Science is Fun Fridays!

 

Salt deserts are unique environments and scientists have long sought to understand the geometric shapes that are formed, as seen here, in Death Valley.

Previous explanations suggested cracks formed and spread into a pattern, or that the crust is constantly growing and bends into the pattern.  But these do not explain why the tiles are always 1-2 meters large.

A team of researchers had an idea about the convection of saline water.

They combined lab experiments recreating similar conditions, field trips to Death Valley, and computer simulations to understand how salty water moves in soil.  As the surface gets hotter and water evaporates, the water right beneath it gets saltier and sinks towards the less salty groundwater.

When many convection rolls develop next to each other, they squeeze and push one another, forming a honeycomb pattern.

"The surface patterns reflect the slow overturning of salty water within the soil," says Dr. Lucas Goehring, Associate Professor in Physics.