The effects of climate change on the Atacama Desert as a pertinent Mars analog model

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armando Azua-Bustos ◽  
Alberto G. Fairén
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Uv Radiation ◽  
Atacama Desert ◽  
Chemical Species ◽  
Saline Soils ◽  
Northern Chile ◽  
Analog Model ◽  
The Past ◽  
Mars Analog ◽  
New Instruments

<p>Since 2003 the Atacama Desert in northern Chile is well-known as Mars analog model due to its extreme aridity, high UV radiation and highly saline soils containing highly oxidizing chemical species. Is in this frame that our team and others for the past decades have described a number of sites in the Atacama and their pertinence as Mars analog. However, since 2015 a number of climatic events never reported before have affected the Atacama, thought to be caused by climate change, with effects yet to be fully understood. Given that new instruments, techniques and rovers are, and will be tested in the Atacama before to be sent to Mars, is critical to be aware of these changes in order to properly plan new explorations and testing missions in this desert. Here we present some of the evidences of the changes brought by these environmental alterations, suggesting also the regions of the Atacama that still may be less or unaffected by them.</p>

The Paleoepidemiology of American Trypasonomiasis (Chagas disease)

1970 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilmar Salo ◽  
William C. Auferheide ◽  
Michael Madden ◽  
John Streitz ◽  
Jane Buikstra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Ancient Dna ◽  
Academic Discipline ◽  
Atacama Desert ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Northern Chile ◽  
Kinetoplast Dna ◽  
Testing Hypotheses ◽  
The Past ◽  
Tissue Specimens

Ancient DNA methodology was applied to extract and amplify a segment of kinetoplast DNA of Trypanosoma cruzi in soft tissue specimens from about 300 spontaneously mummified human bodies from the Atacama Desert in northern Chile and southern Peru. A DNA probe was then employed to hybridize with the amplicon. Results indicate that about 41% of the population in that geographic area were infected with the trypanosome over the past 9000 years. The epidemiological implications of these findings are discussed. It is also emphasized that this and several other paleoepidemiological studies in progress have established that population-study cohorts of mummies now can generate statistically valid paleoepidemiological investigations capable of testing hypotheses. These reflect the maturation of the academic discipline of the scientific study of mummies.

scholarly journals The Atacama Desert in Northern Chile as an Analog Model of Mars

2022 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armando Azua-Bustos ◽  
Carlos González-Silva ◽  
Alberto G. Fairén
Keyword(s):  
Atacama Desert ◽  
Analog Model ◽  
Patchy Distribution ◽  
Microbial Life ◽  
Environmental Extremes ◽  
Life On Mars ◽  
Domains Of Life ◽  
Mars Analog ◽  
The Impact

The Atacama Desert is by far the driest and oldest desert on Earth, showing a unique combination of environmental extremes (extreme dryness, the highest UV radiation levels on Earth, and highly saline and oxidizing soils), explaining why the Atacama has been largely investigated as a Mars analog model for almost 20 years. Based on the source and the amount of water available for life and its analogy with Mars, two ecosystems are of interest in the Atacama: its Coastal Range and the much drier hyperarid core, which we here review in detail. Members of the three domains of life have been found across these ecosystems living at the limit of habitability, suggesting the potential dry limits for each domain and also unveiling the highly patchy distribution of microbial life in its most extreme regions. The thorough study of the Atacama has allowed us to understand how life has adapted to its extreme conditions, the specific habitats that life occupies in each case (thus suggesting the most likely places in which to search for evidence for life on Mars), and the number of biosignatures detected across this desert. Also, the characterization of west-to-east transects across this desert has shown to be of significant value to understand the potential adaptations that Martian microorganisms may have followed in an ever-drying planet. All of this explains why the Atacama is actively used as the testing ground of the technologies (detection instruments, rovers, etc.) that were sent and will be sent to Mars. We also highlight the need to better inform the exact locations of the sites studied to understand general trends, the need to identify the true native microbial species of the Atacama, and the impact of climate change on the most arid and most Martian desert of Earth.

scholarly journals Widespread glasses generated by cometary fireballs during the late Pleistocene in the Atacama Desert, Chile

Geology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter H. Schultz ◽  
R. Scott Harris ◽  
Sebastián Perroud ◽  
Nicolas Blanco ◽  
Andrew J. Tomlinson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Atacama Desert ◽  
Silicate Glasses ◽  
Northern Chile ◽  
Broad Distribution ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Rapid Climate Change ◽  
Low Altitude

Twisted and folded silicate glasses (up to 50 cm across) concentrated in certain areas across the Atacama Desert near Pica (northern Chile) indicate nearly simultaneous (seconds to minutes) intense airbursts close to Earth’s surface near the end of the Pleistocene. The evidence includes mineral decompositions that require ultrahigh temperatures, dynamic modes of emplacement for the glasses, and entrained meteoritic dust. Thousands of identical meteoritic grains trapped in these glasses show compositions and assemblages that resemble those found exclusively in comets and CI group primitive chondrites. Combined with the broad distribution of the glasses, the Pica glasses provide the first clear evidence for a cometary body (or bodies) exploding at a low altitude. This occurred soon after the arrival of proto-Archaic hunter-gatherers and around the time of rapid climate change in the Southern Hemisphere.

