The Mars Desert Research Station is a Mars analog research site located in the desert outside of Hanksville, Utah, U.S.A. Here we present a preliminary checklist of the vascular plant and lichen flora for the station, based on collections made primarily during a two-week simulated Mars mission in November, 2014. Additionally, we present notes on the endolithic chlorophytes and cyanobacteria, an...

Biogeosciences Discussions This discussion paper is/has been under review for the journal Biogeosciences (BG). Please refer to the corresponding final paper in BG if available. Abstract Atmospheric concentrations of reactive nitrogen species (Nr) from 2009 to 2011 are reported for ten sites in Xinjiang, an arid region in Northwest China. Concentrations of NH 3 , NO 2 , particulate ammonium and ...

Anthrax is endemic throughout Mongolia, except in the semi-desert and desert areas of the south. The prevalence of anthrax in Mongolia had drastically decreased since the 1950s due to the use of anthrax antiserum and vaccines, but the privatisation of the animal husbandry sector and changes in the structures of the veterinary and medical delivery systems in Mongolia over the last decade have re...

Desert dust perturbs climate by directly and indirectly interacting with incoming solar and outgoing long wave radiation, thereby changing precipitation and temperature, in addition to modifying ocean and land biogeochemistry. While we know that desert dust is sensitive to perturbations in climate and human land use, previous studies have been unable to determine whether humans were increasing ...

The taxonomy, distribution, and ecology of six speCies of gerbilline rOdents occurring in the central Namib Desert, four in the genus Gerbi/lurus, are reviewed. The high species richness is unique in southern Africa; moreover, four species have terminal range limits within the area. Higher and more predictable rainfall areas support higher gerbil densities. Population densities and, for at leas...

The densely populated Indian Thar Desert, which extends from India to Pakistan, is the 18th largest in the world. Diurnal variation in temperature, erratic precipitation, poor soil texture, and saline tracts are serious constraints for the livelihood of humans. The Indian Thar Desert also has significant natural resources that can be harnessed to mitigate constraints and to support life of its ...

The vast expanse of the Gobi desert across the Mongolian plateau features frequent dust storms. In this isolated region remote sensing techniques can provide an effective measurement of dust storms. Brightness temperature channels 4, 5 of AVHRR/NOAA satellite data, emissive bands of MODIS/TERRA satellite data, and meteorological station measurement data were used and tested for dust and sandsto...

Agave quid chewing is examined as a potential contributing behavior to hunter-gatherer dental wear. It has previously been hypothesized that the contribution of Agave quid chewing to dental wear would be observed in communities wherever phytolith-rich desert succulents were part of subsistence. Previous analysis of coprolites from a prehistoric agricultural site, La Cueva de los Muertos Chiquit...

The rapid expansion of deserts in recent decades as a result of human actions combined with climatic disasters has highlighted the necessity to understand biological processes in arid environments. Whereas physical processes and the biology of flora and fauna have been relatively well studied in marginally used arid areas, knowledge of desert soil micro-organisms remains fragmentary. This chapt...