The Namibia desert is decorated by thousands of mysterious circles(bbc.com)
bbc.com
The Namibia desert is decorated by thousands of mysterious circles
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20140916-mystery-fairy-circles-defy-explanation
46 comments
They are clearly giant ejection pin marks from when the Earth was popped out of its mould.
Not sure if it's just my browser that was missing them, but the article could've really used some images.
You can see the fairy circles in this Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_circle_(Africa)
Or this Google Images link: https://www.google.com.au/search?q=namibia+fairy+circle&safe...
You can see the fairy circles in this Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_circle_(Africa)
Or this Google Images link: https://www.google.com.au/search?q=namibia+fairy+circle&safe...
Maybe their mobile site doesn't have any images? The article is full of pictures.
1. http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/624_351/images/live/p0/26...
2. http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/624_351/images/live/p0/26...
3. http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/624_351/images/live/p0/26...
4. http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/624_351/images/live/p0/26...
5. http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/624_351/images/live/p0/26...
1. http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/624_351/images/live/p0/26...
2. http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/624_351/images/live/p0/26...
3. http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/624_351/images/live/p0/26...
4. http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/624_351/images/live/p0/26...
5. http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/624_351/images/live/p0/26...
Couldn't see any of those. It was Ghostery blocking them Brightcove widgets.
> It was Ghostery blocking them Brightcove widgets.
In the Web 17.0, using plain <img> tags for images just doesn't scale no more. Better rely on a framework for that arcane picture stuff.
In the Web 17.0, using plain <img> tags for images just doesn't scale no more. Better rely on a framework for that arcane picture stuff.
I'm not on mobile and don't see images either.
I see them on a jailbroken Ipad.
If you have Ghostery enabled you have to switch back on the BrightCove js library.
[deleted]
I thought I was the only one...
When I read the article few minutes ago the there were several interesting images of the "fairy circles".
Their origin is still a mystery. In a way that's comforting, that nature often doesn't yield secrets so easily and we can be astounded and fascinated by the beauty of the things we discover.
The recent idea that the circles are the result of grass growth limitations due to water and nutrient availability, it still doesn't account for the circular voids. Similar conditions exist in S. Arizona where I grew up. Plants were sparse in the desert, there were native grasses too, but no fairy circles.
Maybe there's something about the root system of the grass that makes them chained together, but such regular circles at regular intervals wouldn't be explained by this mechanism. I wonder if the circles move, that might tell something. Maybe the circles are too small to track by satellite, or too remote to warrant keeping track from space.
Well many have speculated about the phenomenon, tests have been done and theories discarded, and all we have to show for it is more speculation. The mystery will be revealed some day...
Their origin is still a mystery. In a way that's comforting, that nature often doesn't yield secrets so easily and we can be astounded and fascinated by the beauty of the things we discover.
The recent idea that the circles are the result of grass growth limitations due to water and nutrient availability, it still doesn't account for the circular voids. Similar conditions exist in S. Arizona where I grew up. Plants were sparse in the desert, there were native grasses too, but no fairy circles.
Maybe there's something about the root system of the grass that makes them chained together, but such regular circles at regular intervals wouldn't be explained by this mechanism. I wonder if the circles move, that might tell something. Maybe the circles are too small to track by satellite, or too remote to warrant keeping track from space.
Well many have speculated about the phenomenon, tests have been done and theories discarded, and all we have to show for it is more speculation. The mystery will be revealed some day...
Really don't see any patterns in this image, there's also overlapping and merging going on: http://lh6.ggpht.com/-4Dqlhnj1wkM/UV1et2rxyTI/AAAAAAAAm5Q/P-...
The termite theory makes a lot of sense.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_circle_%28Africa%29#Forma...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_circle_%28Africa%29#Forma...
The microbial theory too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_ring
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_ring
Sure looks like Turing patterns that you get with Reaction-Diffusion simulations.
See http://pmneila.github.io/jsexp/grayscott/ and select "holes"
See http://pmneila.github.io/jsexp/grayscott/ and select "holes"
Little circles in an apparently random pattern? Obviously, it's an anti-counterfeiting measure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EURion_constellation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EURion_constellation
[deleted]
"However, yet another recent theory proposes that grasses competing for water and nutrients - limited resources in the Namib desert - create the circles, explaining why they never overlap."
Maybe this model could be used to analyze this hypothesis.
Maybe this model could be used to analyze this hypothesis.
If you're lazy, click here to see it on Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Namibia/@-24.9646371,15.93...
You'll have to switch to satellite-view yourself.
You'll have to switch to satellite-view yourself.
Direct link to sat view:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Namibia/@-24.9646371,15.93...
