The Science Life Physics

Uncovering the science of sand dune ‘booms’

Sliding sand creates a mysterious symphony

Scientists on dunes
BOOM CREW  Sliding down Eureka Dunes in Death Valley National Park, Nathalie Vriend and colleagues generate a mini avalanche to record the sound waves.

N. Vriend/Univ. of Cambridge

By Andrew Grant

It starts as a hum, barely audible above the howl of the winds shimmying between sand dunes. Then it builds. Within seconds, the sound resembles a World War II–era prop plane flying low overhead. But there’s nothing there.