deserts

The Atacama Desert, which normally receives only 1 to 3 millimeters of rain a year, had a rare snowfall in 2011. Image: NASA, public domain.

Soil Community in Atacama Desert Survives on Fog

August 28, 2020January 27, 2020 by Elizabeth Borneman

Scientists have discovered new methods that allow certain plants and animals to survive in Chile’s Atacama Desert.

The Atacama Desert, which normally receives only 1 to 3 millimeters of rain a year, had a rare snowfall in 2011. Image: NASA, public domain.

Driest Non-polar Desert in the World

October 21, 2020January 27, 2020 by Caitlin Dempsey

Situated in northern Chile, the Atacama Desert is one of the driest places on Earth.

Scientists followed the journey of water through the Tarim Basin from the rivers at the edge of the valley to the desert aquifers under the basin. They found that as water moved through irrigated fields, the water gathered dissolved carbon and moved it deep underground. Credit: Yan Li

Desert Carbon Sinks

December 23, 2015August 18, 2015 by Elizabeth Borneman

Research suggest that the world’s deserts may be storing some of the climate-changing carbon dioxide emitted by human activities.