Has the riddle been solved?
While numerous scientists have researched these circles, no one has yet been able to ultimately determine their cause or purpose. Various theories of their origin have been suggested, including euphorbia poisoning, animal dust baths, meteor showers, termites and underground gas vents.
The latest scientific research and reports...
Mysterious fairy circles now discovered in Australia’s desert. By Jane Palmer .A shorter version of this article was published in New Scientist magazine on 19 March 2016. Journal reference: PNAS, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1522130113https://www.newscientist.com/article/2080615-mysterious-fairy-circles-now-discovered-in-australias-desert/
Experiments Testing The Causes of Namibian Fairy Circles. Published in the online Public Library of Science. PLoS ONE 10(10): e0140099. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0140099. 28 October 2015. By WR Tschinkel
Clarifying the misunderstandings regarding vegetation self-organisation and spatial patterns of fairy circles in Namibia: a response to a recent termite hypothesis. Publishished in the Journal of Ecological Entomology: Volume 40, issue 6, pages 669-675. 1 October 2015. By S. Getzin, K. Wiegand, H. Yizhaq, J. van Hardenberg and E. Meron
Gradual Regime Shifts in Fairy Circles. Published in the Proceeding of National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Volume 112, No.40, pages 12327 12331. 19 August 2015.By Y. Zelnik, E. Meron and G. Bel
Are Namibian “Fairy Circles” the Consequence of Self-Organizing Spatial Vegetation Patterning? by Michael D. Cramer & Nichole N. Barger
The Biological Underpinnings of Namib Desert Fairy Circles Science 29 March 2013: Vol. 339 no. 6127 pp. 1618-1621DOI:10.1126/science. 222999 By: Norbert Juergens
The Life Cycle and Life Span of Namibian Fairy Circles Scientific paper, published in PLOS One (2012) By: W.R.Tschinkel
Evidence for a geochemical origin of the mysterious circles in the Pro-Namib desert (1MB / PDF) Scientific paper, published in Journal of Arid Environments 75 (2011) By: Y. Naudé, M.W. van Rooyen and E.R. Rohwer
Origin of the enigmatic, circular, barren patches (Fairy Rings) of the pro-Namib (158 KB/PDF) Scientific paper, published in the South African Journal of Science 97, January/February 2001. By: C.F. Albrecht, J.J. Joubert and P.H. De Rycke