The secret of the largest stable dunes in the world

2005/01/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Geologia

Why not move the dunes of the Badain Jaran desert in China, even if they are in a dry and windy environment? In general, the dunes move due to the wind, but the Badain Jarangos are stable and the researchers have not known so far why.

The news has been published in the scientific journal Nature, and according to the researchers, the dune stabilizes the water below and inside the dunes. Researchers have found that under the dunes there is plenty of water. It is enough to drill 20 cm to find the water and, if you make a hole of one meter on one side of the dune, the water begins to filter, although the lake closest to the dune is 17 m below.

This water comes from far from the melted snow of the Qilian Mountains, 500 km away to the southeast of the desert. Water flows from cracks in rocks to dunes. Around the dunes there are 72 lagoons and the dunes themselves contain a lot of water inside. Researchers have calculated that 500 million cubic meters of water pass through this area annually.

As soon as they know it, Chinese authorities begin to develop plans to exploit this water. However, the researchers have warned that collecting water from the dunes can pose a danger, since in case of dry dunes you run the risk of moving or destroying, as well as damaging the ecosystem.