scholarly journals Biotechnological Applications Derived from Microorganisms of the Atacama Desert

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armando Azua-Bustos ◽  
Carlos González-Silva
Keyword(s):  
Water Availability ◽  
High Salinity ◽  
Atacama Desert ◽  
Biotechnological Applications ◽  
Analog Model ◽  
The Past ◽  
Basic Understanding ◽  
Domains Of Life ◽  
Immense Potential

The Atacama Desert in Chile is well known for being the driest and oldest desert on Earth. For these same reasons, it is also considered a good analog model of the planet Mars. Only a few decades ago, it was thought that this was a sterile place, but in the past years fascinating adaptations have been reported in the members of the three domains of life: low water availability, high UV radiation, high salinity, and other environmental stresses. However, the biotechnological applications derived from the basic understanding and characterization of these species, with the notable exception of copper bioleaching, are still in its infancy, thus offering an immense potential for future development.

CONFOUNDINGLY COMPLEX EXPOSURE HISTORIES REVEALED BY 21NE AND 10BE ABUNDANCES IN ALLUVIAL DEPOSITS OF THE ATACAMA DESERT, NORTHERN CHILE

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Cross Jungers ◽  
◽  
Arjun M. Heimsath ◽  
Ronald Amundson ◽  
Greg Balco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atacama Desert ◽  
Northern Chile ◽  
Alluvial Deposits

Denouement: World Politics, Systemic Leadership, and Climate Change

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Thompson ◽  
Leila Zakhirova
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
World Politics ◽  
First Century ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Climate Fluctuations ◽  
The Past ◽  
Agrarian Economy ◽  
Historical Processes

In this final chapter, we conclude by recapitulating our argument and evidence. One goal of this work has been to improve our understanding of the patterns underlying the evolution of world politics over the past one thousand years. How did we get to where we are now? Where and when did the “modern” world begin? How did we shift from a primarily agrarian economy to a primarily industrial one? How did these changes shape world politics? A related goal was to examine more closely the factors that led to the most serious attempts by states to break free of agrarian constraints. We developed an interactive model of the factors that we thought were most likely to be significant. Finally, a third goal was to examine the linkages between the systemic leadership that emerged from these historical processes and the global warming crisis of the twenty-first century. Climate change means that the traditional energy platforms for system leadership—coal, petroleum, and natural gas—have become counterproductive. The ultimate irony is that we thought that the harnessing of carbon fuels made us invulnerable to climate fluctuations, while the exact opposite turns out to be true. The more carbon fuels are consumed, the greater the damage done to the atmosphere. In many respects, the competition for systemic leadership generated this problem. Yet it is unclear whether systemic leadership will be up to the task of resolving it.

Potential of arsenic bioremediation by a cyanobacterium isolated from the Salado River in the Atacama Desert

2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-160
Author(s):  
Pablo Pérez-Portilla ◽  
Juan Araya ◽  
Karem Gallardo ◽  
Adriana Aránguiz-Acuña
Keyword(s):  
Atacama Desert ◽  
Aquatic Systems ◽  
Arid Environments ◽  
Northern Chile ◽  
Evolutionary Mechanisms ◽  
Alkaline Conditions ◽  
Ph Conditions ◽  
Removal Of Arsenic ◽  
Salado River ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Cyanobacteria and microalgae are recognized as excellent metal(loid)s-bioremediators of aquatic systems. We isolated a cyanobacterium from the Salado River in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile, which was identified as Cyanobium sp. Growth inhibition bioassays were conducted with arsenic and cadmium, and tolerance of Cyanobium to these metals was estimated. Removal of arsenic was assessed under different pH conditions and over time. We showed that the Cyanobium strain isolated from the Salado River has a greater tolerance to the arsenic and cadmium compounds than other species commonly used in metal(loid)s-bioremediation. Removal of up to 90% of arsenic was obtained in alkaline conditions, within the first 3 hours of exposure suggesting that Cyanobium sp. isolated from the Atacama Desert could be further studied with biotechnological purposes and to understand the evolutionary mechanisms of adaption to arid environments.

scholarly journals Hydroclimate variability in the low-elevation Atacama Desert over the last 2500 yr

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 287-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. M. Gayo ◽  
C. Latorre ◽  
C. M. Santoro ◽  
A. Maldonado ◽  
R. De Pol-Holz
Keyword(s):  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Atacama Desert ◽  
Plant Macrofossils ◽  
Central Andes ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
Riparian Ecosystems ◽  
Independent Evidence ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Climate Fluctuations ◽  
The Past

