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Scientists Reveal Secrets of Desert Star Dunes

A view of the Lala Lallia star dune of the Sahara Desert, in Erg Chebbi, Morocco, as seen in an undated handout image from 2008 and obtained by Reuters on March 1, 2024. Charlie Bristow/Handout via REUTERS
A view of the Lala Lallia star dune of the Sahara Desert, in Erg Chebbi, Morocco, as seen in an undated handout image from 2008 and obtained by Reuters on March 1, 2024. Charlie Bristow/Handout via REUTERS
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Scientists Reveal Secrets of Desert Star Dunes

A view of the Lala Lallia star dune of the Sahara Desert, in Erg Chebbi, Morocco, as seen in an undated handout image from 2008 and obtained by Reuters on March 1, 2024. Charlie Bristow/Handout via REUTERS
A view of the Lala Lallia star dune of the Sahara Desert, in Erg Chebbi, Morocco, as seen in an undated handout image from 2008 and obtained by Reuters on March 1, 2024. Charlie Bristow/Handout via REUTERS

They are among the wonders of our deserts: star dunes, the vaguely pyramid-shaped sand formations up to about 1,000 feet (300 meters) tall with arms stretching out from a central peak to give them a star-like appearance when viewed from above.
Scientists on Monday unveiled the first in-depth study of a star dune, revealing the internal structure of these geological features and showing how long it took for one of them to form - more quickly than expected but still a process unfolding over many centuries.
The study focused upon a star dune in eastern Morocco called Lala Lallia, meaning "highest sacred point" in the local Berber language, situated within the Sahara Desert in a small sand sea called Erg Chebbi about 3 miles (5 km) from the town of Merzouga, close to the border with Algeria.
Lala Lallia rises about 330 feet (100 meters) above the surrounding dunes and is approximately 2,300 feet (700 meters) wide, containing about 5-1/2 million metric tons of sand.
According to Reuters, he researchers used ground-penetrating radar to peer inside the dune and employed luminescence dating to determine how long Lala Lallia has taken to form, a method based on the amount of energy trapped inside the grains of sand. The answer: about 900 years, accumulating roughly 6,400 metric tons annually as wind relentlessly blows sand through the desert.
Star dunes make up just under 10% of the dunes in Earth's deserts and are the tallest ones, surpassing other types such as crescent-shaped barchan dunes and straight and lengthy linear dunes. They also have been spotted on Mars and on Saturn's large moon Titan.
"I first encountered star dunes in Namibia 20 years ago, and was instantly amazed at the size of them. I have a vivid memory of the long climb to the top, struggling up very loose sand in the heat of the day," said geographer Geoff Duller of Aberystwyth University in Wales, co-author of the study published in the journal Scientific Reports.
"I find desert dunes very beautiful," Duller added. "The sight of the sinuous curves, and the way that the light and shadow changes with the sun mean that they always look different, whether that is in the cool of the morning, the midday sun or near sunset. The different colors of sand in different deserts are also very striking, with yellow, white, red and even black dunes in different parts of the world."
The ground-penetrating radar revealed the layers within the Lala Lallia dune, showing how it was constructed over time through accumulating sand and how parts of its internal structure resembled other types of dunes.
"Star dunes are formed in areas with complex wind regimes, which means winds blowing from different directions, and net sand accumulation, points within the desert where big piles of sand can be blown around to form giant dunes," said Birkbeck University of London sedimentologist and study co-author Charlie Bristow.
The researchers also determined that Lala Lallia is moving westerly at a speed of about 1.6 feet (0.5 meters) annually.
While many star dunes are known today, only a single ancient one has been found preserved as sandstone in the geological record, dating to about 250 million years ago, in Scotland. By revealing their internal structure, the researchers said their findings provide a guide for geologists to identify more sandstone remnants of ancient star dunes.
Earth's largest star dunes are found in the Badain Jaran desert in western China. Star dunes also are found in places including the Namib Sand Sea in Namibia, large sand seas in Algeria such as the Grand Erg Oriental and Grand Erg Occidental, and Rub' al Khali in Saudi Arabia. In North America, Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado contains a series of them.
"They form extraordinary and awe-inspiring landscapes," Bristow said. "From the ground they can be intimidating, mobile mountains of sand."

