SignificanceIt has remained an unresolved question whether microorganisms recovered from the most arid environments on Earth are thriving under such extreme conditions or are just dead or dying vestiges of viable cells fortuitously deposited by atmospheric processes. Based on multiple lines of evidence, we show that indigenous microbial communities are present and temporally active even in the hyperarid soils of the Atacama Desert (Chile). Following extremely rare precipitation events in the driest parts of this desert, where rainfall often occurs only once per decade, we were able to detect episodic incidences of biological activity. Our findings expand the range of hyperarid environments temporarily habitable for terrestrial life, which by extension also applies to other planetary bodies like Mars.

Various types of sediments and rocks were analyzed for the relationship between hydraulic conductivity (K) and scale of measurement No variations of K with scale were observed for homogeneous media such as quartz‐arenites (quartz sandstones). However, hydraulic conductivity increased with scale of measurement in heterogeneous media. The scaling behavior can be described with the equation K = c (V)m, where c is a parameter characteristic of the geological medium that relates to geological variables such as average pore size and pore interconnectivity in porous media, and probably fracture opening and fracture interconnectivity in fractured media. V is the volume of tested material (used as scale measure), and m is the exponent of the relationship (slope of the line on a log‐log plot). The value of the exponent depends on the type or types of flow present. Porous flow media have an exponent of 0.5, multiple flow media an exponent between 0.5 and 1.0, and fracture and conduit flow controlled media an exponent of about 1.0. The more dominant fracture/conduit flow is relative to porous flow, the closer the exponent is to 1.0. K increases with scale up to a rock volume after which the aquifer approaches the properties of an equivalent homogeneous medium and K remains constant with scale. This volume (upper bound of the relationship) is related to the degree of heterogeneity in a medium. It is at a much larger scale in karstic media (if encountered at all) than in nonkarstic and more homogeneous media. Both confined and unconfined aquifers exhibit a similar scale dependence.

Longitudinal dispersivity (alpha) data were compiled from 109 different authors for different types of geological media. The data were subdivided into different subsets. Dispersivity values for consolidated media were subdivided as basalts, granites, sandstones, and carbonate rocks, while unconsolidated sediments were subdivided into three reliability classes. The data sets provided here may provide ground water practitioners a preliminary guide to estimate dispersivity values at various scales and to guide and verify theories on scaling behavior. Based on the data set presented here, the relationship that empirically best described the dispersivity data in regard to scale of measurement was in the form of a power law. The scaling exponent for consolidated and unconsolidated geological media varied between 0.40 and 0.92, and 0.44 and 0.94, respectively. Higher reliability subsets of data for the unconsolidated sediments and more frequently tested rock formations indicate that the scaling exponent is at the lower end of the observed range, close to 0.5. No significant difference in scaling exponent was found among different media, and no clear evidence exists for the presence of an upper bound or asymptotic behavior on the relationship for any of the analyzed media.

Several observations indicate that the cloud deck of the venusian atmosphere may provide a plausible refuge for microbial life. Having originated in a hot proto-ocean or been brought in by meteorites from Earth (or Mars), early life on Venus could have adapted to a dry, acidic atmospheric niche as the warming planet lost its oceans. The greatest obstacle for the survival of any organism in this niche may be high doses of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Here we make the argument that such an organism may utilize sulfur allotropes present in the venusian atmosphere, particularly S(8), as a UV sunscreen, as an energy-converting pigment, or as a means for converting UV light to lower frequencies that can be used for photosynthesis. Thus, life could exist today in the clouds of Venus.