An international team of scientists has explained the causes of the formation and the "standard" size of the cracks that form
Researchers conducted a series of experiments toobserve how salt water moves in sandy soils. Modeling in the laboratory, numerical estimates of the length of the patterns under various conditions, and field observations confirmed the hypothesis of the conventional origin of the patterns.
Patterns resembling honeycombs on the surface of various salt deserts. Image: Jana Lasser et al., Sarah Marino
Salt deserts where thesedrawings are not really dry, the authors of the study explain. Very saline groundwater often reaches the surface, lying directly under the salt crust. When such a brine evaporates, the salt remains. As a result, groundwater immediately below the surface becomes more saline and therefore heavier than those at greater depths.
If the difference in salinity is large enough, moresalt water at the surface begins to sink down, and more fresh water rises from below. As a result, convection shafts of more and less salty water form under the desert surface.
Movement of groundwater beneath the desert surface.Image: Jana Lasser et al.
A single convection roller will have a round shape that maximizesBut when many of these adjacent formations are formed in the ground, they "compress" with each other and formhexagonal honeycomb patterns, with very salty water descending at the edges.
In places with a high salt concentration, it alsomore actively crystallizes on the surface. Over time, the resulting crust forms raised humps and edges that create a honeycomb-like salt pattern.
Formation of salt "honeycombs". Video: TU Graz
The researchers note that this understandingmechanism is not only the answer to the riddle that attracts tourists to the desert. Modeling such convection currents helps to predict how much mineral-rich dust will be displaced from the surface of salt deserts and released into the atmosphere, to assess its impact on cloud formation and the transport of minerals to the ocean.
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