Journal of Geology & Geophysics
Open Access
ISSN: 2381-8719
+44 1478 350008
ISSN: 2381-8719
+44 1478 350008
Brigitte Schoenemann
University of Bonn
Others, Steinmann Institute for Geology, Mineralogy and Palaeontology,
Nussallee 8, D-53115 Bonn
Germany
Review Article
A Miniscule System of a ‘Sailing Rock’
Author(s): Brigitte Schoenemann
Brigitte Schoenemann
The ‘Sailing Rocks’ of Death Valley, California are known worldwide, and the enigma of how they move over a desert ground without intervention of animal or human forces, still remains one of the great natural mysteries. There exist different theories about how these movements happen, the most recent was that ice-rafts build up below and around the rocks, which are then pushed forward by moving ice floes. Earlier theories regarding this phenomenon describe the influence of wind, and flows of melting water on fine soil material (Hypothesis of ‘Sailing Rocks’). We describe here the same phenomenon, observed not in a large rock weighing several hundreds of kilograms, but in a small pebble of about 2 cm in size. A clear analysis of the conditions under which its movement took place has allowed the formulation of the minimum conditions under which a rock starts movin.. View More»
DOI:
10.4172/2381-8719.1000256