This started as a mountain range. Photo: Bas Meelker/Shutterstock.com
Theres more to beach sand than meets the eye. It has stories to tell about the land and an epic journey to the sea. Thats because mountains end their lives as sand on beaches.
Over time, mountains erode. The mud, sand, gravel, cobbles, and boulders they shed are washed into streams, which come together to form rivers. As they flow down to the sea, all this sediment is ground up and worn down in natures version of a rock tumbler.
Big rocks break down into smaller pieces, so most of what reaches the sea is mud. These silt and clay particles are too small to perceive with the naked eye. But you can see individual grains of sand, which are just bigger bits of rock.
Next time youre at the beach, pick up a handful of sand and look closely at it. Are all the grains the same color, or a rainbow assortment? Are they jagged and angular, or smooth and round?
Some beaches in Hawaii have black sand because the islands were formed by erupting volcanoes. Many volcanic minerals are dark colored. Photo: dronepicr/Wikipedia, CC BY
Different colors of sand come from different minerals, like khaki feldspar, smoky white quartz, green olivine or black basalt. The mix of colors in beach sand tells you what kinds of rocks produced it.
The shape of sand grains also provides clues about where they come from. Angular grains of the same type of sand have not traveled as far as smooth round grains, which have been more worn down. And weak rocks break down to mud faster than hard rocks, so sand tends to be made of the harder types that break down slowly.
About a tenth of the supply of sediment that reaches the sea is sand. These particles are between about half a millimeter and 2 millimeters in size roughly as thick as a penny. These particles are large enough that they dont flow right out to the deep sea.
But the beach is just a temporary stop for sand. Big waves pull it offshore, and smaller waves push it along the coast. So keeping a beach nourished with sand is essential for keeping it sandy.
Yet today many beaches are starving. Many dams trap the sand that flows down rivers, piling it up in reservoirs. All in all, human activity has cut off about half the sand that would otherwise end up on the worlds beaches.
But humans havent turned the waves off, so as beach sand washes away and isnt replenished, the shoreline erodes. That means that many beaches around the world are shrinking, slowly but surely. So next time you dig your toes into beach sand think about the epic journey it took to arrive beneath your feet. Take a moment to think about where the sand came from and where its going.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Link:
The Story of Beach Sand Is Way More Interesting Than You Thought - TheInertia.com
- Seabean Symposium-Live Blogging - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Alvaro Jaramillo Talks Gulls at 2010 Space Coast Birding Festival - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Fall Sunset on Anna Maria - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Fort Myers Beach Photos Revisited - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Reinier Munguia Keynote at Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Wilderness Matters - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Raptor Project Brings Winged Predators to Space Coast Birding Festival - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Sandscupting Festival on Fort Myers Beach - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- David Allen Sibley to Deliver Keynote at Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival 2010 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Kevin Mims & Paddle Florida on the Suwannee River - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Zipolite Beach, Oaxaca, Mexico, Central America - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Port Charlotte Beach Park, Port Charlotte, Florida - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Kent in South Beach, Miami – Budget Beach Hotel in Florida - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Key West, Florida Dog Beach – Where Pooches Can Play - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Startling White Sand of Hyams Beach, New South Wales, Australia - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Palm Island Beach, Cape Haze, Florida - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- A Surfer’s Paradise at Punta Morena Beach, Cozumel - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Sand the Color of Olives: Papakolea Beach, Hawaii - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa in Destin, Florida - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Visiting Indialantic Beach? Check out the Crowne Plaza Melbourne Beach - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Say Good-bye to Manatee County Public Beach Pier - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Eco-tourism Field Trips at the Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Birding at Sea: Pelagic Birding Aboard the Pastime Princess - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival Video Clip - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Gulfster’s Surf Trip to Puerto Rico - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Holiday