INDEX
abacus, 68
Abba, Mohammed Bah, 257
Abe, Kobo: The Woman in the Dunes, 133, 238
abrasives, 235–37
acoustics, 47. See also sound
Adam, Zachary, 60
Adventure (ship), 114
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Twain), 266
aeolian sediment transport, 130–31, 146, 150, 151, 155–60, 278; Bagnold’s research, 12, 155–58, 157 fig. 28; Chinese dust storms, 169; climate change and, 293; dune formation/behavior and, 12, 35 fig. 6, 130–31, 158, 163–64; on Mars, 278–79, 280; physics of, 155–58, 157 fig. 28, 167; sandstorms, 158–59, 160–61, 169, 278–79; on Titan, 277; on Venus, 285; wind-formed sand ripples, 161–62, 162 fig. 30
Afar Depression, 176–77, 179, 180
Agassiz, Louis, 186, 199, 208–9
aggregates, aggregate mining, 235, 238–39, 240, 244, 255
air bubbles, on beaches, 127–28
air, sand movement through, 10, 13, 151. See also aeolian sediment transport; winds
Alabama coast hurricane damage, 116, 117 fig. 23
Alabama River, 244
Alemseged, Zeresenay, 176–77
Alexander the Great, 195
Al Rawda, 267
Alum Bay (Isle of Wight), 226
aluminum oxide, 235
American Philosophical Society, 199
Andersen, Hans Christian, 133
Anderson, Leroy, 259
Andrea Gail wreck, 138
Angel Falls, 82
Angel, Jimmie, 82
angle of repose, 34, 35–36, 43
angle of stability, 35–36
animals. See fauna; life
animation, 259–60
Antarctic dunes and sandstones, 148, 282, 289
ants, 174
Appalachians, 98, 101, 206, 208–11, 243–44
Arab geomancy, 231
Arabian Peninsula: Rub’ al-Khali, xi–xiii, 149
Arabian Sands (Thesiger), 151
Arabic numerals, 68
Arawan, 166
archaeology, 26, 267–68; Egyptian excavations, 152–53, 268, 301–2; Pacific Islands, 207–8
Archimedes, 70–72
aridity ratios, 148
Aristophanes, 71
Aristotle, 107
Arnold, Eddy, 30
arsenic, 246
art. See sand art
asteroids, 288–89, 289 fig. 49, 304. See also meteorites
Aswan Dam, 86
Atlantic coast: barrier islands, 113–18, 117 fig. 23, 123; offshore sandbanks, 136–38, 139; Perfect Storm of October 1991, 137–38. See also specific locations
Atlantic Ocean: deep-ocean currents and transport, 143; geological history, 179–80; Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 112–13, 180, Plate 7; submarine canyons, 137, 141–42; transatlantic telegraph cables, 140–41
Atlantis, 195
atmosphere: Earth, 292, 294–95, 297; Mars, 278, 284, 292; Titan, 274, 276, 277; Venus, 284, 285, 292, 293
“Auguries of Innocence” (Blake), 2
Australian Aboriginal storytelling ritual, 214–15
Australian deserts, 148, 149, 165, 173
Australian rock paintings, 26
Australopithecus afarensis, 176–77
avalanches, 34–36, 35 fig. 6, 38–41, 49; dune migration and, 164; dune sounds and, 171–72; as segregation process, 43; submarine avalanches, 141–42; Ukhaa Tolgod, 199
Ayers Rock, 214
Bacillus pasteurii, 59, 60, 179
Bacon, Francis, 226
bacteria, 60, 179, 294–95; Bacillus pasteurii, 59, 60, 179; sulfur bacteria, 205; van Leeuwenhoek’s investigations, 18, 29, 273. See also meiofauna
Bagnold, Ralph, 11–12, 152, 153–55, 164, 167, 171, 188; photographs, 153 fig. 27; quoted, 56, 146, 152, 153, 160, 163, 167, 172
Bagnold, Ralph, research, 84, 152, 154; desert sand transport, 12, 154–58; paper on Martian aeolian transport, 278; ripple pattern experiments, 126–27; sand size, distribution, and pile behavior, 12, 32, 34, 37–38, 90
Bali sands, 19, 19 fig. 4, Plate 1
Baltimore, port of, 252
Balzac, Honoré de, 147
Bangladesh, 94
Baraize, Emile, 153
Barakat, Aly, 302
barchan dunes, 163–64, 280, 281 fig. 47, Plate 11
barchanoid ridges, 165
bar codes, 227
Barovier, Angelo, 248
Barrell, Joseph, 191–92
barrier islands, 113–18, 117 fig. 23, 123, 131
base levels, 96–97, 102, 104, 191, 201
basins, 179–80, 208; rift valleys, 201–3
Battle of Fishes (Masson), 226
beaches, 118–19, 255–57; artificially constructed, 134; cliff erosion, 121–22; coastal dune systems, 122, 130–34; dynamism/instability of, 120–21, 122–25, 293; erosion, 108, 116, 117 fig. 23; formation processes, 119–22, 120 fig. 24; nourishment, 108, 122–25, 150. See also coastal sediment movement
beach sands, 115, Plate 3; composition, 15–16, 18–20, 127; inhabitant fauna, 59–63, 62 fig. 15, 128–29, 299–300; placer sands, 254–55; sources of, 121–22; surface details, 63–65, 64 fig. 16, 125–28, 253–54. See also biogenic sands
The Beach: The History of Paradise on Earth (Lenček and Bosker), 118–19
beach toys and equipment, 256
Beckett, Samuel, 29–30
Becquerel, Henri, 189
bedding, 91–92, 92 fig. 19, 95, 99, 164, 193. See also cross-bedding
beetles, 174
Behringer, Bob, 44
The Beige Motel (Critchley), 224–25
Benison, Kathleen, 284
Bhuj earthquake, 57
Bible: Great Flood and controversies over Earth’s age, 183; sand imagery/references in, 69, 234; Sodom and Gomorrah, 58
biogenic sands, 18–20, 60, 138, 139, 293
biomarkers, 205
Bishop, Elizabeth, 129
bitumen, 58, 258. See also tar
Blackbeard, 114
black sands, 16, 33, 127, 254, 266, 267, Plate 1
Blake, William, 2
blood rain, 150
Bloom, Doug, 259
blotting sand, 237
blue-green algae, 60
Book of Mormon, 94
“The Book of Sand” (Borges), 76, 228
Books of Sand (Sardon), 228
Borges, Jorge Luis, 76, 228, 234, 251
Bosker, Gideon, 118–19
braided rivers, 99, 100 fig. 22, 102, 204, 210, 298
Braque, Georges, 226
Brazil nut effect, 43–45, 49; reverse Brazil nut effect (RBN), 46
Brubaker, Jack, 87
Bryan, Eliza, 58
Buckland, William, 199
Buddhism, 67, 70; Buddhist sand mandalas, 219–20, Plate 14; Zen sand gardens, 222, 229–30, 271
building methods and materials, 237–40; aggregates, 235, 238–39, 240, 244, 255; concrete, 235, 238–40, 260; paint and decoration, 236, 240–41; sand as termite barrier, 241; sandblasting, 236
Bulmer, Arthur, 131–32
burial. See sand burial
Burns Cliff, 277–78, 283–84, Plate 16
button beetle, 174
cables, transatlantic, 140–41
Cabot Strait, 141
calcium, 294; in glassmaking, 247
calcium carbonate, 138, 294, 295; Bacillus pasteurii and, 59; in biogenic sands, 20, 60, 138, 139; in sandstones, 199. See also limestone
calcium sulfate sands, 283
Caledonides, 206
caliche, 199
California coast, 121–22; Malibu Beach, 131; Oceano dunes, 132; offshore canyons, 142
California Gold Rush, 135, 254
California vineyards, 269
Cambyses, 160
camels, 174–75
Canaima National Park, 79, 80–81, 81 fig. 18
Canary Islands, 150
Cancún, 123
Cape Cod (Thoreau), 133
Cape Hatteras lighthouse, 107–8
carbonate sands and reefs, 139. See also calcium carbonate
carbon compounds, extraterrestrial, 287–88
