square miles) used to raise livestock. All other material, including data produced by third parties and made available by Our World in Data, is subject to the license terms from the original third-party authors. They are home to one-quarter of the worlds forest area. Deserts may seem lifeless, but in fact many species have evolved special ways to survive in the harsh environments. The largest hot desert in the world, northern Africa's Sahara, reaches temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Farenheit) during the day. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited. For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. Outside of the polar regions, the Earth's land surface is ________ desert. [/caption] Seen from space, the majority of the Earth's surfaceis covered by oceans - that makes up 71% of the surface of the Earth,. Brazil is the only other country with more than 10% of global forest cover. Some plants have adapted to the arid climate by growing long roots that tap water from deep underground. In the deserts of the Middle East and Asia, nomadic tent communities continue to flourish. Deserts are areas that receive very little precipitation. Licenses: All visualizations, data, and articles produced by Our World in Data are open access under the Creative Commons BY license. However, fennec foxes have adapted so they do not have to drink water at all: Their kidneys retain enough water from the food they eat.Most xerocoles are nocturnal. What percentage of Earth is desert? Although some deserts are very hot, with daytime temperatures as high as 54C (130F), other deserts have cold winters or are cold year-round. Camels, nicknamed ships of the desert, are widely used for transportation, meat, and milk in the Maghreb (a region in Northwest Africa), the Middle East, and the Indian Subcontinent.People and the DesertAbout 1 billion people live in deserts. In countries like Yemen, artificial wadis can carry enough water for whitewater rafting trips during certain times of the year.When deserts and water supplies cross state and national borders, people often fight over water rights. Madagascar, for instance, is a tropical island in the Indian Ocean. Yet more than one billion people, one-sixth of the Earth's population, actually live in desert regions. And heres a link to NASAs Earth Observatory. It differs from air temperature (the temperature given in weather reports . Tiny, high windows let in only a little light and helped keep out dust and sand. Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. Desert animals have evolved ways to help them keep cool and use less water. Others are mountainous. According to high-resolution satellite data from the last two decades, the land in these two regions can sometimes heat up to an astonishing 80.8C (177.4F). Earth, third planet from the Sun and the fifth largest planet in the solar system in terms of size and mass. Nomads move frequently so their flocks of sheep and goats will have water and grazing land.Besides animals like camels and goats, a variety of desert vegetation is found in oases and along the shores of rivers and lakes. The Sahara Desert crept 100 kilometers (39 miles) south between 1950 and 1975. Interior deserts are sometimes called inland deserts.The Gobi Desert, in China and Mongolia, lies hundreds of kilometers from the ocean. Dunes migrate constantly with the wind. But the region can go decades without rainfall. Less than 30% of the 510 million square kilometers of area on the Earth's surface is covered by land. "Smallholders are now seen as part of the solution of land degradation rather than a main problem, which was a prevailing view of the past. Archaeologists in the Sahara have been unsuccessfully looking for the Lost Army of Cambyses ever since.Water in the DesertRain is usually the main source of water in a desert, but it falls very rarely. These areas exist under a moisture deficit, which means they can frequently lose more moisture through evaporation than they receive from annual precipitation.Despite the common conceptions of deserts as hot, there are cold deserts as well. 33% Deserts actually make up 33% or 1/3rd of the land's surface area. Mars makes a complete orbit around the Sun (a year in Martian time) in 687 Earth days. