If I died on top a sand dune where it never rains and is inert would I still get broken down by bacteria?

Question

Or would I just shrivel up in the heat? I think the nub of my question is do bacteria exist where there is no organic material to live off? Or would I bring them along myself on my skin?

Answer 1

1) bacteria are everywhere, no matter how hard you try. even in the desert. If you had to see how many bacteria are on your skin, you are absolutely coated with the things. So you'd bring bacteria along with you in the first place.

2) The moisture in your body triggers the decay bacteria to start decaying your body. However, in the conditions you named, the water in your body would evaporate, so decomposition is limited although not totally stopped.

3) In the hot dry conditions that you mentioned, you would keep dessicating. Bacterial activity eventually decreases drastically, and decomposition is halted. You become mummified...shrivelled, all water removed, the very heat and dessication preserves your body.

Answer 2

Bacteria are cool little things that manage to live in almost every type on environment. So it is more than likely that there are bacteria present in the sand.. and now they have your dead body to live on im sure they will thrive. Just because it doesn rain doesnt mean bacteria cant live. There are millions of bacteria within yourself, most are good for you. Other use oxygen or carbon dioxide fixation or even photosynthesislike plants so im sure you would be degraded

Answer 3

The bacteria in your gut and on your skin would start the process of breaking down your organs, your gut would blow-up like a balloon and then the gas would escape as you skin breaks down. However, you would swiftly desiccate in the dry climate of the dessert and then the bacteria would die too when all the moisture was gone. Your remains would then be blasted by the sand and eventually turn to dust.

Answer 4

There are special bacteria called thermophiles that can live in extreme heat and extreme cold places. Some even live where there are heat springs deep in the ocean from undersea volcanoes, where the temperatures are higher than boiling.

So yes, I think some bacteria would break you down. Most of you would probably shrivel up, though.

Answer 5

first of all, thats like a type of mummification. U'll dry up and the bacteria in u will basically (sorry this is gross) make ur skin split open eating ur inside. Or, u'll just dry up if the temperatures r really high even killing the bacteria.

Answer 6

She became attempting to conquer the international files for: maximum leap from a ramp built out of frozen french fries, Longest dangle time in a 1916 Studebaker, and maximum quantity of 360-degree rolls by technique of an Octogenarian.

Answer 7

Unless you've been subject to strange science experiments, as well as dying on top of the sand dune, you contain lots of bacteria yourself and would therefore decompose alot on your own.

Answer 8

The bacteria that already live in your gut to aid digestion would still be there and would just carry on digesting you unless they were killed off by rapid dehydration

Answer 9

I think you would mostly dry up and mummify. If enough sand blew over your dried up body, you might eventually fossilize and be found by a paleontologist in a million or so years.

Answer 10

To a point, yes...the heat combined with the lack of humidity would dry out all your tissues, thereby killing the microorganisms, thereby effectively mummifying your body.