Candlelight Tour of Homes, St. Petersburg, FL - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Kevin Mims: An Outdoorsman to Follow - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- How Big is This Wave? - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Birders: Making a List and Checking it Forever - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Hunting Island State Park – Dog Friendly Beach in Beaufort, SC - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Beach Hotels in Ocean Park, Washington - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- San Diego, CA – Ocean Beach Dog Beach - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Best Beaches for Collecting Sea Glass - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Swimwear in 2010 combines key trends - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- S-Turns Beach in Rodanthe, Outer Banks of North Carolina, Wiped Out By Nor’easter - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- In Awe at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Okinawa, Japan - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Summertime in the Outer Banks, North Carolina - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Panama City Beach May Not Welcome Spring Breakers in 2010 - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Bahia Honda Beach near Key West, Florida - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- U.S. Supreme Court Hears Case Regarding Florida Beach Ownership - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Historic Sites of Canaveral National Seashore - December 19th, 2009 [December 19th, 2009]
- Myrtle Beach Building Boardwak Along Beachfront, Adding Amenities - December 19th, 2009 [December 19th, 2009]
- Barrier Island Center Upcoming Events 2010 – Melbourne Beach, Florida - December 19th, 2009 [December 19th, 2009]
- Florida Wildflowers & Plants – Space Coast Birding Festival Field Trip - December 20th, 2009 [December 20th, 2009]
- Jellyfish in Long Beach Aquarium - December 20th, 2009 [December 20th, 2009]
- Heron Island in Great Barrier Reef under new management - December 21st, 2009 [December 21st, 2009]
- Sunset on Longboat Key - December 23rd, 2009 [December 23rd, 2009]
- Pishing With Pete at the Space Coast Birding Festival - December 23rd, 2009 [December 23rd, 2009]
- Summer is Over, but it Lives on My Hard Drive - December 25th, 2009 [December 25th, 2009]
- 800 Pound Beachball to Drop Over Panama City Beach, Florida on New Year’s Eve - December 27th, 2009 [December 27th, 2009]
- Birding by Ear and Habitat with Paddy Cunningham-Pascatore - December 27th, 2009 [December 27th, 2009]
- Prevention of Overfishing of Coral Reefs Reduces Occurrence of Coral Diseases - December 28th, 2009 [December 28th, 2009]
- Florida Screech Owls Encouraged by Nest Boxes - December 28th, 2009 [December 28th, 2009]
- Cayo Costa Photo Memories - December 28th, 2009 [December 28th, 2009]
- Family Activities at the Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival - December 31st, 2009 [December 31st, 2009]
- BeachHunter’s Top 10 Beach Photos in 2009 - January 2nd, 2010 [January 2nd, 2010]
- Viera Wetlands is a Premier Birding Destination in Brevard County - January 2nd, 2010 [January 2nd, 2010]
- Here are a Few More Florida Summer Beach Memories. - January 3rd, 2010 [January 3rd, 2010]
- Lake Morat Puts the Beach in Swiss Beaches - January 6th, 2010 [January 6th, 2010]
- Smoking Banned at Beaches Around the Country - January 6th, 2010 [January 6th, 2010]
- Identifying Gulls – A Field Trip to Brevard County Landfill - January 6th, 2010 [January 6th, 2010]
- Victoria and Albert Museum in London Sponsors World Beach Project - January 7th, 2010 [January 7th, 2010]
- Does It Snow in Florida? - January 9th, 2010 [January 9th, 2010]
- Sun, sand and history found in Bodrum, Turkey - January 9th, 2010 [January 9th, 2010]
- Winter swimming rules at Den Haag’s beaches. - January 9th, 2010 [January 9th, 2010]
- Boats, Kayaks and Birds - January 10th, 2010 [January 10th, 2010]
- Snorkeling with Sea Turtles in Akumal, Mexico - January 11th, 2010 [January 11th, 2010]
- A Hidden Gem – San Agustinillo, Oaxaca, Mexico - January 12th, 2010 [January 12th, 2010]
- Penguins on the Beach at Betty’s Bay - January 12th, 2010 [January 12th, 2010]
- Robert Amoruso Photography Workshops at Space Coast Birding Festival - January 12th, 2010 [January 12th, 2010]
- Scuba Diving with Bull Sharks in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico - January 13th, 2010 [January 13th, 2010]
- California Beach Tradition Threatened - January 13th, 2010 [January 13th, 2010]
- Who’s Going to the 13th Annual Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival? - January 15th, 2010 [January 15th, 2010]
- Getting Away From It All in the Dry Tortugas - January 16th, 2010 [January 16th, 2010]
- History of the Bikini - January 19th, 2010 [January 19th, 2010]
- Conservation and the Economics of Birding - January 20th, 2010 [January 20th, 2010]
- Landlocked Swiss Hit the Beach at Lake Zurich - January 21st, 2010 [January 21st, 2010]
- Northern Ireland’s Blue Flag Beaches - January 22nd, 2010 [January 22nd, 2010]
- A beach of sorts in old Dun Laoghaire. - January 22nd, 2010 [January 22nd, 2010]
- Beach Sunrise Memories - January 22nd, 2010 [January 22nd, 2010]