Unveiling the Enigmatic 13,000-Year Saga of Star Dunes in the Moroccan Sahara

A group of British scientists has made a remarkable find amidst the imposing star dunes of Morocco's Sahara desert. While the bases of these dunes date back a staggering 13,000 years, their upper layers reveal a surprising twist - they are only 1,000 years old.

Under the leadership of Professor Geoff Duller from Aberystwyth University, the team embarked on an expedition to the Erg Chebbi sand sea in Morocco. Their focal point was the awe-inspiring Lala Lallia, a colossal star dune standing at an impressive 100 meters in height and stretching across 700 meters in width.

Revealing themselves as pyramid-like structures from the ground and intricate star patterns from above, these monumental dunes bear a striking resemblance to extraterrestrial landscapes found on Mars and Saturn's moon Titan. However, the true history of these dunes turned out to be far more intricate than anticipated.

Employing luminescence dating techniques, the researchers meticulously analyzed the deposition ages of sand grains extracted from pits and drain pipes. This meticulous analysis unveiled a fascinating narrative - while the dune's origins can be traced back to climate fluctuations millennia ago, its current star-shaped configuration is a relatively recent development.

Around 9,000 years ago, the dune found stability when vegetation took root in its vicinity. However, subsequent environmental shifts set off a chain reaction, triggering its metamorphosis. Today, the convergence of southwest and northeast winds causes sand accumulation, gradually propelling the dune westward at a rate of 50cm per year.

The team's rigorous fieldwork and laboratory techniques, executed under stringent darkroom-like conditions, underscore the advanced scientific methodology employed in reconstructing the evolution of this formidable feature of the Moroccan desert.

Their discovery challenges existing perceptions regarding the formation of these remarkable structures in some of the planet's most hostile environments by shedding light on the unexpectedly recent evolution of the star dune above its ancient base.