carbon dioxide: atmospheric, temperatures/climate change and, 204, 293, 294–95; extraterrestrial, 274, 278, 280–81, 282, 284, 286, 293; as manufacturing by-product, 240, 244; potential future changes, 297; in rain, 294; in seawater, 138; sequestration of, 139, 265, 293, 294
Carboniferous, 295–96
carbon-silicate cycle, 293–95
Caribbean reefs and islands, 139
Caroni River, 82–83
Carroll, Lewis, 66
Carter, Howard, 302
Cascadia subduction zone, 194
cashew nuts, 269
Cassini, Giovanni Domenico, 274
Cassini space mission, 272, 274–77, 284
catastrophism, catastrophic events, 86, 183, 192–95; Chicxulub meteorite, 196–97; Permian extinction, 203–5; Siberian explosions (1908), 303–4; Ukhaa Tolgod avalanche, 199. See also earthquakes; extinctions; hurricanes; tsunamis
Catskill Delta, 210
cave paintings, 26
ceremony and ritual, sand in, 68, 69, 214–15, 217
Challenger Deep, 112
Challenger research expedition, 111–12, 140
channel bars, 99–101, 100 fig. 22, 102
Cheever, John, 30
Chephren, 152
Chesapeake Bay, 103–4, 105–6, 111, 252, Plate 6
Chicxulub meteorite, 196–97
China: Chinese deserts, 148, 169–70, 198–99; concrete, 235, 238; Green Great Wall, 170; illegal sand dredging, 255; sand encroachment, 169–70; sandpaper, 235; silicon, 244
Chladni, Ernst, 46–48
Chladni patterns, 47–48, 47 fig. 11, 229
Chokwe sand drawings, 215, 217–18, 217 fig. 37
Clapp, Nicholas, 267
Clarke, George K., 221
clasts, 5
Clemens, Andrew, 226–27, Plate 15
Cleopatra’s Beach, 20
climate change, 170; current/future, 292–98. See also sea level changes
climate change, past, 87–88, 107, 110–11, 139, 291; carbon dioxide levels and, 295; desert dunes and, 149; paleotempestology, 192; Permian-Triassic extinction and, 204, 295; sea level changes, 110–11, 195; Ukhaa Tolgod fauna and, 198–99
clocks, 250, 251; hourglasses, 41, 250–51
coal, coal mining, 98–99, 102–3
coastal deserts, 148
coastal dune systems, 122, 130–34; vins des sables, 269
coastal sediment movement, 107–45; barrier islands, 113–18, 117 fig. 23, 123, 131; beach formation processes, 119–22, 120 fig. 24; climate change and, 293; coastal sediment budgets, 116, 118, 121, 122; erosion and nourishment, 108, 116, 117 fig. 23, 121–25; longshore drift, 115–16, 123; physics of, 109–10, 115–16, 118, 121, 122; storms’ influence, 116, 117 fig. 23, 120, 123; tidal influence, 115–16, 134–35; in the tropics, 138–39; waves’ influence, 115, 119–20, 122. See also beaches; sea level changes
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 272
Colorado: Great Sand Dunes National Park, 163, 165–66
Colorado River, 85–86
Columbia River, 86
Columbia space shuttle, 59
Columbus, Christopher, 246
comets, 285–88
concrete, 235, 238–40, 260. See also aggregates
Congo diamond deposits, 253, 254
Conrad, Joseph, 104–5
construction: artificial island building, 252–53; international sand trade, 255. See also building methods and materials
continental drift, 189, 200–201, 200 fig. 34; climate change and, 296. See also Pangea; plate tectonics
continental shelves and slopes, 111–13, 119, Plate 7; sediment deposition, 136, 142–43, 180
contourites, 143
convection, 44, 45 fig. 10, 48
cooking, sand in, 257
coolers, sand-insulated, 257
Cooper, James Fenimore, 88, 103
Cooper, Tommy, 259
Coosa River, 243–44
corals, coral reefs, 18, 139, 204
Cornwall: Crinnis Beach, 122–23
Cortés, Hernán, 246
cosmic debris. See space debris
cosmic radiation: luminescence dating and, 25–26
Cosmos (television series), 72
counting, 68; counting sand grains, 66–67, 72; star number estimates, 72; very large numbers, 70–73
cranberries, 269
cricket, 135–36
criminal investigations, sand forensics in, 23–25
Crinnis Beach, 122–23
crispations, 48
Critchley, Jay, 224–25
cross-bedding, 91–92, 92 fig. 19, 95, 99, 164; on Mars, 283, Plate 16
Curie, Marie, 189
Curie, Pierre, 189
currents: beach surface patterns and, 126–27; tidal currents, 134–35, 212. See also ocean currents
cyanobacteria, 60
Dakota Building, 211
Dalí, Salvador, 226
dams, 83–84, 85–86; ice dams, 87–88; Susquehanna River, 101, 103
darcy, 245
Darcy, Henry Philibert Gaspard, 245, 263
Dark Dry Sand Drawing (Goldsworthy), 224
Darwin, Charles, 124, 171, 185, 186, 189
Darwin, George, 126
dating techniques: luminescence/exposure dating, 25–28; radioactive dating, 189–90
Dauphin Island, 116
Daytona Beach, 131
Dead Sea, 58
Dead Sea Scrolls, 268
debris flows: on Mars, 282–83; submarine, 45, 141–42, 193, 194, 197. See also landslides; turbidites
deep time, 73
The Deerslayer (Cooper), 88
deflation, 167
Delany, Samuel R., 72
Delphic oracle, 67
de Michele, Vincenzo, 302
Denevan, Jim, 214, 222, 223 fig. 40, 224
deposition. See sediment deposition
Descartes, René, 273
desert dune systems, 12, 130, 198, Plates 9–13; climate change and, 293; dune encroachment, 166–70; dune types, 162–66, Plates 11–12; formation and behavior, 149, 154–55, 158, 160, 162–66; migration rates, 164–65
desertification, 151, 169, 170
deserts, 146–75; author’s experiences in, xi-xiii, 301, 304; Bagnold’s work, 12, 154–58; climate change and, 293; desert fauna, 172–75; desert winds, 147; human populations, 151; locations and characteristics, 147–48, 150; sand encroachment on human infrastructure, 166–70; sand movement/deposition, 146, 149–51, 155–60
desert sands, 12, 13; grain shape, 159–60, 159 fig. 28; grain size, 158; surface features, 161–62
desert sandstones, 160
Devonian, 208, 209; Devonian sandstones, 209–11, Plate 13
diagenesis, 178–79, 180–81, 201
diamonds, 16, 253, 254; artificial, 271
diastems, 191
Dickens, Charles, 5
Dickinson, William, 207
Dikika baby, 176–77
dilatancy, 55–56; earthquakes and liquefaction, 57–59
dinosaurs, 197–98, 199–200; Chicxulub meteorite and, 196; Ukhaa Tolgod site, 197–99
dissolved sediment load, 85
divination, 231
doping, of silicon, 242
Double Negative (Heizer), 222
Down the Susquehanna to the Chesapeake (Brubaker), 87
Doyle, Arthur Conan, 80–81
dredging operations, 109, 114, 122, 251–53
dromedaries, 174
Dubai, island-building projects in, 252–53
dunes, 7; classification of, 163; coastal dune systems, 122, 130–34; dune sounds, 170–72; dune vegetation, 131, 149, 270; formation processes, 32, 130–31, 158, 280–81; on Mars, 280–83, 281 fig. 47, 282 fig. 48; mobility/dynamism, 130, 131, 133; submarine (sand waves), 135; on Titan, 272, 276–77, 277 fig. 45; on Venus, 285. See also desert dune systems; specific locations
