Articles for tag: acoustic geology, desert science, natural phenomena, singing sand dunes, sound of sand

desert under clear blue sky during daytime

Scientists Discover Singing Sand Dunes

Suhail Ahmed

On a windless afternoon, a dune can suddenly begin to hum – low, steady, and eerily musical. For centuries, travelers wrote about this strange desert voice, but the physics behind it remained a puzzle that slipped through scientists’ fingers like, well, sand. Now, a wave of field measurements and lab experiments is revealing how friction ...

The Singing Dunes of America’s Deserts – and Why They Hum

Suhail Ahmed

On certain hot, windless afternoons in the American desert, the ground itself seems to hold a note. Hikers pause on a steep dune slope, a sheet of sand shivers downward, and a low, velvety tone swells from the hillside like a distant pipe organ. The sound is startling because it feels alive – steady, rich, ...