The circles, ovals, rectangles that form from time to time on agricultural fields in different parts of the world are not at all traces of alien visits, scientists are sure. Most have a completely terrestrial origin, explainable from the point of view of modern science.
Traces of other civilizations
The first mentions of unusual geometric shapes in sown fields date back to the end of the 17th century - strange circles are discussed in the book of Oxford University professor Robert Plot "The Natural History of Staffordshire". Since then, this phenomenon has been written about more than once - one article was even published in the scientific journal Nature, however, it happened in 1880.
were from the UK.
Having studied several dozen of such figures, American researchers came to the conclusion that most of them are the result of the impact of microtornadoes, which are characteristic, for example, in the south of England. The air rotates clockwise and crushes the plants. In addition, such vortices have a charge. Therefore, dust particles trapped inside can emit light. This explains the glowing lights reported by witnesses to the sudden appearance of mysterious circles.
Hello from the past
As for the more complex geometric shapes, British researchers explained them in 2018. Historic England archaeologists have proven that these are traces of prehistoric settlements, burial mounds and places of worship. Most often they belong to the Iron Age and the era of Roman rule. In those parts of the field where the foundations of ancient buildings have been preserved underground, the fertile soil layer is usually much thinner. Therefore, cereals grow worse and dry faster in very hot weather. As a result, dark and light stripes are formed on the fields, repeating the contours of ancient buildings. Scientists say that prolonged hot weather is needed for the prints of prehistoric structures to show through the surface. Ancient foundations show up much more clearly when there is little moisture in the soil.
Witch circles
A similar phenomenon is observed in the arid steppes of South Africa. The so-called witch circles are often found there. These are rings of green grass with a diameter of two to 40 meters, which do not die even in the dry season. Nothing grows inside them.
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Such circles can exist for up to 75 years. They appear and disappear suddenly, for no apparent reason. The local population believes in their otherworldly origin. But scientists believe that this is the result of the work of termites. Insects from the species Psammotermes allocerus, laying underground passages, eat away the roots of plants, and bald spots appear on the surface. There is no vegetation in the center of the rings that would suck water from the soil and evaporate it. Therefore, water quickly seeps through the sand and stays there for a long time. It is due to this reservoir that the grass in the ring always remains green.
Witch's circles in Namibia.
However, not everyone agrees with this explanation. American biologists point out: witch's circles are too regular to be a creation of termites. The rings of plants form perfect circles, and these structures themselves, as a rule, are located at equal distances from each other. Most likely, ants do play an important role in the initial stage of ring formation, when water is distributed in a certain way around the tunnels. But then the plants themselves are included in the process. They tend to infiltrate moisture-rich areas and compete with each other for access to water. As a result, much more vegetation grows near such underground reservoirs than in neighboring areas. And in the dry season, when most of the plants die, the witch's circles do not wither. If the colony of termites dies,plants gradually sprout into its former territory, filling the ring with greenery. When a new colony of termites settles inside this green circle, the process starts again, only now the witch's circle has not one, but two rings of greenery.
Alfiya Enikeeva