dune stabilization, 168, 170, 269
dust, windblown, 150, 159, 169, 293; Martian dust devils, 278–79
Earth: age of, 73, 74, 183, 184, 189–90; Moon and, 211, 212, 296; scale of, 290; uniqueness and suitability for life, 290, 291, 292, 296
Earthquake Rose, 233, 233 fig. 43
earthquakes, 39, 57–59, 113; geological results of, 57, 58–59, 86, 142, 182, 194, 195, 203; Newfoundland, 1929, 140–41, 142; New Madrid, 57–58, 99; Pacific Northwest, 194; western Mediterranean, 195. See also tsunamis
The Earth’s Crust: A New Approach to Physical Geography and Geology (Stamp), 77–78
earthworks, 224. See also land art
The Edge of the Sea (Carson), 59–60
Egypt: Bagnold in, 152, 154; natural silica glass, 301–4, Plate 17; sand encroachment in, 166–67
Egypt, ancient: archaeological excavations, 152–53, 268, 301–2; building methods and materials, 235, 238, 268; glassmaking in, 246; mummification, 258–59; placer mining, 254; Sphinx, 152–53
electricity: aeolian sand transport and, 156; conductive concretes, 239; conductivity of silicon, 242
electronics: nanoelectronics, 260; silicon chips, 241–44
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 1, 77, 107
Emery, K. O., 58
EMTs (estuarine maximum turbidity zones), 105–6
Ende, Michael, 2
Endurance Crater (Mars): Burns Cliff, 277–78, 283–84, Plate 16
England, English coasts: coastal dunes, 131–32, 132–33; coastal erosion, 122–23, 123–25, 124 fig. 25; sandbank cricket matches, 135–36; Thames River and Estuary, 105, 134; Triassic sandstones, 202–3
The English Patient (film), 149
erosion, 293–94; beach and coastal cliff erosion, 108, 121–25, 124 fig. 25; carbon dioxide levels and, 294, 295; in dune evolution, 131; future climate change and, 297–98; global, 84–87; on Mars, 282; riverbanks, 91; sea level changes and river gradients, 97; on Titan, 276. See also sediment transport
estuarine maximum turbidity zones (EMTs), 105–6
eternity, 76
Eubilides, 33–34
Ewing, Maurice, 141
exposure dating, 25–28
extinctions: Chicxulub meteorite, 196; Permian-Triassic extinction, 203–5, 295, 298
extraterrestrial sands, 272–300; comets, asteroids, and cosmic debris, 285–89; on Mars, 277–80, 279 fig. 46, 280–84; Moon sands, 290; outside our solar system, 289–90; on Titan, 274, 275 fig. 44, 276, 277 fig. 45; on Venus, 284, 285
extremophiles, 299–300
facies, 187
Faraday, Michael, 48
Faraday waves, 48
fauna: beach dwellers, 128–29, Plate 8; biogenic sands, 18–20, 60, 138, 139, 293; desert dwellers, 172–75; extremophiles, 299, 300; fossil fauna, 182, 198–200, 208–9; meiofauna, 59–63, 62 fig. 15, 127, 128–129, 299–300, Plate 8; ostriches, 261; Sable Island horses, 137; sand consumption, 261. See also extinctions; life
fennec foxes, 174
film, sand in, 2, 55–56, 133–34, 149, 259–60
filtration: fluidized-bed systems, 263; sand filtration, 245–46; silicon membranes for, 260
Fine Dry Sand (Goldsworthy), 224
Five-Finger Strand, 120–21
floodplain formation, 102
floods, 102; Biblical flood, 183; flood sediment deposits, 176, 192–95; glacial floods, 87–88; sandbag defenses, 241; sediment transport during, 85–86, 95, 103; Susquehanna River, 95, 103
flora. See life; plants
Florida: Florida keys, 139; Saharan dust in, 150
fluidized beds, 262–63
fluvial geomorphology. See rivers; sediment deposition; sediment transport
folktales. See myths and legends
Fontainebleau sand, 248–49, 261
foraminifera, foram sands, 18–20, 19 fig. 4, 29, Plate 1
forensic geology, 23–25; dating techniques, 25–28
Fortey, Richard, 209
fossils: Dikika baby, 176–77; early interpretations of, 182–83, 199; Ukhaa Tolgod site, 198–99
foundry technologies, 244, 245
Franklin, Benjamin, 199
Frost, Robert, 130
Fuerteventura, 150
fulgurites, 303
Galaxies Like Grains of Sand (Aldiss), 72
Ganges Delta, Ganges River, 70, 72, 94
gas, 264–65
gastrotrichs, 61
geckos, 173
geological processes, 11, 73–74, 77, 78, 290–92; basin formation, 179–80, 208; Earth’s dynamism, 291–97; extraterrestrial, 274, 277, 282–83; future climate change and, 293–96; lithification/diagenesis, 6, 139, 178–79, 180–81; luminescence dating and, 26–28; subsidence, 179–80, 181; uplift/orogeny, 80, 98, 113, 180, 181, 206. See also erosion; plate tectonics; weathering
geologic time, 73–76, 182–85, 187, 189–92, 212
geomancy, 231
geophagy, 261
Géricault, Théodore, 135
Gettysburg, Battle of, 203
geysers, 50–51, 50 fig. 13; on Mars, 280–81
ghibli, 147
ghost shrimp, 128
Ghosts (Ibsen), 69
Gimzewski, James, 219–20
Giotto space probe, 286
glacial activity, debris, 78, 87–89, 115, 136, 149, 238–39
glass, 16–17, 246–50, 271, 273; natural silica glass, 301–4, Plate 17
The Glass Bathyscaphe: How Glass Changed the World (Macfarlane and Martin), 249–50
Glen Canyon Dam, 85
global warming, 293–96. See also climate change
glossopetrae, 182
Gobi Desert, 148, 170, 198; Ukhaa Tolgod site, 198–99
Goldsworthy, Andy, 224
golf, golf courses, 50–51, 132, 237
Goodwin Sands, 135
grading, 10, 11 fig. 2, 41–46, 42 fig. 9, 91, 253–54; reverse grading, 45
“A Grain of Sand” (Service), 2
grain silos, 40–41
grain size, 6–12; desert sands, 158; importance of, 7–8, 144–45; ranges and distributions of, 10–12, 37–38, 37 fig. 7, 158; sand behavior and, 10–13, 37–41, 144–45; sand composition and, 144; sediment transport/deposition and, 12, 90, 144–45, 156, 158, 159; Udden-Wentworth scale, 8–10, 9 fig. 1, 37, 38
granular behavior, 32–36, 279; Brazil nut effect, 43–45, 49; convection, 44, 45 fig. 10, 48; density and, 41, 46, 127; extraterrestrial, 59, 279; packing, 54; piles and avalanches, 33–36, 38–41, 49; in response to sound, 46–48, 47 fig. 11; reverse Brazil nut effect, 46; sand sounds, 171–72; segregation and grading, 10, 11 fig. 2, 41–46, 42 fig. 9, 91, 253–54; similarity to liquid behavior, 32, 44, 48, 50–51. See also sand behavior and properties
grapevines, 268–69
gravity, 39; liquefaction and, 58–59; in sediment transport/deposition, 89, 90
gray whales, 128
Great Sand Dunes National Park, 163, 165–66
Great Wall of China, 169
greenhouse effect, 293, 294, 295. See also climate change
Greenland: Old Red Sandstone, 209, Plate 13; Saharan dust in, 150
Gressly, Amanz, 186–87
Gulf of Cádiz, 195
Gulf of Mexico, Gulf coast: barrier islands, 115, 116, 117 fig. 23; Chicxulub meteorite, 196–97; past hurricane frequency, 192
Gulf State Park, 116, 117 fig. 23
Guri Dam, 83
hafnium, 244–45
Hallam, Tony, 189
Halley’s comet, 286–87
Hall, Henry, 269
“Happiness” (Borges), 251
