Coastal sand dunes, Morocco. Photograph: © SAF — Coastal Care.
Excerpts;
Even though they are inanimate objects, sand dunes can ‘communicate’ with each other. A team from the University of Cambridge has found that as they move, sand dunes interact with and repel their downstream neighbors.
When a pile of sand is exposed to wind or water flow, it forms a dune shape and starts moving downstream with the flow. Sand dunes, whether in deserts, on river bottoms or sea beds, rarely occur in isolation and instead usually appear in large groups, forming striking patterns known as dune fields or corridors.
It’s well-known that active sand dunes migrate…
Read Full Article, Science Daily (02-04-2020)
The sound of the sand from the Dutch shores; Science Direct (04-22-2019)
Sand, it turns out, has a signature sound of its own, and now scientists have found a way to tune in. In this study, scientists examine sand from the Dutch shores to link its unique acoustic traits to the source of the sand…
Is that a choir of Angels or just a day at the beach: Singing Sands you have to hear to believe; Fodor Travel (09-15-2019)
Even in their simplest forms, beaches are spectacular places. Some, however, claim an even more magical level of excellence thanks to peculiar properties boasted by their sands…
A Grain of Sand – Nature’s Secret Wonder, A Book By Dr. Gary Greenberg
Every grain of sand is a jewel waiting to be discovered. That’s what Dr. Gary Greenberg found when he first turned his microscope on beach sand. Author and photographer Dr. Gary Greenberg is a visual artist who creatively combines art with science. Since 2001, Dr. Greenberg focuses his microscopes on common objects, such as grains of sand, flowers, and food. These everyday objects take on a new reality when magnified hundreds of times, revealing hidden and unexpected aspects of nature. Dr. Greenberg’s images of sand make us realize that as we walk along a beach we are strolling upon thousands of years of biological and geological history…
Sand, Rarer Than One Thinks: A UNEP report (GEA-March 2014)
Despite the colossal quantities of sand and gravel being used, our increasing dependence on them and the significant impact that their extraction has on the environment, this issue has been mostly ignored by policy makers and remains largely unknown by the general public.
In March 2014 The United Nations released its first Report about Sand Mining: “Sand, Rarer Than One Thinks.”
“Sand Wars” film documentary by Denis Delestrac – first broadcasted on the european Arte Channel, May 28th, 2013 in its french version: “Le Sable: enquête sur une disparition”, where it became the highest rated documentary for 2013 – expressly inspired the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to publish this 2014-Global Environmental Alert.
