history - Through the sandglass

art books climate_change coastal education environment geology geomorphology history photography rivers_water sand science travel

Sandstone-making microbes, tafoni - and an extraordinary design idea

I love connections. Those unexpected and wonderful threads of stories that link and flow from one subject to another, subjects that would have seemed to have ha...

April 1, 2009 9 min read

art books climate_change coastal education environment geology geomorphology history photography rivers_water sand science travel

April 2009

Musings and news on the extraordinary stories sand has to tell of our planet and daily lives

April 1, 2009 8 min read

art books climate_change coastal education environment geology geomorphology history photography rivers_water sand travel

Clogged Arteries - natural and unnatural rivers

Rivers are vital but also complex and dynamic systems - vital for the planet and vital for us. Civilization has always had an intimate relationship with rivers....

March 1, 2009 6 min read

art climate_change environment geology geomorphology history photography sand travel

Invading dunes

Dunes move - it’s what they do, it’s what makes them dunes as opposed to lifeless piles of sand; and nothing will stand in their way. The images above are of du...

March 1, 2009 5 min read

art coastal geology geomorphology history photography rivers_water sand science travel

On the sands of time - the footprints of Ileret

I know that much has been written on this elsewhere over the last few days, but this blog is about the stories that sand can tell us - how could I possibly omit...

March 1, 2009 3 min read

climate_change coastal education geology geomorphology history photography rivers_water sand science travel

Rivers again - sandbags in the Red River Valley

Last Sunday was World Water Day, highlighting the global issues associated with this precious resource. But one of those issues is, as with all natural resource...

March 1, 2009 3 min read

art books climate_change education geomorphology history photography sand science travel

March 2009

Musings and news on the extraordinary stories sand has to tell of our planet and daily lives

March 1, 2009 5 min read

art climate_change coastal education geomorphology history photography sand science travel

Building New York - the Long Island Sandminers

You’re standing by the side of the road when a dump truck hauls into view, one of the big ones, filled with sand. It’s closely followed by another, and another,...

February 1, 2009 5 min read

art coastal history photography rivers_water sand science travel

Drawing lines in the sand - the art of Jim Denevan

Anyone who builds a sandcastle, or doodles on the beach, feels the impermanence of such creations. It’s one of sand’s many qualities - for a material that lends...

February 1, 2009 4 min read

art books coastal education geology geomorphology history photography sand science travel wildlife

From Bogart to Bugs - the Angle of Repose

I try to make a point of watching all movies that feature sand in a significant role (probably the subject of a future post), and my 88-year-old father-in-law w...

February 1, 2009 6 min read

art books climate_change coastal education geology geomorphology history photography rivers_water sand science travel

Magic Crystals - Tales Zircons Tell

The picture on the left is of our oldest earthly possessions. They are sand grains, but special ones, each an individual crystal of zircon, the silicate of the...

February 1, 2009 8 min read