Happy Days (Beckett), 29
Harbor Island, 251
Hartley, Bob, 44
harmattan, 147
Hatoum, Mona, 230
Hayabusa asteroid probe, 289
Haynes, Vance, 164
Hébert, Jean-Pierre, 230
Heezen, Bruce, 141
Heizer, Michael, 222
hematite “blueberries,” 283, Plate 16
Heraclitus, 31
Hindu-Arabic numerals, 68
Hindu religion/mythology, 69
Hoedeman, Co, 259
Holling, Holling Clancy, 78
Holmes, Arthur, 141
Homer, 195
Hong Kong sand dredging, 255
Hourglass Sea (Syrtis Major), 278, 279 fig. 46, 281 fig. 47
The House of Sand (film), 133–34
How Nature Works (Bak), 39, 40
Hubble space telescope, 29, 289
Hugo, Victor, 1
human activities and influence, 192; beach formation/erosion and, 121–22, 123; beach nourishment, 108, 122–25, 150; coastal dunes and, 130, 131–32; dams, 83–84, 85–86, 103; in deserts, 151; sand as threat to, 132–34, 166–70
Hunt, William Holman, 188
hurricanes, 192, 293; Hurricane Ivan, 116, 117 fig. 23; Hurricane Katrina, 116, 192, 241; Hurricane Wilma, 123
Hutton, James, 84–85, 183–85, 189, 212–13
Hutton’s unconformity, 184–85, 184 fig. 33, 190, 208, 213
Huygens, Christiaan, 17, 272, 273–74, 278
hydraulic mining, 254
hydrocarbons, 263–65; in space, 288; on Titan, 274, 276
hydrogen production, 263
Ibn Battuta, 175
Ibsen, Henrik: Ghosts, 69
ice: ice dams, 87–88; on Mars, 280–81
ice ages, 295; future, 297; in northeastern U.S., 87–88. See also climate change, past; sea level changes
imagination, sand and, 2–3, 29–30, 175, 213, 234; divination, 231. See also metaphor; sand art; sand writing; scale
India: Bhuj earthquake, 57; sand drawings, 218–19, 218 fig. 38
Indiana Jones, 56
Indonesian sand export ban, 255
infinity, 76
In Praise of Darkness (Borges), 234
insects, 174, 241, 261; phylloxera louse, 269
international sand trade, 255
Ireland: Five-Finger Strand, 120–21
iron, iron sands, 16, 254, 267; beach ripples, 127; in glassmaking, 249; magnetic sands, 16, 127, 137; sand filtration with, 246
iron oxide, 16, 127, 246, 249; hematite, 283, Plate 16
islands, artificial, 251–53
itjaritjari, 173
Itokawa asteroid, 289, 289 fig. 49
Jabès, Edmond, 175
Jack Hills zircons, 27–28
Jaeger, Heinrich, 44, 46, 48, 49
Jamestown glassmaking, 249
Japan, Japanese coasts: Hayabusa asteroid probe, 289; Nima Sand Museum, 251; sand baths, 266; sands in World War II balloon bomb ballast, 22–23; star sands, 19–20, 19 fig. 4; steelmaking sand sources, 254; Tottori dunes, 133
jarosite, 283
Jason, and Golden Fleece, 254
Jasper, David, 175
jewelry, 253–54
Joyce, James, 76
“Jurassic tank,” 90–91
Kahn, Ned, 230
Kalahari desert, 147
Karoo, 178–79, 178 fig. 31, 181, 204
Kasner, Edward, 73
Kelvin, William Thomson, Lord, 189–90
Kenfig, Wales, 132–33
Kepler’s conjecture, 54
Khafre, 152
khamsin, 147
Kharga, 166–67
kinorhynchs, 61
Kitty Hawk, 118
Knox Mine disaster, 98–99
Knut, King, 68
Kok, Jasper, 156
kolam sand drawings, 218–19, 218 fig. 38
Koran, 69–70
Korean sand trade, 255
Kristensen, Reinhardt, 63
Kuenen, Philip H., 144–45
Kuiper Belt, 288
Lake Assal, 7
Lake Guri, 83
Lake Michigan dunes, 130
Lake Pontchartrain, 192
landslides, 33, 40, 86; on Mars, 282–83; submarine, 193, 194, 197. See also debris flows
Lang, Nikolaus, 15
language, “sand” in, 265–66, 270. See also metaphor; sand writing
lava sands, 16
law of the chief ingredient, 11, 37
Leatherman, Stephen “Dr. Beach,” 131
leisure activities, 255–58, 270; golf, 50–51, 132
Lenardic, Adrian, 298
Lenček, Lena, 118–19
Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, 133–34
Lennon, John, 211
Leonid meteor shower, 285–86
Leptis Magna, 150
Libyan desert glass, 301–4
lichens, 4
life: atmospheric chemistry and, 294–95; Earth’s suitability for, 290, 291, 292; origins and flowering of, 60, 191, 209–10, 288; potential future of, 299–300
Life: An Unauthorised Biography (Fortey), 209
limestone, 20, 139, 294. See also calcium carbonate
linear dunes, 165, 168; on Titan, 276, 277, 277 fig. 45
liquids: fluid dynamics, 245, 263; sand’s absorbency, 237, 258–59, 268; sand’s permeability, 245–46, 264; sand’s porosity, 263–65; similarity of liquid and granular behaviors, 32, 44, 48, 50–51
Lisbon earthquake, 195
Lissajous, Jules-Antoine, 230–31
littoral cells, 121
Llewellyn Formation, 98
load. See sediment load
logarithmic scales, 9, 37–40; very large numbers, 70–73
Loma Prieta earthquake, 57, Plate 5
Longbaoshan, 169
Long Island: aggregate mining, 238–39; black sands, 127, 254
Long Range Desert Group, 155
loogaroo, 66–67
loricifera, 63
Lost Oasis: In Search of Paradise (Twigger), 147, 301
The Lost World (Doyle), 80–81
Louisiana v. Mississippi, 99–101
Louis IX, 108–9
loup-garou, 67
luminescence dating, 25–28
lung disease, 236–37
Lyell, Charles, 123–25, 186, 189, 199
Macfarlane, Alan, 249–50
magic sand, 53
magnesium, 242
magnetite, 127
Mahantango Mountain, 101
Malaysian sand exports, 255
Malibu Beach, 131
mandalas, 219–20, 221, Plate 14
manuscripts, sand-preserved, 268
Marathon des Sables, 257–58
marine life: sand fauna, 59–63, 62 fig. 15, 127, 128–29, 299–300, Plate 8; shells constructed from sand grains, 20, 129, 294; as source of sand, 18–20, 138, 139
marine navigation: hourglass and, 250–51
Mariner 9 probe, 278
marine sediment deposition. See submarine sediment deposition
Marino, Al, 239
Mars, 277–84, 292; Burns Cliff, 277–78, 283–84, Plate 16; micrometeorites from, 285; Proctor Crater, 281–82, 282 fig. 48; sands and dunes, 279, 280–84, 281 fig. 47, 282 fig. 48; sandstorms, 278–79; Syrtis Major (Hourglass Sea), 278, 279 fig. 46, 281 fig. 47
Mars rovers, 277–80
Martin Chuzzlewit (Dickens), 5
Martin, Gerry, 249–50
Masson, André, 226
mathematics: sona and kolam sand drawings, 217–18, 217 fig. 37. See also numbers
Mathematics and the Imagination (Kasner and Newman), 73
Mauch Chunk Formation, 101
Maupassant, Guy de, 171
Maynard, Robert, 114
meanders, meandering rivers, 92–94, 93 fig. 20, 93 fig. 21, 96–97, 102
measurement: avalanche size and frequency, 38–39, 39 fig. 8; estimates of universe size, 71, 72–73; grain size, 7, 8–12, 37, 38; grain size distribution, 37–38; sand grains as, 28–29; sediment load of rivers, 85
Medici, Ferdinand de’, 182
Mediterranean ports, 108–9, 195
Megalosaurus, 199
mega-ripples, 162, 162 fig. 30
meiofauna, 59–63, 62 fig. 15, 127, 128–29, 299–300, Plate 8
metals, metal production, 244, 245, 254, 270–71
metaphor, sand as, 2–3, 5, 266, 269; for very large numbers, 68–70, 74, 75 fig. 17, 76, 273
