Sand, San Carlos, Mexico
Sand grains from the beach are from various minerals,
rocks, and shell fragments. Shell fragments tend to be white and well
rounded, though a few other colored shell fragments are present. Most of the black
particles are magnetite. The colorless glassy particles are quartz
and zircon. Fragments of rhyolitic rocks are common.
Macro Photograph
Definition/Function:
Significance in the Environment:
Characteristic Features:
Associated Particles:
References:
Greenberg, Gary, A GRAIN OF SAND: NATURE'S SECRET WONDER, Voyageur Press, 2008.
Welland, Michael, SAND: THE NEVER ENDING STORY, University of California Press, 2009.
http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artjun01/clsand.html
(Good Information on the microscopy of sand, Great site for more information on
microscopy in general)
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=a-grain-of-sand-natures-secret-wonder
(Good Information on Sand with links to more information on sand)
http://www.sciencelive.org/component/option,com_mediadb/task,play/idstr,Open-feeds_fsc_exploring_sedimentary_processes_fsc02_02_m4v/vv,-2/Itemid,97
(Brief, very informative video on what can be learned from the shape of a sand
grain.)