sand_series - Through the sandglass

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April 2014

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

April 1, 2014 6 min read

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Sunday sand food

Living in sand is not easy, and life – animal and vegetable - comes up with all kinds of wonderful solutions for doing so. Perhaps qualifying for one of the mor...

November 1, 2012 2 min read

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Sunday Sand Scene

OK, the Paris-Dakar rally is controversial, but this is simply such a spectacular image. [Peru, photo Reuters/Philippe Desmazes]

January 1, 2012 1 min read

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Sunday sand: Komodo pink

No, these photos are not photoshopped – these are the real colours of this beach on Komodo Island: Simply spectacular, macroscopically and microscopically, and...

November 1, 2011 3 min read

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Sunday Sand: grains of tragic truth, June 6, 1944

In Sand, talking about the genetic history of families of grains, I wrote the following: A traveler expects to sample a local cuisine that has its origins in lo...

June 1, 2011 4 min read

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Sunday sand: small details, large effects

As you may have guessed by now, I find sands and sandstones fascinating - fascinating and vital in so many different ways to our daily lives. But while, more of...

June 1, 2011 7 min read

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Sunday sand: Bali again - and a great website

Travelling this weekend, so a perfect time to borrow some images and showcase a great website. Catalin Stefan lives in Dresden, Germany, and is a devoted arenop...

May 1, 2011 2 min read

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A catch-up round-up of the Geoblogosphere

If I were one for New Year’s resolutions, which, after decades of disappointing self-scrutiny, I’m afraid I’m not, I would probably resolve to try to manage my...

January 1, 2011 7 min read

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Sunday sand: a nuptial arena

This last summer, the wedding of the daughter of friends of ours took place on North Stradbroke Island, off Australia’s Queensland coast. A dazzling expanse of...

December 1, 2010 5 min read

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Sunday sand: Brazilian gems

Sometimes, a sand just strikes me as beautiful in its own right – yes, of course it has geological stories to tell, but (although perhaps I shouldn’t admit this...

October 1, 2010 3 min read

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Sunday sand: glass beaches

The phrase “glass sand” would normally make you think of ultra-pure sand resources used in glass-making, such as the sands of Fontainebleau. But I was intrigued...

October 1, 2010 6 min read

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Sunday sand: Halloween and a cruise

I’m in the US - Philadelphia to be exact - and it’s October 31st, so, HAPPY SANDY HALLOWEEN! The reason that I’m over here is that tomorrow I must go to New Yor...

October 1, 2010 3 min read