Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
I haven't written much lately about how sand and things move on a beach. It is about time for me to get back to that. I hope to put it all together in one comprehensive treatment some day. That will be a big job and take quite a few pages. Today I'll just quickly summarize some of the most important factors.
1. The density (not weight) AND shape of the objects to be moved by the water are very important.
2. It requires more force to get some objects moving. Those that require a lot of force to start, may move more easily and quickly once they are dislodged.
3. As the water slows, different objects will drop out and settle at different points.
4. The shape of an object has a lot to do with how easily and quickly it is moved. Round ball-shaped objects will move more easily and quickly on a compact beach front than flat coin-shaped objects, for example.
5. The force of water is not constant, but varies as the water comes in, washes up the beach, and then back down the beach.
6. The movement of coins and objects is multi-directional; in and out, along the beach, and up and down.
7. A cliff can drastically change the movement of water. Instead of the water slowly sinking in or reversing and slowly flowing back down the slope, when it bounces off the face of a cliff, it returns with more force.
8. Breaking waves help to dislodge objects and suspend sand and other objects and materials in front of the beach.
9. The direction of waves relative to long shore currents is important.
10. Coins and objects are covered and uncovered but do not sink in sand without some agitation. What appears to be "sinking" is sometimes actually sand moving out while a less easily moved object remains behind to be covered again later by in-coming sand. The cycle can repeat multiple times as long as what I call the "trigger point" for sand is exceeded but the trigger point for the other object is not reached.
10. Movement of coins and other objects on a beach can occur very quickly.
11. Where objects settle as the tide goes out or as the waves settle is the net result of multiple factors
There are so many interacting factors that it gets to be pretty complex.
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I was sitting at the computer this morning and my wife brought in the object shown above. She said, "Is this something?" She was undoubtedly thinking that the strange lines might be carved. I looked at the object for a moment, then must have given her a doubtful look, to which she replied, "Its as good as what they find on Oak Island." We had a good laugh over that.
The object is something she picked up while collecting shells. I looked it over some more and told her it was a man-made substance, and she said, "That's good." I had another good laugh.
I find the Oak Island show entertaining even if they come up with what I think are some crazy conclusions and approaches.
My wife came back in and said, "They'd never want you as a consultant on that program, You'd just say everything looks like nothing." We shared another laugh.
The disappearing detector signals on the show are easily explainable. The apparent mystery adds to the story though.
You never know what is done for ratings. The editing can be misleading. They can edit things so things that don't go together appear to.
By the way, one of the Legina brothers purchased old Spanish coins in Florida. I don't have permission to say anymore about that though.
It does look like they are finally getting closer to something that might actually be very significant. They have to do some dramatizing, so the viewer has to cut through it all. Some of the stuff is goofy, but it still makes for an interesting program for people like me. Figuring out what is real and what isn't and what you would do is all part of the fun. Even the laughs are fun.
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The wind shifted to the northeast this morning for at least a little while.
We'll have a full moon this weekend and some good negative tides.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