meteorites, meteor impacts, 3, 196–97, 204, 303; micrometeorites, 285
“Meteorologica” (Aristotle), 107
meteor showers, 286
methane: extraterrestrial, 274, 276, 280; hydrogen production from, 263
Meunier, Jean, 168–69
microdermabrasion, 236
microscopes, microscopic views, 16–17, 188, 248, 250; rock, 181 fig. 32, 188; sand, 18 fig. 3, 21 fig. 5; van Leeuwenhoek’s investigations, 17–18, 18 fig. 3, 273
microtektites, 197
Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 112–13, 180, Plate 7
millet, 269–70
Millet, Jean-François, 226
milpatjunanyi, 214–15
mineral deposits, 127. See also mining
mining: aggregate/sand mining, 235, 238–39, 244, 255; coal, 98–99, 102–3; placer mining, 254; sand, 122–23; titanium oxides, 241. See also dredging operations
Miró, Joan, 226
The Mirror of the Sea (Conrad), 104–5
Mirrors and Shelly Sand (Smithson), 224
Les Misérables (Hugo), 1
Mississippi basin, 84
Mississippi River, 83, 86–87, 94; Stack Island boundary dispute, 99–101
Missouri: New Madrid earthquakes, 57–58, 99
MIT Media Lab, 228
Monet, Claude, 225
Monterey Canyon, 142
Moody, Pliny, 199
Moro, Aldo, 25
morphing, 259–60
mountains: Canaima table mountains, 80–81, 81 fig. 18; rain shadow deserts, 147–48; uplift/orogeny, 80, 98, 113, 206; weathering, 5, 80, 82, 84–85, 205, 206, 294. See also specific ranges
movies, sand in, 2, 55–56, 133–34, 149, 259–60
mud, 12–13
mummies, 258–59
Munroe, Richard, 23
Murano glassmaking, 248
Murchison, Roderick Impey, 209
mushrooms, 270
My First Summer in the Sierra (Muir), 290
myriads, 71
myths and legends, 20, 41, 68–69, 147; creation stories, 1–2, 15; dune sounds, 171; Japanese star sands, 19–20; sand burials, 160–61; sand grain counting in, 66–67; Sodom and Gomorrah, 58
Namibia, Namib Desert, 16, 148, 174, 254, Plate 9
nanoparticles, 29
nanotechnology, 244, 246, 260, 263, 288
NASA. See space exploration
National Center for Earth-Surface Dynamics, 90–91
natural gas, 264–65
Navajo sand paintings, 220–21, 221 fig. 39
Navajo Sandstone, 200–201, 283
Nazca lines, 222
neap tides, 212
Nebraska Sand Hills, 149, 163, 170, 264
Neev, David, 58
Nelson, Larry, 51–54, 52 fig. 14
The Neverending Story (Ende), 2
Newfoundland earthquake, 140–41
New Madrid earthquakes, 57–58, 99
Newman, James, 73
New Orleans: Hurricane Katrina effects, 192
New Red Sandstone, 201–3
Newton, Isaac, 273
New York City stones and buildings, 98, 203, 211, 236, 238–39
New Zealand beach placer mining, 254
Nile Delta, 86
Nima Sand Museum, 251
nitrogen, 288
Nobel, Alfred, 132
North Carolina: Outer Banks, 113, 114–16, 118
North Sea, 110–11
Norwegian Sea landslides, 194
Nouakchott, 168–69
Nubian Sandstone, 268
numbers: counting methods, 68; counting sand grains, 66–67, 72; origins of Hindu-Arabic numerals, 68; very large, names and calculation methods, 70–73; very large, sand as symbol of, 68–70, 74, 75 fig. 17, 76, 273. See also mathematics; measurement
ocean currents, 136, 143, 148; turbidity currents, 142, 178. See also tides
Oceano dunes, 132
oceans: area, 110; biochemistry, 205, 293, 294, 295; temperatures, 295, 297. See also ocean currents; ocean sediment movement; submarine topography
ocean sediment movement, 134–37; barrier islands, 113–18, 117 fig. 23, 123; deep ocean transport and deposition, 140–43; future climate change and, 298; offshore bars and banks, 114–15, 135–38, 139; submarine avalanches and landslides, 141–42, 193, 194, 197. See also coastal sediment movement; submarine sediment deposition
Ocracoke Beach, 131
Ocracoke Inlet, 114
Odyssey (Mars satellite), 278
Ogallala aquifer, 264
Ogden’s cigarette cards, 261
Old Red Sandstone, 208–11, Plate 13
olivine sands, 16, 287, 288, Plate 1
ooliths, 20, 139, Plate 1, Plate 4
Oort Cloud, 288
Opportunity rover, 278, 279, 280, 283
Oregon coast: dunes, 130, 131; tsunami sands, 193–94
orogeny, 80, 98, 113, 206. See also uplift
ostriches, 261
Othello (Shakespeare), 212
oxygen, 3–4, 60, 288, 294; luminescence dating and, 26, 28; Permian-Triassic extinction and, 205; in quartz, 4–5, 242; silicon and, 242, 244
“Ozymandias” (Shelley), 175, 268
Pacific coast: offshore topography, 135, 142–43
packing behavior, 54–55
Paddle-to-the-Sea (Holling), 78–79
PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), 288
paint, painting, 225–26, 240–41
paleogeography, 186–87; Mediterranean/eastern Atlantic, 195; northeastern U.S., 210; results of continental drift, 200–202, 200 fig. 34
paleontology: Dikika baby, 176–77; early fossil interpretations, 182–83, 199; Ukhaa Tolgod site, 198–99
paleotempestology, 192–93
Pangea, 98, 295–96; breakup, 180, 200–201, 200 fig. 34, 202 fig. 35; formation, 205–6
papermaking, 262
parrot fish, 20
particle size. See grain size
Pascal, Blaise, 273
“A Passion in the Desert” (Balzac), 147
Penn, William, 246–47
Pentagon, 238
Pepys, Samuel, 235–36
percolation, 44
Perfect Storm, 137–38
Permian-Triassic extinction, 203–5, 295, 298
Persian Gulf island-building projects, 252–53
personal care products, 262
Petra, 268
pharmaceuticals, 262
phylloxera, 269
The Physics of Blown Sand and Desert Dunes (Bagnold), 155, 160
The Pioneers (Cooper), 103
Pitjantjatjara, 214
placer sands, placer mining, 253–54
planetary exploration. See space exploration; specific planets
plants, 4, 269–70, 295; for dune stabilization, 168, 170, 269; dune vegetation, 131, 149, 270; future climate change and, 297–98; grapevines, 268–69. See also extinctions; life
plaster, 240
plate tectonics, 112–13, 179–80, 181, 195, 201; carbon dioxide levels and, 294; climate/climate change and, 295–96, 297–99; Devonian, 208; extraterrestrial, 292; Moon and, 296; potential future of, 297–98; sediment provenance studies and, 207–8; subduction, 113, 142–43, 194, 298; water and, 296. See also continental drift; Pangea; rifting
Plato, 195
play, 31–32, 256, 257, 266. See also leisure activities
Pliny the Elder, 235, 246, 258, 261
plum trees, 269
+ and – (Hatoum), 230
point bars, 91–92, 92 fig. 19, 93 fig. 20, 93 fig. 21, 94–95, 102, 126
Pollock, Jackson, 226
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 288
polysilicon, 244
Popp, Georg, 24
porcelain, 261–62
porosity, 263–65. See also reservoirs; spaces between sand grains
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Joyce), 76
ports: siltation and dredging operations, 109, 195, 252
potassium, 294
power generation, 263
pressure: sand-pile physics and, 40, 54; in sand/sediment transport, 156
