Aug. 11, 2023 Using a novel method to detect microbial activity in biological soil crusts, or biocrusts, after they are wetted, a research team in a new study uncovered clues that will lead to a better ...
Aug. 2, 2023 Researchers have analyzed the shifting patterns of entire dune fields on Earth and Mars, as seen from orbit, and found they are a direct signature of recent environmental change. This new tool can be ...
July 25, 2023 Lower parasitism and predation in urban habitats may contribute to the invasion success of brown widow spiders, according to new ...
July 18, 2023 A new study compiles the scope of the problem of the global dispersal of harmful microorganisms through the upper layers of the ...
July 7, 2023 Scientists in Japan have used a global climate model to show that dust from land without snow cover in the Arctic is a major source of particles that form ice crystals in Arctic low-level clouds. ...
June 15, 2023 Engineers synthesized a superabsorbent material that can soak up a record amount of moisture from the air, even in desert-like ...
June 14, 2023 Newly planted vegetation on coastal sand dunes can accelerate erosion from extreme ...
May 31, 2023 Researchers report that in the absence of visible landmarks, desert ants increase the likelihood that foraging nest mates will find their way home quickly and safely by elevating their nest entrance. ...
May 19, 2023 New evidence for the presence of ancient lakes in some of the most arid regions of South Africa suggests that Stone Age humans may have been more widespread across the continent than previously ...
May 19, 2023 Researchers have identified engravings in Jordan and Saudi Arabia as the oldest known scaled building plans in human ...
May 11, 2023 An international team has reconstructed the evolution of groundwater in the Great Basin, USA -- one of the driest regions on Earth -- up to 350,000 years into the past with unprecedented accuracy. ...
May 11, 2023 A new study shows that sand dunes can serve as repositories of fire history and aid in expanding scientific understanding of fire regimes around the ...
May 1, 2023 Researchers have characterized two different types of surface water in the hyperarid salars -- or salt flats -- that contain much of the world's lithium deposits. This new characterization ...
Apr. 20, 2023 Biocrusts play a crucial role in maintaining soil health and ecosystem sustainability, but they are currently under assault. Human activities including agriculture, urbanization, and off-road vehicle ...
Apr. 18, 2023 Researchers have discovered how long ago the Australian Nullarbor plain dried out, with a new approach shedding light on how ancient climate change altered some of the driest regions of our ...
Apr. 11, 2023 An extreme closeup of feathers from a bird with an uncanny ability to hold water while it flies could inspire the next generation of absorbent ...
Mar. 28, 2023 In North America's hottest, driest desert, climate change is causing the decline of plants once thought nearly immortal and replacing them with shorter shrubs that can take advantage of sporadic ...
Mar. 1, 2023 Researchers have developed a method that has now mapped several billion trees and their carbon uptake in Africa's Sahel. In the future, the method could be used to monitor whether climate credit ...
Mar. 1, 2023 The honeycomb patterns which are often found in salt deserts in Death Valley, US, and Bolivia, among other places, look like something from another world. Researchers can now explain the origin of ...
Feb. 8, 2023 The collapse of the Hittite Empire in the Late Bronze Age has been blamed on various factors, from war with other territories to internal strife. Now, scientists have used tree ring and isotope ...