

The Namibia desert is decorated by thousands of mysterious circles - fromdoon
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20140916-mystery-fairy-circles-defy-explanation

======
prawn
Not sure if it's just my browser that was missing them, but the article
could've really used some images.

You can see the fairy circles in this Wikipedia page:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_circle_(Africa)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_circle_\(Africa\))

Or this Google Images link:
[https://www.google.com.au/search?q=namibia+fairy+circle&safe...](https://www.google.com.au/search?q=namibia+fairy+circle&safe=active&es_sm=91&source=lnms&tbm=isch)

~~~
arjie
Maybe their mobile site doesn't have any images? The article is full of
pictures.

1\.
[http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/624_351/images/live/p0/26...](http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/624_351/images/live/p0/26/2x/p0262x31.jpg)

2\.
[http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/624_351/images/live/p0/26...](http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/624_351/images/live/p0/26/30/p02630k3.jpg)

3\.
[http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/624_351/images/live/p0/26...](http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/624_351/images/live/p0/26/30/p02630y6.jpg)

4\.
[http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/624_351/images/live/p0/26...](http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/624_351/images/live/p0/26/33/p02633pj.jpg)

5\.
[http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/624_351/images/live/p0/26...](http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/624_351/images/live/p0/26/35/p02635f0.jpg)

~~~
prawn
Couldn't see any of those. It was Ghostery blocking them Brightcove widgets.

~~~
currysausage
_> It was Ghostery blocking them Brightcove widgets._

In the Web 17.0, using plain <img> tags for images just doesn't scale no more.
Better rely on a framework for that arcane picture stuff.

------
rogerallen
Sure looks like Turing patterns that you get with Reaction-Diffusion
simulations.

See
[http://pmneila.github.io/jsexp/grayscott/](http://pmneila.github.io/jsexp/grayscott/)
and select "holes"

~~~
WildUtah
Little circles in an apparently random pattern? Obviously, it's an anti-
counterfeiting measure.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EURion_constellation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EURion_constellation)

------
jjallen
To the man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail:

"Some theories are still holding strong though, and Cowan jokes that each
scientist sees the solution in terms of their own particular area of
expertise: the insect biologists think the circles are created by ants or
termites, the plant physiologists think it’s grasses, and the chemists think
it’s gases. Cowan, a microbial ecologist, proves no exception."

------
Indomitable_PHP
Namibian here. Can confirm, this got more international press attention than
national press.

------
matt_morgan
It doesn't say anything about watching these over time. Do the rings move? Do
they fill in after a year and new ones form? It's not like all the grass is in
rings.

------
Jun8
“There is a tremendous sense of excitement that there is something really
interesting going on and we want to know what that is,” says Professor Don
Cowan, director of the Centre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics at the
University of Pretoria, South Africa. “It is a desire to understand the
system. What is going there? What is happening?”

Can't think of a better summary of science!

~~~
tjradcliffe
How about this: "Science is the discipline of publicly testing ideas using
systematic observation, controlled experiment, and Bayesian inference" :-)

The notion that these circles are the result of large-scale self-organization
on the part of the grasses (and maybe other creatures) is an intriguing one. I
have a very speculative novel that plays around with the idea of evolution
operating on all scales: [http://www.amazon.com/Darwins-Theorem-TJ-Radcliffe-
ebook/dp/...](http://www.amazon.com/Darwins-Theorem-TJ-Radcliffe-
ebook/dp/B00KBH5O8K/ref=la_B00KHWIROC_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411070529&sr=1-1)

While Newtonian physics was the go-to explanatory metaphor for several
centuries, it's plausible that in the 21st century we'll start to see
metaphorical evolutionary explanations become more common. If we can encourage
that habit in ourselves and others it may help us see more creative, non-
linear solutions to our problems, rather than the simple Newtonian
action/reaction, force/motion model.

------
lake99
If you're lazy, click here to see it on Google Maps:
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Namibia/@-24.9646371,15.93...](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Namibia/@-24.9646371,15.9377251,382m)

You'll have to switch to satellite-view yourself.