Principles of Geology (Lyell), 123–25, 186
Principles of Physical Geology (Holmes), 141
Proctor Crater (Mars), 281–82, 282 fig. 48
provenance, 206–8
Prudhoe Bay oil field, 264–65
psammon, 63
Puget Sound, 135
Pyrococcus furiosus, 300
QFL plots, 207
quartzites, 243–44
quartz, quartz sands, 3–4, 4–5, 13, 15, 16, 60–61; as abrasive, 235; in sandstones, 180, 181 fig. 32, 207; silicon production from, 242–44
Queen Anne’s Revenge (ship), 114
quicksand, 55–57; artificial, 262–63
radioactive dating techniques, 189–90
radioactive sands, 254
The Raft of the Medusa (Géricault), 135
rain shadow deserts, 147–48
rangoli sand patterns, 218, 219
RBN (reverse Brazil nut effect), 46
Renno, Nilton, 156
reservoirs, 263–65; aquifers, 263–64, 268; sandstones as, 264–65; as sediment traps, 83–84
reverse Brazil nut effect (RBN), 46
reverse grading, 45
Reynolds dilatancy, 55
Reynolds, Osborne, 55
Rhône delta, 108–9
Richard II (Shakespeare), 69
Richard Montgomery wreck, 105
rifting, rift valleys, 201–3, 202 fig. 34; Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 112–13, 180, Plate 7
ripples: water-formed, 125–26, 126 fig. 26, 135, 253–54; wind-formed, 161–62, 162 fig. 30. See also wave patterns
ritual. See ceremony and ritual
rivers, 84–87; ancient river systems, 91–92, 204, 210; base level changes, 97, 102, 104, 191; bends and meanders, 91, 92–95, 93 fig. 20, 93 fig. 21, 96–97, 102; channel bars and braided channels, 99–101, 100 fig. 22, 102, 204, 210, 298; channel migration, 94, 99, 101, 102; coastal deposition by, 115, 121; effects of dams, 83–84, 85–86, 103; effects of earthquakes and volcanic activity, 86, 204; estuaries, 104–6, 109; floodplain formation, 102; future climate change and, 293, 297–98; offshore extensions of, 141–42; terraces, 93 fig. 20, 102. See also sediment deposition; sediment transport; specific rivers
The Road to Ubar (Clapp), 267
Roanoke Island, 114
rule of thalweg, 100–101
Sable Island, Sable Island Bank, 136–38, 141
Sabratha, 150
The Sacred Desert: Religion, Literature, Art, and Culture (Jasper), 175
Sagan, Carl, 72–73, 278, 285, 290
Sahara Desert, 147, 149, 150; Marathon des Sables, 257–58; sand encroachment in, 166–67, 168–69; sands, 159 fig. 29; underlying aquifer, 264, 268; winds, 147
Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de, 172
Salmon River (Oregon), 193–94
saltation, 90, 156–58, 157 fig. 28, 167
sand, definitions of, 11–12, 32
sand art, 14–15; bottled sands, 226–27, Plate 15; contemporary transient art, 51–54, 52 fig. 14, 221–25, 227–28; dynamic installations, 219–20, 228–31, 230 fig. 41; individual grain carvings, 227; mandalas, 219–20, Plate 14; nature-created patterns in sand, 232 fig. 42, 233 fig. 43; Navajo sand paintings, 220–21, 221 fig. 39; Pacific, African, and Indian sand drawings, 215–19, 216 fig. 36, 217 fig. 37, 218 fig. 38; painting with sand, 225–26; sand as medium, 215, 219, 221, 227
sand barrels, 237
sandbars: channel bars, 99–101, 100 fig. 22, 102; offshore bars and banks, 114–15, 135–38, 139; point bars, 91–92, 92 fig. 19, 93 fig. 20, 93 fig. 21, 94–95, 102, 126
sand baths, 266
sand behavior and properties, 32–33, 41; absorbency, 237, 258–59, 268; airspaces between grains and, 49–51, 52–53; filtration properties, 245–46; fluidized beds, 262–63; geysers, 50–51, 50 fig. 13; grain size and, 10–13, 37–41, 144–45; medium and, 10–11; mysteries, 63–65, 64 fig. 16, 170–72; permeability/porosity, 245–46, 264; piles and avalanches, 33–36, 38–41, 49, 251; quicksand, 55–57; segregation and grading, 10, 11 fig. 2, 41, 43–46, 91, 253–54; thermal properties, 239, 257, 262; vibration responses, 46–49, 57–59; weight/density, 127, 253–54, 270. See also granular behavior; sediment transport; wet sand behavior
sandblasting, 236–37
sand burial, 160–61; sand baths, 266–67
sand casting, 245
The Sand Castle (film), 259
sand collecting, 14–15; collection photos, Plates 1–2
sand composition, 4–7, 13, 15–20, 138, Plates 1–4; biogenic sands, 18–20, 60, 138, 139, 293; diagenesis and, 179, 180; glassmaking and, 247, 248–49; grain size and, 144; magnetic sands, 16, 127, 137; precious minerals, 253–54; sediment transport/deposition and, 127, 144
sand consumption, 261
sand drawings. See sand art
“Sand Dunes” (Frost), 130
sand encroachment, 166–70, 195; harbor siltation, 108–9, 195, 252
Sand Family (Critchley), 224
Sandford, Scott, 288
sand forensics, 22–28; criminal investigations, 23–25; luminescence dating, 25–28; World War II incendiary bombs, 22–23. See also sedimentary geology
sand grains, 1–30; counting, 66–67, 72; formation, 3–6; as measurement, 28–29; physiognomy of, 17, 18 fig. 3, 21–22, 21 fig. 5; shape of, 7, 13, 40–41, 159–60; shells constructed from, 20, 129, 294; uniqueness of, 22; weathering of, 13, 21–22, 159–60. See also grain size; sand behavior and properties; sand composition
Sand Hills (Nebraska), 149, 163, 170, 264
sandhogs, 265
“Sand—Its Origin, Transportation, Abrasion and Accumulation” (Kuenen), 144–45
Sandman, 259–60
sandpaper, 235
“Sandpaper Ballet” (Anderson), 259
sand piles, 33–36, 38–41; hourglasses, 41, 251; to represent very large numbers, 74, 75 fig. 17; wet sand, 51–54. See also avalanches
“Sandpiper” (Bishop), 129
sand play, 31–32, 256, 257, 266
The Sand Reckoner (Archimedes), 70–71
SandScape, 228
sand scorpions, 172–73
sand sculpture, 51–54, 52 fig. 14. See also sand art
Sand Sports, 256
sandstones, 6, 80, 82, 181 fig. 32; bedding, 91–92, 92 fig. 19, 95; as building material, 98, 203, 211, 237–38; Burns Cliff (Mars), 277–78, 283–84, Plate 16; desert sandstones, 160, 303; Devonian, 209–11, Plate 13; Fontainebleau, 248–49; formation, 6, 177–81; Navajo, 200–201, 283; New Red, 201–3; Nubian, 268; Old Red, 208–11, Plate 13; provenance determinations, 206–7; quartzite sandstones, 243–44; as reservoirs, 264–65; Triassic, 199–203, 238. See also sedimentary geology
sandstorms, 158–59, 160–61, 169; on Mars, 278–79
sand therapy, 266–67
sand transport. See sediment transport
sand traps, 50–51
sand vipers, 174
sand volcanoes, 57, 58, Plate 5
sand waves, 135, 162, 162 fig. 30
Sand, Wind, and War (Bagnold), 56, 146, 152, 153, 163, 167
sand wines, 268–69
sand writing: Aboriginal storytelling ritual, 214–15; divination, 231; Pacific, African, and Indian sand drawings, 215–19, 216 fig. 36, 217 fig. 37, 218 fig. 38; sand as information medium, 215, 219, 227–28
San Francisco Bay, 122, 135; Treasure Island, 251
