The Taklimakan Desert changes into a sea of ​​snow with one click! | Environmental Trumpet

Recently, the Taklamakan Desert "changed its clothes" with just one click, from a blazing golden desert to a sea of ​​snow!

The Taklimakan Desert turns into a white "ocean" | Bayinguoleng Media

The light and pure white rime , hanging on the branches of desert plants such as red willow and poplar, looks like a blooming white sea of ​​flowers from afar. The endless white snow and undulating sand dunes, the desert in the snow presents a unique texture, just like a painting carefully drawn by nature.

Snow in the Taklimakan Desert is not uncommon. Geographically, the Taklimakan Desert is located in the center of the Tarim Basin, where water vapor easily gathers. When strong cold air enters the basin, it will stay there due to the obstruction of the mountains, thus forming clouds and snow.

Due to geographical conditions, the Taklimakan Desert has seen snowfall for four consecutive years | China Weather

However, in recent years, the frequency and intensity of winter snowfall in the Taklimakan Desert have increased , which may be related to global climate change . Due to climate change, the global water cycle has accelerated, precipitation has increased, and cold air activity has intensified, making it easier for snow to form in desert areas.

A strange smiling face appeared in the woods

In Oregon, USA, there is a mountain. Every autumn and winter, a huge "smiling face" appears on the top of the mountain.

A friendly smile, but looks weird | The Oregonian

Behind the smile is people's whimsical artistic conception. In 2011, the Hampton Lumber Company of the United States planted many trees on this mountain. After considering the local altitude and soil conditions, the company chose two types of trees : one is Douglas fir, which can still keep full of green leaves in autumn and winter; the other is larch, whose branches and leaves will change color in autumn and winter.

After careful design and planting, a huge smiling face with a diameter of 90 meters will come into people's sight every autumn. In winter, with the arrival of heavy snow, the leaves on the larch branches gradually decrease, and the smiling face will change its "face" from golden autumn to white.

In winter, larch trees lose their needles, leaving the ground covered in snow | abovethenorthwest

As a forestry company, Hampton's original intention of planting the "smiley face" is to promote the practice of sustainable forestry. By letting more people see this smiley face, the company hopes that people will pay more attention to forestry development and forest protection , and remind people not to forget to leave enough green shade for the earth when cutting down trees.

The round marbles on the beach are actually...

In the past few months, people have continued to discover many unidentified spherical objects on the Sydney beach. Some of them are green, some are black, some are gray, and they are colorful, making people curious about their true appearance.

At least it doesn't look too gross? | Northern Beaches council

At first, people thought that these balls might be tar balls made of crude oil, but after testing by research institutions, they found that the composition of these balls was actually the same as human excrement (I started covering my nose even through the screen...)

How could human poop end up on the beach for no reason?

Researchers believe that this may be related to the local drainage system . Sydney's drainage system was built in the 1990s. In order to save budget, people at that time mainly used primary treatment processes when treating sewage, such as sewage dilution, and did not design further biochemical treatment, and directly discharged it into the ocean . Later, the sewage plant's process was not upgraded, but the final drainage pipe was extended to allow the treated sewage to be discharged directly into the ocean to avoid pollution to the seaside.

Many people may have swum and surfed in waters like this... | Brook Mitchell/AAP

This practice is actually just transferring dirty water from the sewage plant to the ocean, and many pollutants may not be degraded . These pollutants gather and mix in the seawater, eventually forming small balls and returning to people.

References

[1]https://phys.org/news/2025-01-trump-paris-climate-agreement-fossil.html

[2]https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_29969824

[3]https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/in-oregon-a-giant-300-foot-smiley-face-greets-traffic-every-fall/

[4]https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jan/18/sydney-beaches-debris-balls-cause-sewerage-system

[5]https://www.euronews.com/green/2025/01/10/pollutocrat-day-the-richest-1-have-already-burnt-through-their-annual-carbon-budget-oxfam

Author: Xiao Xiaoze

Edited by: Yellowtail Pollock

This article comes from GuokrNature (ID: GuokrNature)

If you need to reprint, please contact [email protected]