~~~
spacefight
Direct link to sat view:

[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Namibia/@-24.9646371,15.93...](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Namibia/@-24.9646371,15.9377251,580m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x1bf53c7e6ed37521:0xd3b9e5a5a8ecb261)

~~~
narag
There is a trail or "circles" from a spot in the top left corner going east
and a little north.

------
readerrrr
The termite theory makes a lot of sense.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_circle_%28Africa%29#Forma...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_circle_%28Africa%29#Formation_and_controversy)

~~~
arketyp
The microbial theory too.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_ring](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_ring)

------
jrapdx3
When I read the article few minutes ago the there were several interesting
images of the "fairy circles".

Their origin is still a mystery. In a way that's comforting, that nature often
doesn't yield secrets so easily and we can be astounded and fascinated by the
beauty of the things we discover.

The recent idea that the circles are the result of grass growth limitations
due to water and nutrient availability, it still doesn't account for the
circular voids. Similar conditions exist in S. Arizona where I grew up. Plants
were sparse in the desert, there were native grasses too, but no fairy
circles.

Maybe there's something about the root system of the grass that makes them
chained together, but such regular circles at regular intervals wouldn't be
explained by this mechanism. I wonder if the circles _move_ , that might tell
something. Maybe the circles are too small to track by satellite, or too
remote to warrant keeping track from space.

Well many have speculated about the phenomenon, tests have been done and
theories discarded, and all we have to show for it is more speculation. The
mystery will be revealed some day...

------
john2x
Reminds me of the tiny dots/circles that form on the surface after my rice
finishes cooking. Can't find a photo of what I mean online though.

~~~
astrobe_
Could it be the base of thermal columns?

------
zimpenfish
Someone should analyse the distribution for how close it is to a Poisson Disc
/ blue noise. Looks pretty good from the satellite images.

------
guelo
Really don't see any patterns in this image, there's also overlapping and
merging going on:
[http://lh6.ggpht.com/-4Dqlhnj1wkM/UV1et2rxyTI/AAAAAAAAm5Q/P-...](http://lh6.ggpht.com/-4Dqlhnj1wkM/UV1et2rxyTI/AAAAAAAAm5Q/P-qZdrXEs_w/fairy-
circles-1%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800)

------
kogus
These remind me of the "Devils Stomping Ground" circle in NC.
[http://www.hauntspot.com/haunt/usa/north-carolina/devils-
sto...](http://www.hauntspot.com/haunt/usa/north-carolina/devils-stomping-
ground.shtml)

~~~
jere
Came here to post this, but I've only heard it called _Devil 's Tramping
Ground_.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil's_Tramping_Ground](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil's_Tramping_Ground)

I'd like to go visit this for a few reasons, not the least of which is that
one of my favorite NC beers is named after it.

------
jackgavigan
Maybe it's the Magarathean equivalent of the EURion constellation:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EURion_constellation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EURion_constellation)

~~~
Terr_
I'm imagining a less-professional version, where underneath the polar ice is
emblazoned: "This planet is original content and property of Yahweh, DO NOT
STEAL"

------
charlesbronson
The circles remind me of antibiotic restistance tests:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacterial_lawn#mediaviewer/File...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacterial_lawn#mediaviewer/File:Bacterial_lawn_01.jpg)

------
sopooneo
Have they had some grad student just go and camp in an area like this for a
full year? I would think that would help you get some insights and plausible
hypothesis.

It seems the rocks-sliding-across-the-desert mystery could have been solved
the same way many years ago.

------
kalops
BBC themselves previously reported termites being responsible for this:

[http://www.bbc.com/news/science-
environment-21970408](http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-21970408)

~~~
HappyTheHacker
The new article says:

Tschinkel dug for termites in one or two circles and returned in 2007 to
investigate, and hopefully prove, his hypothesis. “It took us about three days
to establish, without a doubt, that termites were absolutely nothing to do
with this,” Tschinkel says.

------
tantalor
Reminds me of
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mima_mounds](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mima_mounds)

------
kazinator
They are clearly giant ejection pin marks from when the Earth was popped out
of its mould.

------
lucozade
Tell me about it. Those Namibian desert fairies play havoc with your
herbaceous borders.

------
nakedrobot2
This is caused by fungus. Have any scientists established this as the cause?
That is my best guess.

~~~
aidos
If it's a guess you should probably not state it as fact.

