All articles tagged with #atacama desert
Researchers studying 4,000–6,000-year-old gypsum crusts and stromatolites in Chile’s Atacama Desert found living and fossilized microbial signatures. Gypsum’s light-transmitting, protective properties can shield biosignatures, making these crystals a potential time capsule for past life and a model for what to look for on Mars in future missions.
Space agency ESO released imagery of the ELT’s enormous 80-meter outer dome at Cerro Armazones in Chile. The dome will shelter a 39-meter primary mirror, protect optics from desert heat, and feature earthquake-resilient shock absorbers; the upper section will rotate to give the telescope full access to dark skies. The project is slated for completion in 2027, with first light planned for early 2029 and initial science observations in 2030.
Scientists studying the Atacama Desert discovered thriving nematode communities beneath the surface, showing how multicellular soil life adapts to extreme dryness and salinity, contributing to nutrient cycling and offering insight into biodiversity and climate-change impacts in arid ecosystems.
An international study across six Atacama sites finds diverse nematode communities persisting in ultra-dry soils; higher elevations favor parthenogenetic (asexually reproducing) species, while more water boosts biodiversity. The findings reveal resilient soil ecosystems in extreme deserts and warn that simplified food webs in some regions may be more vulnerable to climate change.
Scientists discovered 160-million-year-old dinosaur footprints in Chile's Atacama Desert, including the smallest known theropod tracks, offering insights into a once wetter Jurassic landscape with ephemeral wetlands that supported diverse dinosaur species.
NASA captured rare snowfall in the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth, due to an unusual cold-core cyclone, causing temporary disruption at the ALMA observatory and highlighting increasing climate variability in the region.
A rare snowstorm in July temporarily covered parts of the extremely dry Atacama Desert in Chile, affecting the ALMA radio telescope and highlighting potential impacts of climate change on hyperarid regions.
The article highlights a stunning image of the Milky Way over the Very Large Telescope in Chile's Atacama Desert, emphasizing the site's exceptional dark-sky conditions and the importance of protecting such natural environments from light pollution for astronomical research.
The SOAR Telescope in Chile was dusted with snow during a rare winter storm, highlighting the unique weather conditions in the Atacama desert region, which affected nearby observatories differently, with some suspending operations due to severe weather.
A rare snowfall in the Atacama Desert has temporarily halted operations of the ALMA radio telescope array, highlighting potential impacts of climate change on extreme weather events in this hyper-arid region, which could affect future astronomical observations.
A rare snowfall in the Atacama Desert has temporarily halted operations of the ALMA radio telescope array, highlighting potential impacts of climate change on extreme weather events in this hyper-arid region, which could affect future astronomical observations.
Researchers have developed a novel technique to distinguish between living and dead microbial DNA in the Atacama Desert, the driest place on Earth. This method, which separates intracellular (iDNA) from extracellular (eDNA) DNA, reveals active microbial communities thriving in this extreme environment. The technique offers new insights into microbial processes in low-biomass habitats and could be applied to study similar environments on other planets.
Researchers have discovered diverse microbial life in Chile's Atacama Desert, one of Earth's driest places, using a novel technique to separate living microbes' DNA from dead cells. This study, led by Dirk Wagner from the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, reveals that microbes like Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria thrive even in extreme arid conditions. The findings, published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, suggest that similar microbial processes could occur in other harsh environments, including other planets, highlighting life's resilience.
The world's largest digital camera for optical astronomy, with a resolution of 3.2 gigapixels, is set to be installed at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in northern Chile. This camera will support a decade-long exploration to study dark energy, dark matter, and potential asteroid collisions, generating 20 terabytes of data per night and creating a 15-petabyte catalog database.
The European Southern Observatory's Extremely Large Telescope, the world's largest visible- and infrared-light telescope, has reached a milestone with the completion of its dome's steel skeleton in Chile's Atacama Desert. A new nighttime photo shows the progress with the Milky Way overhead. The telescope, expected to be operational by 2028, will feature insulated cladding and air conditioning to protect it from the harsh desert environment.