Sound-producing dune and beach sands

Abstract

Research Article| March 01, 1976 Sound-producing dune and beach sands JOHN F. LINDSAY; JOHN F. LINDSAY 1Marine Science Institute, University of Texas at Galveston, Galveston, Texas 77550 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar DAVID R. CRISWELL; DAVID R. CRISWELL 2Lunar Science Institute, 3303 Nasa Road I, Houston, Texas 77058 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar T. L. CRISWELL; T. L. CRISWELL 3Battelle Pacific, Northwest Laboratories, Richland, Washington 99352 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar B. S. CRISWELL B. S. CRISWELL 4Department of Microbiology, Baylor University College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77001 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar GSA Bulletin (1976) 87 (3): 463–473. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1976)87<463:SDABS>2.0.CO;2 Article history first online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation JOHN F. LINDSAY, DAVID R. CRISWELL, T. L. CRISWELL, B. S. CRISWELL; Sound-producing dune and beach sands. GSA Bulletin 1976;; 87 (3): 463–473. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1976)87<463:SDABS>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Field and laboratory investigations have confirmed differences between the acoustic and seismic emissions of "singing" and "booming" sands and revealed that booming grains possess extremely smooth surfaces. Singing sand is the most common of the two types of sound-producing sands. It occurs widely as a beach sand and consists of well-rounded highly spherical grains that have a well-sorted highly symmetric grain-size distribution. Sound is produced when the sand is mechanically sheared, possibly causing the closely packed grain array to dilate in a coherent manner. Frequency (>500 Hz) is controlled by grain size, and amplitude may in part relate to grain morphology. Booming sand is a relatively rare phenomenon that occurs in some desert regions. This sand produces a low-frequency (fo ≃ 80 Hz) sound during avalanching. The process efficiently (≈ 0.1 to 1 percent) produces very narrow band seismic energy in the 50- to 80-Hz range. Simultaneously produced audio signals are broader band but are composed of signals that peak at the same fundamental frequencies as the seismic emissions. In addition, the acoustic emissions display first and second harmonics. Acoustic production is ≈ 400 times less efficient than seismic energy production. Booming occurs in quartz and carbonate sand grains that are well sorted, fine skewed, and mesokurtic. The individual quartz sand grains are only moderately well rounded. When compared to normal eolian grains, however, they have highly polished surfaces that are smooth on the 1-µm scale. The exceptional smoothness of the grains may facilitate booming. The effective Q (magnification factor) and compressibility (k) of the grain system may be the key physical quantities involved in booming. Thus, whereas booming is rare in the terrestrial environment, it may be common in the high-Q soils of the Moon and the near waterless dune environment of Mars. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.