Uses

I have frequently noted my pleasure in regularly receiving “out of the blue”
comments and e-mails – I find myself in contact with all kinds of people from
around the world with whom I would never have otherwise intersected, on an
amazing range of topics, many of which are completely new to me. All of this
because of a mutual interest in all things arenaceous.

Here’s a case in point – together with a question for anyone who might be able
to shed light on this. The unique nature of any particular family of sand
grains from a specific location, be it a river sand bank or a coastal beach,
has long provided forensic science with a tool for location identification.
This has not only been applied to any number of cases of criminal forensics,
but also, for example, to archaeological and military investigations. I
described the classic military example in Sand :

In late 1944, balloons 9 meters (30 ft) in diameter appeared in the skies
above the United States. Landing from the West Coast to Michigan, they
carried a deadly cargo: incendiary bombs. Although the only casualties over
the following months were, tragically, members of a Sunday school group
attempting to retrieve one that had landed, the potential danger to life,
towns, and forests was considerable. It was apparent that the weapons had
blown in from the Pacific, but where had they been launched? The devices had
an automatic altitude-regulation system, releasing hydrogen or ballast to
maintain height. The ballast bags were filled with sand. The U.S. Geological
Survey’s Military Geology Unit, established in 1942, was tasked with
identifying the sand. The family of grains was consistent from one retrieved
ballast sample to the next, and unique. Distinctive forams and other
microscopic shells, together with small amounts of unusual mineral grains in
among the granite debris, correlated precisely with beach sands described in
prewar geological reports from two locations on the east coast of Japan. Air
photographs identified hydrogen production plants at these locations, which
were then targeted and destroyed.

Recently, a reader of this blog, a self-confessed “WWII history buff” sent me
a series of photographs and asked for my views on whether there was any chance
of figuring out the provenance of the sand grains shown at the head of this
post. And where did these grains find themselves used as a military
application? As camouflage on a German helmet:

The military unit would seem to be a naval artillery group, and France would
be the likely origin. But does anyone have any ideas as to a more specific
location?

Originally published at: https://throughthesandglass.typepad.com/through_the_sandglass/uses/