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Minecraft to Come to Life with UK Theme Park

An in-game screenshot of Minecraft is seen in this undated publicity image. (Reuters)
An in-game screenshot of Minecraft is seen in this undated publicity image. (Reuters)
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Minecraft to Come to Life with UK Theme Park

An in-game screenshot of Minecraft is seen in this undated publicity image. (Reuters)
An in-game screenshot of Minecraft is seen in this undated publicity image. (Reuters)

Britain is to welcome the world's first Minecraft roller-coaster and attractions with the opening of "Minecraft World" in 2027, the studio behind the video game announced Saturday.

"Merlin Entertainments and Mojang Studios have today announced Minecraft World, the world's first fully immersive Minecraft theme park land," the Sweden-based video game developer and UK theme park company said.

The £50-million ($66.6 million) project will be part of the Chessington World of Adventures Resort, a theme park complex southwest of London.

It will be inspired by the "biomes, mobs and items" of the beloved Minecraft universe, according to a press release, and will feature a coaster, "block built playscapes" and themed retail and dining.

The attraction builds on the popularity of one of the best-selling video games of all time in which players build a three-dimensional world.

Minecraft was first made available on computers in 2011 and has since been released on mobile phones and several gaming consoles.

"A Minecraft Movie" proved a box office hit last year, becoming the most successful film adaptation from a video game in North America and generating memes and TikTok trends that went viral worldwide.

UK cinemas had to restrict audiences from partaking in a viral "chicken jockey" trend arising from the film.

"Minecraft World represents a meaningful milestone in our ongoing journey to expand the Minecraft universe," said Torfi Frans Ólafsson, senior creative director for entertainment at Minecraft.

Universal is also to build its first European theme park in Britain, with its first year planned for 2031.

Varieties

Models with Down Syndrome in Romania Strike a Pose for World Down Syndrome Day

Antonia Voicu laughs before the SEEN Anonymous Seamstresses Gala, an event organised by the Down Plus Bucharest, an NGO supporting youngsters with Down Syndrome and other intellectual disabilities, in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, ahead of the World Down Syndrome Day, on March 21. (AP)
Antonia Voicu laughs before the SEEN Anonymous Seamstresses Gala, an event organised by the Down Plus Bucharest, an NGO supporting youngsters with Down Syndrome and other intellectual disabilities, in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, ahead of the World Down Syndrome Day, on March 21. (AP)
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Models with Down Syndrome in Romania Strike a Pose for World Down Syndrome Day

Antonia Voicu laughs before the SEEN Anonymous Seamstresses Gala, an event organised by the Down Plus Bucharest, an NGO supporting youngsters with Down Syndrome and other intellectual disabilities, in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, ahead of the World Down Syndrome Day, on March 21. (AP)
Antonia Voicu laughs before the SEEN Anonymous Seamstresses Gala, an event organised by the Down Plus Bucharest, an NGO supporting youngsters with Down Syndrome and other intellectual disabilities, in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, ahead of the World Down Syndrome Day, on March 21. (AP)

Dozens of models with Down syndrome strutted down a catwalk at a fashion show in Romania’s capital for an evening celebrating style, “atypical beauty” and courage to mark World Down Syndrome Day.

The SEEN Anonymous Seamstresses Gala in Bucharest brought together designers from across the country, who created garments “with great kindness, care and creativity” for young people with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities.

Georgeta Bucur, the president of Down Plus Association Bucharest, which organized the event held on Wednesday at the Romexpo center, said 50 seamstresses each created a costume for a youngster they had never met.

“The costumes were created without anyone trying them on," she said. “But the most important thing is that the people gathered together again. This event is really special ... it’s the most beautiful thing that could happen.”

For 19-year-old Antonia Voicu, who wore a puffy green netted dress and a crown of red roses, taking the stage was like a dream come true.

“I feel like I’m always fashionable, and I like to strike a pose, so I like to do like this,” she said, before stepping on the runway. “I’m not nervous at all.”

Antonia’s caretaker, Diana Negres, said the event was “a big step” for Antonia, who had always dreamed of “being a star” parading on stage. “This event gives her exactly this,” she said. “This is her first time, we did no preparation at all, so everything will be spontaneous.”