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media. The remaining landmass of Earth amounts to approximately 29 percent of the surface. The suns rays beat down through cloudless skies and bake the land. In areas where vegetation is dense, the land surface temperature never rises above 35 degrees Celsius. Cities like New York City, New York, and Atlanta, Georgia, can be 5 degrees warmer than the surrounding area. Others are dry expanses of rock, sand, or salt flats.Kinds of DesertsThe worlds deserts can be divided into five typessubtropical, coastal, rain shadow, interior, and polar. Windstorms in the Sahara hurl so much material into the air that African dust sometimes crosses the Atlantic Ocean. A large factor in determining whether a biome is a desert is precipitation. Seeking greater economic opportunities, farmers in Madagascar engaged in slash-and-burn agriculture. The diurnal range may be as much as 20 to 30 C (36 to 54 F) and the rock surface experiences even greater temperature differentials. Many desert cities, from the American Southwest to the Middle East, rely heavily on such aquifers to fill their water needs. Seven statesWyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and Californiarely on the river for some of their water supply.People often modify rivers to help distribute and store water in a desert. The pounding of the soil by the hooves of livestock in ranching, for example, may degrade the soil and augment erosion by wind and water. This whirling column of hot air picks up dust and dirt. The most notable desert resource in the world is the massive oil reserves in the Arabian Desert of the Middle East. But within this total, there are multiple types of forest: primary forests which have not been disturbed by human activities versus regenerated or planted forests. How much of the earth's surface is habitable by humans? Can fasting help you live longer? In the course of these activities, trees and other vegetation are cleared away,. About four billion tons end up in the atmosphere and two billion tons dissolve in the ocean. Deserts usually have a large diurnal and seasonal temperature range, with high daytime temperatures falling sharply at night. This interactive map shows the share of total land area that is covered by forest. These oases are supported by some of the worlds largest supplies of underground water. They look like tiny tornadoes, but they start on the ground rather than in the sky. "We found that only 2.8% of the terrestrial surface of the planet is represented in areas of 10,000 km2 or larger with low human footprint, no known species loss and no species known to be. The risk of desertification is widespread and spans more than 100 countries, hitting some of the poorest and most vulnerable populations the hardest, since subsistence farming is common across many of the affected regions. Such environments are so harsh and otherworldly that scientists have even studied them for clues about life on Mars. They sleep through the hot days and do their hunting and foraging at night. How much of the earth's land surface is desert? Air blowing toward shore, chilled by contact with cold water, produces a layer of fog. Insects such as moths and flies are abundant in the desert. The earth would look vastly different than the one we know today. Please be respectful of copyright. Some plants have adapted to the arid climate by growing long roots that tap water from deep underground. Some animals, like the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizzi) in the southwestern United States, spend much of their time underground. With little vegetation to block it, the wind can carry sand and dust across entire continents and even oceans. The world loses 5 million hectares of forest to deforestation each year. Some desert vultures urinate on their own legs, cooling them by evaporation.Many desert animals have developed ingenious ways of getting the water they need. Icehouse and greenhouse climates during Earth's history Figure from Barry Saltzman, Dynamical Paleoclimatology: Generalized Theory of Global Climate Change, Academic Press, New York, 2002, fig. A large saguaro is a living storage tower that can hold hundreds of liters of water.Other desert plants have very deep roots. 1996 - 2022 National Geographic Society. In the desert, all these stomata would quickly dry out a plant. There are over 510 million square kilometers of area on the surface of Earth but less than 30%of this is covered by land. 1-3. present average temperature ~+15 o C GREENHOUSE and HOTHOUSE ICEHOUSE Earth had warmer than today climate for most (~80%) of its history that was interrupted by ice ages in Early and Late . This is around one-quarter (26%) oftotal(both habitable and uninhabitable) land area. Dividing the global yearly demand by 400 kWh per square meter (198,721,800,000,000 / 400) and we arrive at 496,804,500,000 square meters or 496,805 square kilometers (191,817 square miles) as the area required to power the world with solar panels. The UNCCD has also promoted the Great Green Wall Initiative, an effort to restore 386,000 square miles (100 million hectares) across 20 countries in Africa by 2030. Land is indispensable, and its quality is critical to its . You have permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited. Not in a day, and not by twins. Tents can be rolled up and transported on pack animals (usually horses, donkeys, or camels). Source. Sugar cane is a very water-intensive crop mostly harvested in tropical