Sardon, Mariano, 228
satestu (Japanese iron sand), 254
Saturn, Saturn’s moons, 273–74, 277; Titan, 272, 274–77, 275 fig. 44, 277 fig. 45
Saussure, Horace-Bénédict de, 188
saw blades, abrasive, 235–36
scale, 2–3, 29–30; Earth in the universe, 290; geologic time and eternity, 73–76; sand art and, 224, 227. See also logarithmic scales; measurement
scarab beetles, 174
scorpions, 172–73
Scotland: Hutton’s unconformity, 184–85, 184 fig. 33, 190, 208, 213; Old Red Sandstone, 209; tsunami sands, 194
The Sea Around Us (Carson), 176
seabed topography. See submarine topography
sea level, absolute vs. relative, no
sea level changes: Atlantis and, 195; climate change and, 110–11; future, 298; river dynamics and, 97, 104; sediment transport/deposition and, 110–11, 115, 191, 293
“Seashore” (Emerson), 107
Sedgwick, Adam, 209
sedimentary geology, 176–213; advances and developments in, 182–90; Appalachian orogeny and, 206–11; Barrell s work, 191–92; catastrophic events and, 192–95; Chicxulub meteorite and, 196–97; continental drift and, 200–201; debate over Earth’s age, 183, 184, 189–90; Devonian sandstones, 209–11, Plate 13; estimating past day-length and month-length changes, 212; fundamental principles, 182–83, 185, 186–87; lithification and diagenesis, 177–82; Permian-Triassic extinction and, 204–5; provenance studies, 206–8; rift valleys and, 201, 203; Ukhaa Tolgod fauna and, 198–99
sedimentary rocks. See sandstones; sedimentary geology
sediment budgets, coastal, 116, 118, 121, 122
sediment deposition, 80, 177–78; in basins and rift valleys, 179–80, 201, 203, 208; by catastrophic events, 176, 192–95; channel bars, 99; climate change and, 293, 298; cross-bedding, 91–92, 92 fig. 19, 95, 99, 164, 283, Plate 16; behind dams, 83–84, 85, 86, 103; dredging operations, 109, 114, 251–53; environmental factors, 110–11, 191; in estuaries, 105–6, 109; grading, 10, 11 fig. 2, 41–46, 42 fig. 9, 91; lithification/diagenesis, 6, 139, 178–79, 180–81; physics of, 90, 91, 99, 191–92; point bars, 91–92, 93 fig. 20, 93 fig. 21, 94–95; sand composition/density and, 127; tidal deposition, 115–16, 212; by tsunamis, 193–94, 197; windblown sediments, 131, 166. See also submarine sediment deposition
sediment load: measuring, 85–86; river capacity for, 91; Susquehanna River, 103
sediment transport, 11, 12–13, 79–106; beginning the journey, 79–84; climate change and, 293; desert sand transport, 149–51, 155–60; during floods, 85–86, 95, 103; flows and, 82–83, 85, 90; future climate change and, 298; grain size and, 12, 90, 144–45, 156, 158, 159; human disturbance and, 103; measuring sediment load, 85–86; physics of, 89–90; sand composition and, 138; sediment sources, 81–86; Susquehanna River example, 87–89, 94–95, 98–99, 101–4, Plate 6; volume of, 82–83, 84; by wind, 130–31, 146, 150, 151, 155–60. See also coastal sediment movement; ocean sediment movement; rivers; sediment deposition
Seine River: Paris beaches along, 134
self-accumulation, 155
self-organized criticality, 40
Seurat, Georges, 225
Sèvres porcelain, 261–62
Shanghai, 84
Shapiro, Bruce, 228–30, 230 fig. 41
Shapotou Desert Experimental Research Station, 170
Sharp’s Island Light, 105
Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 175, 268
shells: constructed from sand grains, 20, 129, 294; as sand source, 18, 138
Sheringham, 123–25
shipwrecks, 114–15, 135, 137, 138
Shodell, Elly, 239
shrimp, 128
Siberian explosions (1908), 303–4
Siccar Point: Hutton’s unconformity, 184–85, 184 fig. 33, 190, 208, 213
sidewinders, 173–74
silica (silicon dioxide), 4–5, 242, 243, 260, 262; silica sands, 4–5. See also quartz, quartz sands
silicates, 4; carbon-silicate cycle, 294–95; extraterrestrial, 279, 287, 289–90
silicon carbide, 235
silicon dioxide. See silica
silicones, 241
silicosis, 236–37
silos, 40–41
simoun, 147
Singapore sand imports, 255
sirocco, 147
Sisyphus (Shapiro), 229–30, 230 fig. 41
Skagen (Andersen), 133
Skeleton Coast, 16
slow-sand filtration, 246
smalt, 241
Smith, Adam, 184
Smith, John, 105
Smith, Joseph, 94
Smithsonian Institution, 211, 238
snakes, 173–74
sodium, 294
sodium carbonate (natron), 246, 247, 258
Sodom and Gomorrah, 58
soils, 60, 293; grapevines and, 268–69
sona sand drawings, 215, 217–18, 217 fig. 37
Sorby, Henry Clifton, 187–88, 207, 280
sorites paradox, 33
sound: dune sounds, 170–72; granular materials’ responses to, 46–48, 47 fig. 11; speaker stabilization, 237
South Africa: Karoo, 178–79, 178 fig. 31, 181, 204; tidalites, 212
space debris, 285–89; asteroids, 288–89, 289 fig. 49, 304; comets, 285–88
space exploration, 284; Cassini and Huygens probe, 272, 274–77; comet and asteroid probes, 286–89; extraterrestrial liquefaction experiments, 59; Mars rovers, 277–80, 282, 283
space sand, 53
spaces between sand grains, 49–51, 52–53; dilatancy, 55–56; meiofauna inhabiting, 59–63, 62 fig. 15, 127, 128, 299–300; packing behavior and, 54–55; porosity, 263–65. See also reservoirs
spherules, 197
Sphinx, 152–53
Spider-Man 3 (film), 259–60
Spinoza, Benedict de, 273
Spiral Hill (Smithson), 224
Spiral Jetty (Smithson), 222
Spitzer space telescope, 289–90
spontaneous collapse, 40–41
spontaneous segregation, 43
sports, 256, 257–58, 270; golf, 50–51, 132, 237
spring tides, 212
Stack Island boundary dispute, 99–101
Stamp, L. Dudley, 77
St. Andrews, Scotland, 132
Stanley, Eugene, 43
star dunes, 165
Stardust project, 287–88
star number estimates, 72
Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand (Delany), 72
static electricity, 156
St. Lawrence Canyon and River, 141
Storegga slides, 194
storms: beach formation/erosion and, 116, 117 fig. 23, 120, 123; England, 1953, 125; impacts on barrier islands, 116, 117 fig. 23; ocean sediment movement and, 135; paleotempestology, 192–93; Perfect Storm of October 1991, 137–38. See also hurricanes; sandstorms
storytelling ritual, sand drawings in, 214–15, 217
Straits of Gibraltar, 195
stratigraphy, 182–83
Stratographs (Shapiro), 229
stromatolites, 60
Study for “Portrait of Van Gogh” III (Bacon), 226
subduction, 113, 142–43, 298; Cascadia subduction zone, 194
submarine sediment deposition, in, 113, 140, 180; deep-ocean deposits, 142, 143; deposits as aggregate source, 235; offshore sandbars and banks, 114–15, 135–38, 139; turbidites, 142, 178, 195, 197
