China first discovered coastal 'singing sand'

Scientists discovered a "singing sand" area along the coast of Clearwater Bay, the Shenzhou peninsula and some other areas in Hainan province, Xinhua reported on June 20. This is the first time this strange sound phenomenon has been detected on the coast of China.

Singing sand beach in Shenzhou peninsula, Wanning city, Hainan province. (Photo: CFP)

Singing sands, also called rang sands, whistling sands, or musical sands, are areas of sand in a desert or coast that can naturally produce sounds in the wind due to a combination of physical characteristics such as size and volume. size and composition of sand grains.

"The discovery of this miraculous natural phenomenon helps to fill the gap in coastal singing sand in China. It will support the development and protection of tourism resources in Hainan," said Qu Jianjun, researcher Researcher at the Northwest Institute of Natural Resources and Environment (NIEER) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the lead researcher, said.

Singing Sands are found in many parts of the interior of China, including the famous Sand Singing Mountain in Dunhuang, northwest Gansu province. "It has long been assumed that China has no coastal singing sands, and our latest study provides a new answer," Qu said.

New research shows that the unique geomorphology and dynamics of these bays help shape coastal sand grains. The team also studied many characteristics of coastal singing sand such as mineral composition, grain size, surface structure, acoustic properties, and compared with desert singing sand.

The surface of the coastal sand has V-shaped depressions formed by underwater mechanical corrosion and deep holes formed by chemical corrosion. "The surface porous physical structure is an important factor in controlling the acoustic mechanism of singing sand," explains Qu.

In addition, the frequency spectrum of coastal singing sand is narrower than desert singing sand, with a large proportion of high frequency components and a relatively sharp sound.

The coastal singing sand discovery reflects the sea water and beach quality of Hainan Island. These are important features for tourism resources, which in turn generate significant economic, social and ecological benefits, Qu said. "We need to do more research on conservation. Meanwhile, it would be a good idea to establish a coastal sand park that can serve as a platform for scientific research and education," he said. .