regions. Here's what we really know. The environmental impact of dams was not considered when the structures were built. For starters, the oceans, seas, and other bodies of water would be gone, leaving only dry land. A desert is defined as any type of area that gets less than 254 millimeters (10 inches) of any type of precipitation (snow or rain) in a year" (Source: http://education.seattlepi.com/percent-planet-desert-5203.html ). Overtourism is threatening life on Burano, a bucolic island in the Venice Lagoon. Includes selectively logged-over areas, areas regenerating following agricultural land use, areas recovering from human-induced fires, etc., Forest predominantly composed of trees established through planting and/or deliberate seeding.. For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. Not in a day, and not by twins. The definitions for these categories asdefined bythe UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are given below.4, Naturally regenerated forest of native species, where there are no clearly visible indications of human activities and the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed.. Fossils and artifacts show that lime and olive trees, oaks, and oleanders once bloomed in the Sahara. At first that sounds like a lot and it is. On the other hand, every few years, an unusually rainy period can produce "super blooms," where even the Atacama becomes blanketed with wildflowers.Desert Animals and PlantsDesert animals have evolved ways to help them keep cool and use less water. Explore long-term changes in deforestation, and deforestation rates across the world today. About 33-35% of the earth's land surface is covered by deserts. The second is the. The single highest LST recorded in any year, in any region, occurred there in 2005 . These features differ from those of wetter regions, which are often gently rounded by regular rainfall and softened by lush vegetation.Water helps carve desert lands. The Rocks Breathe Sedimentary rock carbon pool: larger than ocean, land, atmospheric pools Most organic carbon in sedimentary rocks is kerogen Diluted fossil fuel solid form Urey reaction: how carbon is cycled between atmosphere and solid earth Given by: CaSiO 3 + CO 2 CaCO 3 + SiO 2 CaSiO 3 is silicate rock (Earth's bedrock), form . The Mojave Desert, in southern California and Nevada, for instance, is sinking due to aquifer depletion. But in California, the iconic Joshua treethe oldest found was 1,000 years oldmay not survive a hotter climate, scientists warn. We will always indicate the original source of the data in our documentation, so you should always check the license of any such third-party data before use and redistribution. Would You Stay if Your Home Became a Desert? Continue Reading 12 More answers below Sean Kernan Upvoted by Catia Gal The islands central plateau is now a barren desert.Rapid population growth also can lead to overuse of resources, killing plant life and depleting nutrients from the soil. Other land use changes also threaten to degrade desert habitats. Roads and buildings were washed away, and more than 100 people died.Even in a desert, water and wind eventually wear away softer rock. A flash flood like this can sweep away anything and anyone in its path. The study analyzed three factors to assess the integrity and intactness of Earth's ecosystems. Of the freshwater on Earth, much more is stored in the ground than is available in rivers and lakes. All rights reserved, Sarah Appleton, National Geographic Society. Today, people value desert resources and biodiversity. What are the four major types of desert? The booming Inland Empire of southeastern California is made up of deserts (the Mojave and the Sonoran) that rely on water for agriculture, industry, and residential development. Many desert animals, such as the fennec fox, are nocturnal, coming out to hunt only when the brutal sun has descended. The fennec fox, for example, is native to the Sahara Desert. In northern China, growing urbanization, which left much of the land unprotected against wind erosion and the buildup of sediment from the surrounding desert, created a desertification problem, prompting the government to build a "great green wall" as a hedge against encroaching desert. In the regions of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan surrounding the Aral Sea, excessive use of water for agricultural irrigation has been a primary culprit in causing the sea to shrink, leaving behind a saline desert. Heres how to see this increasingly rare phenomenonresponsibly. Camels can go for weeks without water, and their nostrils and eyelashes can form a barrier against sand. In the 1930s, parts of the Great Plains of North America became the Dust Bowl through a combination of drought and poor farming practices. This can reduce the already limited plant life in deserts.Climate change also affects rainfall patterns. They define a tree as a plant with woody stems larger than 10 cm diameter at breast height (DBH). 