The first rains in centuries in the Atacama Desert devastate its microbial life
The Atacama Desert, the driest and oldest desert on Earth, located in northern Chile, hides a hyper-arid core in which no rain has been recorded during the past 500 years. But this situation has changed in the last three years. For the first time, rainfall has been documented in the hyper-arid core of the Atacama, and contrary to what was expected, the water supply has caused a great devastation among local life. This is the main conclusion of an international study, published today in Scientific Reports titled "Unprecedented rains decimate surface microbial communities in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert," directed by researchers from the Center for Astrobiology (CAB). These recent rains are attributed to changing climate over the Pacific Ocean.