Tag Archives: Desert
rockon-ro: GYPSUM (Calcium Sulfate) crystals, known as “desert…
rockon-ro: GYPSUM (Calcium Sulfate) crystals, known as “desert rose”, from Ahumada Playa, Chihuahua, Mexico. Geology Nerd
The Mysterious Penitentes Transform the Desert Into an Alien Landscape
Penitentes photographed in the Atacama desert in Chile. The penitentes (Spanish for penitents) are a curious natural phenomenon found in high altitude regions, typically more than 4000 metres above sea level where it’s very cold and very dry. The formation … Continue reading
Encountering desert deposits in Oman
Oman is a geologically fascinating country, where the bedrock beautifully exposes a one-billion-year history. I had the opportunity to explore this country in a group expedition, during which we pursued our own scientific studies from January to March 2014. My … Continue reading
How Do Desert Roses Form?
Large cluster of Desert Rose crystals, Chihuahua, Mexico. Credit: CrystalMiner A gypsum rosette is not a rose at all, it is a mineral which crystalizes in a unique rosette growth pattern. Desert rose is the colloquial name given to rose-like … Continue reading
Smaller desert dust cooling effect estimated from analysis of dust size and abundance
Nature Geoscience 10, 274 (2017). doi:10.1038/ngeo2912 Authors: Jasper F. Kok, David A. Ridley, Qing Zhou, Ron L. Miller, Chun Zhao, Colette L. Heald, Daniel S. Ward, Samuel Albani & Karsten Haustein Nature Geoscience – Issue – nature.com science feeds
Study of non-rainfall water in Namib Desert reveals unexpected origins
In a study conducted in one of the world’s oldest and most biologically diverse deserts, scientists explore the origins of water other than rainfall and are identifying multiple origins. The study is the first to report that the ocean is … Continue reading
Did humans create the Sahara desert?
Tadrart Acacus desert in western Libya, part of the Sahara.Photo: Luca Galuzzi New research investigating the transition of the Sahara from a lush, green landscape 10,000 years ago to the arid conditions found today, suggests that humans may have played … Continue reading
Sands of Gobi Desert yield new species of nut-cracking dinosaur
Glants or meat – that’s about all that fossils ever inform palaeontologists a few dinosaur’s eating regimen. However, the cranium traits of a brand new species of parrot-beaked dinosaur and its related gizzard stones point out that the animal ate … Continue reading
6,000 years ago the Sahara Desert was tropical, so what happened?
As little as 6,000 years ago, the vast Sahara Desert was covered in grassland that received plenty of rainfall, but shifts in the world’s weather patterns abruptly transformed the vegetated region into some of the driest land on Earth. Now … Continue reading
Walking Whale’ Fossil Discovered In Peru’s Ocucaje Desert
Geologist brushes the fossilized jaw of a whale lying on the desert pavement of Ocucaje, 310 km south of Lima Paleontologists in Peru have unearthed the fossil of a 40 million-year-old “walking whale.” Found in the Ocucaje Desert in southern … Continue reading