Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 20, 2026

Kinematic History of a Salient-recess Junction Explored through a Combined Approach of Field Data and Analog Sandbox Modeling
Published on: August 5, 2016
Sonic sands
1Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes, UMR 7636 ESPCI -CNRS, Univ. Paris-Diderot, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris, France.
Abstract:
Many desert sand dunes emit a loud sound with a characteristic tremolo around a well-defined frequency whenever sand is avalanching on their slip face. This phenomenon, called the 'song of dunes', has been successfully reproduced in the lab, on a smaller scale. In all cases, the spontaneous acoustic emission in air is due to a vibration of the sand, itself excited by a granular shear flow. This review presents a complete characterization of the phenomenon-frequency, amplitude, source shape, vibration modes, instability threshold-based on recent studies. The most prominent characteristics of acoustic propagation in weakly compressed granular media are then presented. Finally, this review describes the different mechanisms proposed to explain booming avalanches. Measurements performed to test these theories against data allow one to contrast explanations that must be rejected-sound resonating in a surface layer of the dune, for instance-with those that still need to be confirmed to reach a scientific consensus-amplification of guided elastic waves by friction, in particular.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Acid Mine Drainage
Shock Waves
When the source's speed approaches the speed of sound, constructive interference between successive wavefronts emitted by the source occurs immediately behind it. Initially, scientists believed that this constructive interference would result in such high pressures...
Minerals
Lagging Strand Synthesis
There are several major differences between synthesis of the leading strand and synthesis of the lagging strand. 1) Leading strand synthesis happens in the direction of replication fork opening, whereas lagging strand synthesis happens in the...
Lagging Strand Synthesis
There are several major differences between synthesis of the leading strand and synthesis of the lagging strand. 1) Leading strand synthesis happens in the direction of replication fork opening, whereas lagging strand synthesis happens in the...
Sound Waves
Sound waves are longitudinal in most fluids because fluids cannot sustain any lateral pressure. In solids, however, shear forces help in propagating the disturbance in the lateral direction as well. Hence,...