submarine topography, 111–13, 135–37, Plate 7; continental shelves and slopes, 111–13, 119, 136, 141–43, Plate 7; offshore bars and banks, 114–15, 135–38, 139; submarine slopes and canyons, 137, 141–42, 178. See also submarine sediment deposition
sulfate sands, 283
sulfur bacteria, 205
Sun: solar radiation, 297, 298; tides and, 212
superposition, 183
surface creep, 156
surface tension, wet sand, 53
suspended sediment load, 85
Susquehanna River, 87–89, 94–95, 98–99, 101–4, Plate 6; age of, 101–2; coal and coal mining, 98–99, 102–3; dams, 101, 103; floods, 95, 103
Swift, Jonathan, 76
Syrtis Major (Hourglass Sea), 278, 279 fig. 46, 281 fig. 47
syzygy, 212
Tabscott, Keith, 56–57
Teach, Edward, 114
Technorama, 229
tectonic processes. See plate tectonics
telegraph cables, transatlantic, 140–41
telescopes, 248, 250, 273; space telescopes, 289–90
Tempel I comet, 287
Tempel-Tuttle comet, 285–86
temperatures: carbon dioxide levels and, 294–95; current/future global warming, 293–96; in diagenesis, 179, 180; extreme, fauna tolerating, 299–300; increasing solar radiation, 297, 298; on Mars, 278, 281–82; ocean temperatures, 295, 297; plate tectonics and, 298; on Titan, 274, 276; on Venus, 284, 292, 293; weathering processes and, 294
terroir, 268
Teshigahara, Hiroshi, 133
thalweg, 100–101
Thames River: estuary, 105; Tower Beach, 134
Thebes, 268
Theory of the Earth (Hutton), 85
therapy, 266–67
Thesiger, Wilfred, 151, 171, 175
Thomson, William (Lord Kelvin), 189–90
Thoreau, Henry David, 133
Three Gorges Dam, 83–84
Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There (Carroll), 66
Tibetan sand mandalas, 219–20, Plate 14
Ticino River, 248
tidalites, 212
tides, 32, 134–35, 211–12; in estuaries, 104, 105–6; quicksand formation and, 56; tidal sediment transport/deposition, 115–16, 134–35, 212
Timbuktu manuscripts, 268
time, time scales, 5, 73–76; day-length and month-length changes, 211, 212; deep, 73; hourglasses, 41, 250–51
Titan, 272, 274–77, 275 fig. 44, 277 fig. 45
Tom Sawyer Abroad (Twain), 160–61
topography: desert sand movement/dune behavior and, 155, 161, 165–66. See also submarine topography
Tottori dunes, 133
Triassic: Permian-Triassic extinction, 203–5, 295, 298; rifting and sandstones, 199–203, 238
triboelectrification, 172
tropical coasts and beaches, 138–39
Troy, 195
trumpet worms, 128–29, Plate 8
tsunamis, tsunami sands, 142, 193–94, 195, 197
Tunguska event (1908), 303–4
turbidites, turbidity currents, 142, 178, 195, 197, 204, 210
Tutankhamun’s tomb, glass scarab from, 301–2, 304
Twain, Mark, 46, 160–61, 209–10, 211, 266
Tyre, 195
Ubar, 267
Udden, Johan August, 8, 11, 37, 188–89
Udden-Wentworth scale, 8–10, 9 fig. 1, 37
Ukhaa Tolgod, 198–99
Uluru, 214
unconformities, 185; Hutton’s unconformity, 184–85, 184 fig. 33, 190, 208, 213
uniformitarianism, 183, 185, 186, 187, 191–92
universe: birth of, 27, 48; size estimates, 71, 72–73; star number estimates, 72
uplift, 80, 98, 113, 180, 181, 206
urbeaches, 134
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 114
U.S. Geological Survey, 189, 243
U.S. National Academy of Sciences, 190
Ussher, James, 183
USS Richard Montgomery wreck, 105
U.S. Supreme Court: Stack Island boundary dispute, 99–101
Valley and Ridge Province (Appalachians), 98
vampires, 66–67
van Gogh, Vincent, 225
van Leeuwenhoek, Antony, 16–18, 28–29, 61, 250, 273; sand grain drawings, 18 fig. 3
van Muschenbroek, Petrus, 16, 127
velocity, in sediment transport, 90, 91, 151, 156, 158
Venera missions, 284
Venetian glassmaking, 247–48
Venezuela: Canaima National Park, 79, 80–81, 81 fig. 18
Venus, 284–86, 292, 293, 296, 298
Vermeer, Jan, 225
Vesna, Victoria, 219–20
vibration responses, 46–49; liquefaction, 57–59; quicksand, 55–57; in Shapiro’s art, 229
vines and vineyards, 268–69
vins des sables, 268–69
Virginia Beach, 123
volcanic glass, 303
volcanic sands, 16, 33, 266, 267, Plate 1; on Mars, 279, 283
volcanoes, volcanic activity, 86, 113, 204, 205, 296, 298; on Venus, 296
Vulcano Island, 299–300
Waddington, Andrucha, 133–34
Waiting for Godot (Beckett), 29
Washington, George, 199, Plate 15
washover fans, 116
water, 296; aquifers, 263–64, 268; in diagenesis, 178–79, 180; in Earth’s history, 27, 28; on Mars, 281–84; sand movement through, 10, 12–13, 151; wet sand behavior, 51–54. See also coastal sediment movement; ocean sediment movement; rivers; sediment transport
water gaps, 101
water treatment, sand filtration for, 245–46
Watt, James, 184
wave patterns: in beach sands, 125–26, 126 fig. 26; in granular materials, 48, 49 fig. 12; offshore sand waves, 135. See also ripples; vibration responses
waves, 32, 115, 119–20, 120 fig. 24; beach sand surface details and, 126–28; dune formation and, 131; tsunamis, 142, 193–94, 195, 197. See also coastal sediment movement
weather: climate change and, 293. See also climate change; hurricanes; storms
weathering: of sand grains, 13, 21–22; as source of sand, 3, 4–6, 82, 84–85, 205, 293–94
Wegener, Alfred, 189
Wentworth, Chester K., 6, 8, 9
Western Desert (Egypt), 152, 154, 301–4
Weston, Brett, 132
Weston, Edward, 132
wet sand behavior, 51–54; footprints, 55; liquefaction, 57–59; quicksand, 55–56
whalebacks, 165
whales, 128
White House, 237–38
White Sands National Monument, 7, 283
Wigan, Willard, 227
Wild 2 comet, 287–88
Wilson, Brian, 259
winds, 12, 13, 170, 276; desert winds, 147, 151; dune formation/behavior and, 12, 35 fig. 6, 130–31, 158; dune forms and wind patterns, 163–64, 165, 168, 277; on Mars, 278, 280; on Titan, 276–77; on Venus, 285; wind-formed sand ripples, 161–62, 162 fig. 30. See also aeolian sediment transport; dunes
wine, 268–69
Winter, Martha, 230
Wistar, Caspar (glassmaker), 249
Wistar, Caspar (physician), 199
The Wizard of Oz (Baum), 147
The Woman in the Dunes (Abe), 133, 238
Woman in the Dunes (film), 133
Woodland, Joe, 227
“Woodnotes II” (Emerson), 77
World War II: Bagnold’s activities, 155; incendiary bombs in the U.S., 22–23
worms, 261
Wright, Orville and Wilbur, 118
xenotime, 270
Yale University building stone, 211
Yangtze River: Three Gorges Dam, 83–84
“The Young American” (Emerson), 1 yttrium, 270–71
Yucatán: Chicxulub meteorite, 196–97
Zen sand gardens, 222, 229–30, 271
Zeresenay Alemseged, 176–77
zero, 68
Zion National Park, 200–201, 283
DESIGNER: SANDY DROOKER
TEXT: 10/14 ADOBE GARAMOND
DISPLAY: AKZIDENZ GROTESK EXTENDED
COMPOSITOR: INTEGRATED COMPOSITION SYSTEMS
INDEXER: THÉRÈSE SHERE
PRINTER/BINDER: MAPLE-VAIL BOOK MANUFACTURING GROUP