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Namibia/@-24.9646371,15.93...
There is a trail or "circles" from a spot in the top left corner going east and a little north.
The satellite view brings into question the assertion that the circles never overlap. They don't look all that regular or circular either.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Namibia/@-24.861603,15.856...
what do you guys make of this? is this non-grass circles or did that grass just die
what do you guys make of this? is this non-grass circles or did that grass just die
never mind, i think i found the cause:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Namibia/@-24.8680385,15.87...
its clearly will-o'-the-wisps
its clearly will-o'-the-wisps
Tell me about it. Those Namibian desert fairies play havoc with your herbaceous borders.
Someone should analyse the distribution for how close it is to a Poisson Disc / blue noise. Looks pretty good from the satellite images.
BBC themselves previously reported termites being responsible for this:
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-21970408
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-21970408
The new article says:
Tschinkel dug for termites in one or two circles and returned in 2007 to investigate, and hopefully prove, his hypothesis. “It took us about three days to establish, without a doubt, that termites were absolutely nothing to do with this,” Tschinkel says.
Tschinkel dug for termites in one or two circles and returned in 2007 to investigate, and hopefully prove, his hypothesis. “It took us about three days to establish, without a doubt, that termites were absolutely nothing to do with this,” Tschinkel says.
This is caused by fungus. Have any scientists established this as the cause? That is my best guess.
If it's a guess you should probably not state it as fact.
Namibian here. Can confirm, this got more international press attention than national press.
The circles remind me of antibiotic restistance tests: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacterial_lawn#mediaviewer/File...
It doesn't say anything about watching these over time. Do the rings move? Do they fill in after a year and new ones form? It's not like all the grass is in rings.
These remind me of the "Devils Stomping Ground" circle in NC.
http://www.hauntspot.com/haunt/usa/north-carolina/devils-sto...
Came here to post this, but I've only heard it called Devil's Tramping Ground. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil's_Tramping_Ground
I'd like to go visit this for a few reasons, not the least of which is that one of my favorite NC beers is named after it.
I'd like to go visit this for a few reasons, not the least of which is that one of my favorite NC beers is named after it.
“There is a tremendous sense of excitement that there is something really interesting going on and we want to know what that is,” says Professor Don Cowan, director of the Centre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. “It is a desire to understand the system. What is going there? What is happening?”
Can't think of a better summary of science!
Can't think of a better summary of science!
How about this: "Science is the discipline of publicly testing ideas using systematic observation, controlled experiment, and Bayesian inference" :-)
The notion that these circles are the result of large-scale self-organization on the part of the grasses (and maybe other creatures) is an intriguing one. I have a very speculative novel that plays around with the idea of evolution operating on all scales: http://www.amazon.com/Darwins-Theorem-TJ-Radcliffe-ebook/dp/...
While Newtonian physics was the go-to explanatory metaphor for several centuries, it's plausible that in the 21st century we'll start to see metaphorical evolutionary explanations become more common. If we can encourage that habit in ourselves and others it may help us see more creative, non-linear solutions to our problems, rather than the simple Newtonian action/reaction, force/motion model.
The notion that these circles are the result of large-scale self-organization on the part of the grasses (and maybe other creatures) is an intriguing one. I have a very speculative novel that plays around with the idea of evolution operating on all scales: http://www.amazon.com/Darwins-Theorem-TJ-Radcliffe-ebook/dp/...
While Newtonian physics was the go-to explanatory metaphor for several centuries, it's plausible that in the 21st century we'll start to see metaphorical evolutionary explanations become more common. If we can encourage that habit in ourselves and others it may help us see more creative, non-linear solutions to our problems, rather than the simple Newtonian action/reaction, force/motion model.
To the man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail:
"Some theories are still holding strong though, and Cowan jokes that each scientist sees the solution in terms of their own particular area of expertise: the insect biologists think the circles are created by ants or termites, the plant physiologists think it’s grasses, and the chemists think it’s gases. Cowan, a microbial ecologist, proves no exception."
"Some theories are still holding strong though, and Cowan jokes that each scientist sees the solution in terms of their own particular area of expertise: the insect biologists think the circles are created by ants or termites, the plant physiologists think it’s grasses, and the chemists think it’s gases. Cowan, a microbial ecologist, proves no exception."
Reminds me of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mima_mounds
Maybe it's the Magarathean equivalent of the EURion constellation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EURion_constellation
I'm imagining a less-professional version, where underneath the polar ice is emblazoned: "This planet is original content and property of Yahweh, DO NOT STEAL"
It seems the rocks-sliding-across-the-desert mystery could have been solved the same way many years ago.