La extracción de salmuera para satisfacer la demanda de recursos en medio de la transición a energías renovables está afectando los recursos hídricos en Sudamérica y China. Los hidrólogos pueden ayudar a comprender cómo y a sumarse a la búsqueda de soluciones.
Atacama Desert
Posted inOpinions
Concerns over Lithium, Water, and Climate in Earth’s Two Highest Deserts
Brine mining to meet resource demands amid renewable energy transitions is affecting water resources in South America and China. Hydrologists can help understand how and join the search for solutions.
Posted inNews
Researchers Find Bacterial Communities Deep Beneath the Atacama
Extremophile microbes exist in the gypsum-rich “fringes” of the driest place on Earth.
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(Probablemente) No podremos decir si Marte tiene vida
Los equipos de última generación no siempre pueden identificar la vida que habita en los lugares más parecidos a Marte en la Tierra, lo que hace que los científicos se pregunten cómo se se podría hacer mejor en el Planeta Rojo.
Posted inNews
We (Probably) Can’t Tell Whether Mars Has Life
State-of-the-art equipment can’t always identify life inhabiting the most Mars-like spot on Earth, leaving scientists wondering how to do better on the Red Planet.
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Iodine-Laden Desert Dust Is Eating at Ozone Pollution
In a happy accident, scientists found a potential solution to an atmospheric chemistry mystery. Their findings could be a missing piece in the iodine cycle and in atmospheric models.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Understanding Rare Rain Events in the Driest Desert on Earth
A new study reveals the atmospheric paths of storm events that can deliver a decade’s worth of rain in a few hours to the Atacama Desert.
Posted inNews
Glassy Nodules Pinpoint a Meteorite Impact
Researchers working in Chile’s Atacama Desert have collected thousands of “atacamaites” that suggest a meteorite struck the region roughly 8 million years ago.
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Desert Microbes Mine for Water
Scientists studying a cyanobacterium isolated from rock samples in the Atacama Desert found out how the bacteria extract water to live. Their results may help identify likely sites for life on Mars.
Posted inNews
Oldest Meteorite Collection Found in World’s Oldest Desert
Rare 2-million-year record reveals the meteorite flux rate.