Cristina Bucur, a seamstress and one of the organizers, said the idea for the fashion show came to her because she has a child with a disability.

"I wanted the other children to see what it’s like to wear a costume during a fashion show, what it’s like to be cheered on stage,” she said. “They enjoy it enormously because they see that someone looks at them, that someone does something for them.”

In Romania, about 12,000 people have Down syndrome, and over 6 million worldwide, according to the Romania Down Syndrome Federation. In 2022, the Eastern European country reported that a person with Down syndrome was born per 847 births.

“On stage, us children go on a parade, and today I’m dressed in a nice dress and try to do some modeling,” said nine-year-old Marusika Burlaca, who took to the stage wearing a pink dress studded with little pearls after having her hair done up.

“Maybe they get a bit nervous at times, it’s the emotions, but they really like to be the center of attention,” said Larisa Bucur, one of the organizers. “We know that they want to be in the spotlight. I think it’s a very good opportunity for them.”

World Down Syndrome Day celebrates the lives of people with Down syndrome to make sure they have equal freedoms and opportunities, and to raise awareness. In 2011, the United Nations General Assembly declared March 21 as the official day of observation.

This year’s theme is combating loneliness, which the World Down Syndrome Day website says can have an outsized impact on people living with Down syndrome.

“Everyone feels lonely sometimes,” it states. “But for many people with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities, loneliness is a more common and painful experience.”

Varieties

Vanishing Glacier on Germany's Highest Peak Prompts Ski Lift Demolition

An aerial view taken with a drone shows the Schneefernerkopf ski lift prior to its demolition at the Zugspitze ski resort near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany on March 20, 2026. (Photo by Philipp Guelland / AFP)
An aerial view taken with a drone shows the Schneefernerkopf ski lift prior to its demolition at the Zugspitze ski resort near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany on March 20, 2026. (Photo by Philipp Guelland / AFP)
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Vanishing Glacier on Germany's Highest Peak Prompts Ski Lift Demolition

An aerial view taken with a drone shows the Schneefernerkopf ski lift prior to its demolition at the Zugspitze ski resort near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany on March 20, 2026. (Photo by Philipp Guelland / AFP)
An aerial view taken with a drone shows the Schneefernerkopf ski lift prior to its demolition at the Zugspitze ski resort near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany on March 20, 2026. (Photo by Philipp Guelland / AFP)

Vanishing glaciers atop Germany's highest mountain prompted the demolition of a ski lift Friday, as global warming reshapes the Alps.

A ski slope that for decades ran down the Schneeferner glacier on the Zugspitze has melted away, leading operator Bayerische Zugspitzbahn Bergbahn AG to begin dismantling the lift after more than 50 years of service.

"The glaciers in Bavaria will inevitably melt away, as they can no longer survive in the face of climate change," Christoph Mayer, a glaciologist at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, told AFP.

High-tension cables anchoring the existing ski lift will be cut with blasting charges on Friday evening, said the operator's spokeswoman Laura Schaper.

The lift's pylons, which are built on the ice, will fall once the cables have been severed, she said near the glacier on Friday.

The peak of Zugspitze, which stands at 2,962 meters (9,700 feet), is located in the Wetterstein massif along Germany's border with Austria.

"The ice is receding, the terrain and the lift have changed drastically," Schaper said. "The slope has become significantly steeper, and for that reason it's no longer technically feasible to keep operating the lift."

New data on the remaining glaciers in the Bavarian Alps released Thursday found that the glaciers have receded by more than a quarter just between 2023 and 2025, losing around one million cubic meters of ice over only two years.

Wilfried Hagg, a geologist at the Munich University of Applied Sciences who worked on the study alongside Mayer, told AFP that climate change is entirely to blame.

Hagg told AFP that there's "absolutely no" chance of saving any of Germany's remaining glaciers.

There are four remaining glaciers in Bavaria: the northern part of the Schneeferne and the Hoellentalferner, which is also located on the Zugspitze.

Two others are both located on the Berchtesgarden massif: the Wazmann, at 2,713 meters, and Blaueis at 2,607 meters.

Those glaciers "are in very bad shape," Hagg said, with the two on Berchtesgarden "likely to disappear completely very soon -- this year or next".