Scientists have figured out how polygon-shaped patterns form in the desert. In this respect informs Nottingham Trent University.
Polygon-like honeycomb patterns are seen in many salt deserts, including Death Valley in California and the Salar de Uyuni in Chile. Scientists have long suspected that the salt crust of the desert dries up and forms cracks around which patterns grow. Another hypothesis suggested that the salt crust was constantly growing and bending due to the absence of voids, which led to the formation of patterns. However, no explanation has clarified why the elements of the pattern always have a fixed size – between one and two meters – and also why the honeycombs are so smooth and periodic.
Now American scientists were able to capture the formation of these structures on video, conducted a series of laboratory experiments and finally revealed the secret of their formation. The driving mechanism of pattern formation is the circulation of salt water in the soil under the salt crust. The salt flats where these patterns occur are not really dry: very salty groundwater often lies just below the salt crust and reaches the surface.
When this salt water evaporates in the sun, salt remains. This makes the groundwater just below the surface saltier and therefore heavier than the fresher water lurking below. If this difference in salinity is large enough, saltier water near the surface begins to descend and fresher water rises below. Like hot and cold water circulating by convection, salty and slightly salty water swells in the intestines by convection.
A single convection cylinder will have a circular shape that maximizes the volume contained within the cylinder while minimizing its circumference. However, when many side-by-side convection heaves form on the ground, they “shrunk” and form hexagonal honeycomb patterns along their edges where very salty water sinks.
Especially in places with high salt content, the salt also crystallizes on the surface. Over time, the drying crust forms raised bumps that form a honeycomb pattern.
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