Premium
THE BOOMING SAND OF KORIZO, SAHARA, AND THE SQUEAKING SAND OF GOWER, S. WALES: A COMPARISON OF THE FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF TWO MUSICAL SANDS
Author(s) -
HUMPHRIES D. W.
Publication year - 1966
Publication title -
sedimentology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.494
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1365-3091
pISSN - 0037-0746
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3091.1966.tb01575.x
Subject(s) - roundness (object) , geology , sphericity , geotechnical engineering , sand dune stabilization , geomorphology , geometry , mathematics
SUMMARY The occurrence of the rare phenomena of a booming sand is recorded and an account given of its behaviour in the field. Its sedimentological properties are compared with those of a squeaking sand from the seashore. Both sands are moderately to wellsorted, and show similar roundness and sphericity. The desert sand is silent, whereas the seashore sand can be made to emit a noise in the laboratory. The marked distinction between the sands lies in the mechanical analyses based on the number frequency of grains, rather than on the weight frequency. A “body‐centred cubic” packing has been proposed for the desert sand and a “rhombic” packing for the seashore. Shear‐box tests on the disturbed sands appear to support the hypothesis of two different modes of packing. The source of the characteristic booming sound is discussed, but it is suggested that an explanation is more likely to be forthcoming from field investigation than from small‐scale laboratory studies.