Coastal Care Junior

What’s up with the black sand at Ocean Beach, San Francisco?

sand
Photograph: © SAF – Coastal Care

Excerpts;

Many locals have a same reaction when large swirling patches of black sand cover Ocean Beach: they call the city reporting an apparent oil spill. But in fact, the sand is anything but dirty and is made up of a really cool iron ore derivative called magnetite…

Read Full Article, SF Gate

Old ruins emerging on SF beach reveal long battle to halt erosion, SF Gate (03-04-2016)
About a month ago, some San Franciscan beachgoers noticed something new on Ocean Beach, at the end of Taraval Street — the ruins of a mysterious structure of some kind emerging from the sand, like the remnants of a lost city…

Why S.F. is Moving 42,000 Tons of Sand Down Ocean Beach, San Francisco Gate (12-06-2014)

The Colors Of Beach Sand; By Gary Griggs

Sand Color Palette
Most beach sand color ranges from pale cream to golden to caramel, but in select places around the world, sand can be red, pink, orange, chocolate, gold, purple, green, or black…

Scientist Finds ‘Hawaiian Beach’ Sand On Mars, Phys Org (10-28-2013)

What the Sands Tell Us: a Look Back at Southeastern US Beaches; By Orrin H. Pilkey & William J. Neal (05-01-2015)
All beaches contain a variety of minerals, unique “suites”, which are like fingerprints in the sand—fingerprints that are clues as to where the sand came from…

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