More common than thought: scientists noticed mysterious circles surrounded by plants in 15 countries of the world
[ad_1]
We are talking about fairy rings, or magic circles. These are round areas of land without vegetation, surrounded by grass and located in deserts and semi-deserts. Their diameter can reach 12 meters.
Satellite images have shown that fairy rings can potentially be located in 15 countries around the world.
This was reported by The New York Times with reference to a study published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
For the first time, fairy rings were found in the Namib desert, which stretches from Angola to the north of the Republic of South Africa.
| Photo: demerzel21/Depositphotos |
“We discovered the locations of magic circles in many other places that we didn’t know existed before, because most of the work on this topic was done in just two countries – Namibia and Australia.” – said Fernando Maestre, ecologist from the University of Alicante (Spain) and co-author of the study.
The impetus for the study was that through the Google Earth application, scientists noticed patterns similar to fairy rings in Niger. Their goal was to find out if they really exist in other places on the planet.
The researchers involved machine analysis of satellite images of 575,000 areas. With its help, they found 263 potential locations of magic rings in 15 countries around the world, including Niger, Chad, Kazakhstan and Madagascar.
Scientists also indicated the typical characteristics of such areas: hot, arid, with sandy soil, which has a low nitrogen content.
However, this study caused a debate in scientific circles.
“Unfortunately, the research blurs the term ‘magic circle’ and ignores the definition of magic circles,” – commented Stefan Getzin, an ecologist from the University of Göttingen in Germany.
In 2021, the scientist together with his colleagues claimed that the fairy rings have the form of a grid of strict order.
However, Fernadno Maestre disputed the claims, pointing out that Goetzin’s definition was not accepted by the entire scientific community.
“Now we have 263 new places to explore. That’s what’s so interesting and exciting about science: solving nature’s puzzles.” he added.
Read also: Nigeria through the eyes of a Ukrainian woman: what it’s like to live in one of the most dangerous countries in the world
[ad_2]
Original Source Link