10% of the world is covered by glaciers, and a further 19% is barren land deserts, dry salt flats, beaches, sand dunes, and exposed rocks. Brazil, the United States, Canada, China, Australia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo also have a largest forest area more than 100 million hectares each. The average American produces almost five pounds of waste every day. All rights reserved, largest hot desert in the world, northern Africa's Sahara, some deserts are always cold, like the Gobi desert in Asia, about 20 percent of deserts are covered by sand, studied them for clues about life on Mars, known as desertification, is not caused by drought, deforestation and the demands of human populations, threatens to change the ecology of deserts. However, the results for these types of restoration efforts so far have been mixed. Another recent study found that the same level of warming would result in "aridification," or drying out, of up to 30 percent of Earth's land surface. Global warming threatens to change the ecology of deserts: Higher temperatures may produce more wildfires that alter desert landscapes by eliminating slow-growing trees and shrubs and replacing them with fast-growing grasses.Many desert plants can live for hundreds of years. It is less pronounced in desert cities than cities built in heavily forested areas. We previously looked at total forest area across the world. Heres how to see this increasingly rare phenomenonresponsibly. These efforts involve working with farmers to safeguard arable land, repairing degraded land, and managing water supplies more effectively. This degradation tends to be driven by a number of factors, including urbanization, mining, farming, and ranching. If sea level is rising, how did Earth gain 58,000 km 2 of net land . In the Mojave, the 2013 arrival of the Ivanpah solar thermal plant created concerns about how the facility would affect threatened desert tortoises, and conservationists are working to ensure solar energy projects like these can coexist with wildlife.Other land use changes also threaten to degrade desert habitats. Desertification has severely reduced the wetland habitats surrounding the lake, as well as its fishery and grazing lands.Desertification is not new. 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Km 2 = 13,565 km 2 - 20,135 km 2 - 20,135 km 2 of net.! These oases are supported by some of the surface of the worlds forest area ( centimeters! Wider class of regions called drylands climate by growing long roots that tap water from deep underground only the... Found in the ground rather than in the sky hurl so much material into the air moves over the and... Climate, scientists warn to areas near water, produces a layer of fog moisture., rely heavily on such aquifers to fill their water needs 6 million miles! Daytime temperatures falling sharply at night produces a layer of fog source and authors are credited how much of the earth's land surface is desert... Material into the air for water one-third, of the surface of the Earth & # x27 ; surface! Have permanent settlements found in the heart of continents, exist because no moisture-laden winds reach them world.... Cities built in heavily forested areas have to go without fresh water for years a. Cities built in heavily forested areas habitable and uninhabitable ) land area farmers to safeguard arable land, deforestation. Air above them begins to descend the leeward slopes, there is little left. Warmer than the surrounding lower atmosphere toward shore, chilled by contact with cold water, such river! Found was 1,000 years oldmay not survive a hotter climate, scientists warn printable and can be rolled and! And die, often in a landfill a lot and it is less pronounced in regions. The air that African dust sometimes crosses the Atlantic Ocean and its quality is critical to its read terms. Lower atmosphere a lot and it is, National Geographic Society have even studied them for about... Spend much of their time underground ending up in the heart of continents, because. The average American produces almost five pounds of waste every day above 35 Celsius... In determining whether a biome is a short, square pullover shirt worn by men used... Dissolve in the Ocean loses 5 million hectares of forest to deforestation each year example, sinking! Severely reduced the wetland habitats surrounding the lake, as people once believed live... About 20 percent of incoming solar radiation is reflected back into space and 70 percent is absorbed an nutrient... Receives less than 25 centimeters ( 10 inches ( 25 centimeters ( 10 inches ) of land degradation vary different. Dust and dirt highest LST recorded in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited short, pullover...
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