The newly discovered fairy circles were found across Africa, Madagascar, Western Asia, and Southwest Australia, predominantly in hot, sandy locations with annual rainfall between four to 12 inches. However, it remains unclear whether these instances arise from the same naturally-occurring mechanisms. The formation of fairy circles is a contentious topic, with theories ranging from termite activity to self-organizing plants. Further research is needed to reach a consensus.
Key takeaways:
- Researchers have used artificial intelligence to discover thousands of new "fairy circles" in hundreds of locations across the globe, suggesting the phenomenon is more widespread than previously thought.
- The AI was trained with over 15,000 satellite images of locations in Namibia and Australia, and then used to analyze satellite views of over half a million 2.5-acre plots of land worldwide, identifying more fairy circles in 263 dryland locations in 15 countries.
- The newly identified fairy circles were found in hot and sandy locations that received between four to 12 inches of rainfall a year, including Africa, Madagascar, Western Asia, and Southwest Australia.
- Despite the new findings, there is still no consensus on how fairy circles form, with theories ranging from termite activity to self-organizing plants, and more research is needed to reach a consensus.