Latest Sand Stories

By CHRISTINA ABEL After about three years of losing sand from the dunes behind their homes because of beach erosion, some homeowners in South Ponte Vedra Beach are regaining sand, very slowly and naturally. Resident Gary Close said he's among those who have gotten a pleasant surprise - more sand on the dune behind his house. "Sand has built up in front of the bulkheads and the beach has a slope so high [the] tide does not reach the [temporary sea] walls the way it used to," Close said....

The Mississippi River is retreating, but millions of sandbags remain from efforts to keep floodwater off farms and out of homes. Someone has to haul off the thousands of tons of sand piled along streets and levees. It won't be the National Guard, which worked tirelessly to stack the bags but isn't coming back to haul away the sand. That leaves counties, towns and levee districts to handle the chore. For example, Lincoln County officials plan to hire contractors for the job. The cost is not...

The cleanliness of a beach is monitored by sampling the bathing water a few yards from shore, but U.S. researchers say perhaps the sand should be tested too. Dr. Andrew Rogerson, formally of the Oceanographic Center of Nova Southeastern University, in Florida, headed an Environmental Protection Agency study to determine the levels of fecal-derived bacteria in Florida beach sand. Early results showed wet sand and dry sand had significantly more fecal bacteria than near-shore seawater. The...

A team of scientists are set on finding out how sand from the Sahara Desert is affecting marine life, as well as learning more about the ocean's ability to soak up the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.The researchers encountered two large sand storms during their cruise and recorded footage for BBC News.Eric Achterberg, principal scientist for the Natural Environment Research Council (Nerc) funded Solas (Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study) expedition, said he was relieved to have encountered...

Sweeping sands across the Sahara and other dune expanses are blown by more than just wind, scientists have discovered. Powerful electric fields spring up near the desert floor and propel sand grains into the air. By accounting for this electricity, researchers say they can design better climate change models, and even explain features of the dust on Mars. Scientists have long been at a loss to explain why sand sweeping across the desert doesn't bounce higher when the wind...

The United Nation's World Meteorological Organization, or WMO, is launching an early warning system that can help Arizona and other states minimize hazards from intercontinental sand and dust storms. A University of Arizona research professor is leading the international team drafting the U.N. plan which will begin operation early next year.Storms generated in arid parts of the world can deposit thousands of tons of airborne sand and dust on cities and over continents. It exposes populations...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - There is a dark side to even the humble raindrop.A single drop is harmless, but when billions of raindrops from a cloudburst fall on bare soil they strike like billions of tiny hammers, dislodging tons of soil per acre which is carried away by surface runoff.This process, called splash erosion, is of critical importance to agriculture. It is the initial stage of water erosion, which causes an estimated $27 billion in on-site economic losses in the United States annually. In...

LOS ANGELES -- Scientists have cracked one of the enduring geological mysteries of Southern California's famed beaches: where the sand comes from.Researchers had long assumed that coastal rivers washed the bulk of the naturally introduced sand to the beaches south of Los Angeles.But two new research projects by scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) found that erosion of the area's majestic sea cliffs is the primary source."We were very surprised," said UCSD...

In separate papers appearing in this week's Nature, researchers announce findings regarding the little-understood world of granular materials, systems of particles that can dictate the flow of avalanches, the quality of concrete and even the mixing of pharmaceuticals.In both studies, the researchers developed new analytical tools that combine laboratory simulators with advanced computer simulations and mathematics, bringing additional quantitative methods to a field that relies mostly upon...