Sound-Producing Sand Avalanches

Analysis of the theories and experiments done so far on sound-producing (e.g., roaring, booming) sand avalanches.


F. Nori, P. Sholtz, and M. Bretz, Scientific American 
Vol. 277, No. 3, p. 84 (September 1997).

Translated into several languages (e.g., Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Polish, Spanish). 

P. Sholtz, M. Bretz, and F. Nori, Contemporary Physics, 
Vol. 38, No. 5, 329-342 (October 1997).

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Sound recording of booming sand (Sand Mountain, Nevada) Sound file in .au format. File is large: 6.5 Mbytes. Good-quality sub-woofer speakers help to reproduce the very low frequencies. First 1.5 minutes recorded by Bernie Krause, David Criswell, and Jim Metzner. The remaining part, about a minute, was recorded by Michael Bretz

Sound recordings of compressed squeaking sands and avalanching booming sands. The sizes of the sound files are small. These recordings, and the croaking-sand sound below, are kindly provided by Professor Shigeo Miwa (in Kyoto, Japan), who has studied sound-producing sands .

Sound recording of croaking sand Beach sand that emits a "croaking" sound when sheared in water.

Booming Dunes, Namib Desert Sandwich Beach Harbor and Flamingos.

Booming Dunes, Namib Desert Booming Sands (these two Namib desert photos are by Annie Griffiths Belt).

Micrographs of Eureka Booming Dunes in California

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