Considerando los crecientes requerimientos de agua y energía en zonas áridas, se aborda la presencia del estratocúmulo costero como potencial recurso hídrico y el comportamiento de la radiación solar como fuente de energía. Este estudio exploratorio busca conocer las relaciones entre atenuación de la irradiancia por tipología de niebla (orográfica o advectiva) y la producción de agua de niebla asociada. Se analizó septiembre 2013 mediante imágenes satelitales GOES, datos del neblinómetro (SFC) y el radiómetro localizados en la Estación Atacama UC_Oasis Niebla Alto Patache (20° 49' S - 70° 09'O -800 m s.n.m.). Se encontró complementariedad entre los ciclos diarios de estos recursos y sus horarios productivos de agua y energía (noche y día) respectivamente. Esta investigación motiva estudios posteriores sobre agua de niebla y energía solar como recursos complementarios en línea con implementar tecnologías para tratamiento, manejo y distribución del agua, así como limpieza de paneles solares.

Living in arid environments presents unique challenges to organisms, including limited food and water, extreme temperatures, and UV exposure. Reptiles, such as the South American leaf-toed gecko (Phyllodactylus gerrhopygus), have evolved remarkable adaptations to thrive in such harsh conditions. The gut microbiome plays a critical role in host adaptation and health, yet its composition remains poorly characterized in desert reptiles. This study aimed to characterize the composition and abundance of the gut microbiome in P. gerrhopygus inhabiting the hyperarid Atacama Desert, taking into account potential sex differences. Fecal samples from adult female and male geckos were analyzed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. No significant differences in bacterial alpha diversity were observed between the sexes. However, the phylum Bacteroidota was more abundant in females, while males had a higher Firmicutes/Bacteroidota ratio. The core microbiome was dominated by the phyla Bacteroidota, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria in both sexes. Analysis of bacterial composition revealed 481 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) shared by female and male geckos. In addition, 108 unique ASVs were exclusive to females, while 244 ASVs were unique to males. Although the overall bacterial composition did not differ significantly between the sexes, certain taxa exhibited higher relative abundances in each sex group. This study provides insight into the taxonomic structure of the gut microbiome in a desert-adapted reptile and highlights potential sex-specific differences. Understanding these microbial communities is critical for elucidating the mechanisms underlying host resilience in Earth’s most arid environments, and for informing conservation efforts in the face of ongoing climate change.

Marine fog is a key non-rainfall water source that sustains microbial activity and transports dissolved nutrients inland, influencing early soil development in hyperarid ecosystems. However, the mechanisms through which sustained fog inputs drive soil surface modification and biocrust formation remain poorly understood. This study evaluated the effects of long-term fog augmentation on soil surface development, biocrust dynamics, and associated microbial communities in the Atacama Desert. We implemented a four-year fog addition field experiment with three sampling times (T0, T24, T48) to assess changes in soil physicochemical properties, biocrust composition, and the integrated multi-diversity of archaea, bacteria, fungi and protist. Sustained fog input transformed bare soils into biological soil crusts, particularly lichen- and moss-dominated stages. This transition was accompanied by increases in soil nitrogen, variations in organic matter accumulation, a shift from alkaline to near-neutral pH, and improvements in soil stability and water retention. Multi-diversity increased over time and was positively associated with ecosystem variables linked to water availability, structural stabilization, and decomposition. These functions, integrated into an ecosystem multifunctionality index, also increased under prolonged fog input, revealing a positive relationship between multifunctionality and multi-diversity. Overall, the results demonstrate that sustained fog input strongly enhances early soil surface development and biocrust establishment, highlighting the ecological importance of marine fog in shaping biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in hyperarid landscapes.

Marine fog represents a critical but variable water resource in hyperarid coastal regions, yet its chemical variability at the event scale and meteorological controls remain poorly characterized. This study provides an event-based characterization of fog water chemistry at Alto Patache (~20°S), Atacama Desert, Chile, based on 28 fog events sampled between 2022 and 2024 using a Caltech Active Strand Cloudwater Collector (CASCC) with meteorological monitoring. Seven chemical parameters were measured in situ (alkalinity, hardness, pH, phosphate, ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate), and k-means clustering identified three chemically distinct regimes: dilute (Cluster 0, n = 19), enriched (Cluster 1, n = 6), and buffered (Cluster 2, n = 3), validated by permutation-based analysis (PERMANOVA, p < 0.001). Fog events with higher water yields are associated with better water quality: fog water volume showed the strongest relationship with solute concentration, consistent with a dilution mechanism, with high-yield events showing substantially lower ionic concentrations. Event duration and wind speed exhibited secondary complementary patterns, while wind direction had no clear relationship with fog chemistry. These findings indicate that fog water quality is closely linked to event-scale hydrological processes, with direct implications for fog harvesting management, water quality assessment, and understanding biogeochemical subsidies in fog-dependent ecosystems.