Computer Modeling of Namibia's Mysterious Fairy Circles

Submitted by ilee on January 21, 2017
Predicted and observed patterns of fairy circles

Two graduate students developed a computer model of how fairy circles form.  In their model, the interaction of termites and vegetation caused the development of fairy circles and another smaller scale pattern between fairy circles that no one before had see.  The two students went to the desert of Namibia to look for this secondary pattern and found it.  While not "proof" of how the Namibian fairy circles were formed, the finding furthers our understanding of pattern development in nature in self-organizing systems.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/19/science/fishing-for-clues-to-solve-namibias-fairy-circle-mystery.html?hpw&rref=science&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well

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