Abstract. Paleoclimate reconstructions reveal that Earth system has experienced sub-millennial scale climate changes over the past two millennia in response to internal/external forcing. Although sub-millennial hydroclimate fluctuations have been detected in the central Andes during this interval, the timing, magnitude, extent and direction of change of these events remain poorly defined. Here, we present a reconstruction of hydroclimate variations on the Pacific slope of the central Andes based on exceptionally well-preserved plant macrofossils and associated archaeological remains from a hyperarid drainage (Quebrada Maní, ∼21° S, 1000 m a.s.l.) in the Atacama Desert. During the late Holocene, riparian ecosystems and farming social groups flourished in the hyperarid Atacama core as surface water availability increased throughout this presently sterile landscape. Twenty-six radiocarbon dates indicate that these events occurred between 1050–680, 1615–1350 and 2500–2040 cal yr BP. Regional comparisons with rodent middens and other records suggest that these events were synchronous with pluvial stages detected at higher-elevations in the central Andes over the last 2500 yr. These hydroclimate changes also coincide with periods of pronounced SST gradients in the Tropical Pacific (La Niña-like mode), conditions that are conducive to significantly increased rainfall in the central Andean highlands and flood events in the low-elevation watersheds at inter-annual timescales. Our findings indicate that the positive anomalies in the hyperarid Atacama over the past 2500 yr represent a regional response of the central Andean climate system to changes in the global hydrological cycle at centennial timescales. Furthermore, our results provide support for the role of tropical Pacific sea surface temperature gradient changes as the primary mechanism responsible for climate fluctuations in the central Andes. Finally, our results constitute independent evidence for comprehending the major trends in cultural evolution of prehistoric peoples that inhabited the region.

scholarly journals Ensemble models on palaeoclimate to predict India's groundwater challenge

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Partha Sarathi Datta
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Global Climate Models ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
Ensemble Models ◽  
North West ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
14C Age

In many parts of the world, freshwater crisis is largely due to increasing water consumption and pollution by rapidly growing population and aspirations for economic development, but, ascribed usually to the climate. However, limited understanding and knowledge gaps in the factors controlling climate and uncertainties in the climate models are unable to assess the probable impacts on water availability in tropical regions. In this context, review of ensemble models on δ18O and δD in rainfall and groundwater, 3H- and 14C- ages of groundwater and 14C- age of lakes sediments helped to reconstruct palaeoclimate and long-term recharge in the North-west India; and predict future groundwater challenge. The annual mean temperature trend indicates both warming/cooling in different parts of India in the past and during 1901–2010. Neither the GCMs (Global Climate Models) nor the observational record indicates any significant change/increase in temperature and rainfall over the last century, and climate change during the last 1200 yrs BP. In much of the North-West region, deep groundwater renewal occurred from past humid climate, and shallow groundwater renewal from limited modern recharge over the past decades. To make water management to be more responsive to climate change, the gaps in the science of climate change need to be bridged.

scholarly journals Impacts of climate change on air pollution levels in the Northern Hemisphere with special focus on Europe and the Arctic

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 3337-3367 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. B. Hedegaard ◽  
J. Brandt ◽  
J. H. Christensen ◽  
L. M. Frohn ◽  
C. Geels ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Temperature Increase ◽  
Input Data ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Chemical Species ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Long Range Transport ◽  
Oh Radicals ◽  
Validation Period ◽  
Range Transport

Abstract. The response of a selected number of chemical species is inspected with respect to climate change. The coupled Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Model ECHAM4-OPYC3 is providing meteorological fields for the Chemical long-range Transport Model DEHM. Three selected decades (1990s, 2040s and 2090s) are inspected. The 1990s are used as a reference and validation period. In this decade an evaluation of the output from the DEHM model with ECHAM4-OPYC3 meteorology input data is carried out. The model results are tested against similar model simulations with MM5 meteorology and against observations from the EMEP monitoring sites in Europe. The test results from the validation period show that the overall statistics (e.g. mean values and standard deviations) are similar for the two simulations. However, as one would expect the model setup with climate input data fails to predict correctly the timing of the variability in the observations. The overall performance of the ECHAM4-OPYC3 setup as meteorological input to the DEHM model is shown to be acceptable according to the applied ranking method. It is concluded that running a chemical long-range transport model on data from a "free run" climate model is scientifically sound. From the model runs of the three decades, it is found that the overall trend detected in the evolution of the chemical species, is the same between the 1990 decade and the 2040 decade and between the 2040 decade and the 2090 decade, respectively. The dominating impacts from climate change on a large number of the chemical species are related to the predicted temperature increase. Throughout the 21th century the ECHAM4-OPYC3 projects a global mean temperature increase of 3 K with local maxima up to 11 K in the Arctic winter based on the IPCC A2 emission scenario. As a consequence of this temperature increase, the temperature dependent biogenic emission of isoprene is predicted to increase significantly over land by the DEHM model. This leads to an increase in the O3 production and together with an increase in water vapor to an increase in the number of free OH radicals. Furthermore this increase in the number of OH radicals contributes to a significant change in the typical life time of many species, since OH are participating in a large number of chemical reactions. It is e.g. found that more SO42− will be present in the future over the already polluted areas and this increase can be explained by an enhanced conversion of SO2 to SO42−.

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