Atacama Desert may have harbored lakes, wetlands

The arid Atacama Desert, thought to be a barrier to early South American settlers, may have held lakes large enough to sustain small human populations, according to new research presented here today. The lakes' presence challenges ...

Chile plans hydropower plant—in desert

Building a $400-million hydroelectric power plant in the world's most arid desert may seem like an engineering debacle, but Chile sees it as a revolutionary way to generate green energy.

Driest place on Earth hosts life

Researchers have pinpointed the driest location on Earth in the Atacama Desert, a region in Chile already recognised as the most arid in the world. They have also found evidence of life at the site, a discovery that could ...

Submillimeter wavelengths shine through the intergalactic dust

(Phys.org) —Where do you go to look at the stars? Away from city lights, certainly. But if you're serious about peering far out into space, to the observable edges of our universe, at submillimeter wavelengths, you have ...

Dry run for the 2020 Mars mission

(Phys.org) —A film director looking for a location where a movie about Mars could be shot might consider the Atacama Desert, one of the harshest landscapes the planet has to offer. Due to the accidents of its geography, ...

Frozen in time, cracks reveal earthquake history

(Phys.org) —Northern Chile's Atacama Desert is an earthquake scientist's dream – the hyper-arid plain keeps a visible record of cracks caused by a million year's worth of earthquakes.

page 4 from 10