[Rockhounds] Sand dunes can 'communicate' with each other

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

Even though they are inanimate objects, sand dunes can 'communicate' with
each other. A team from the University of Cambridge has found that as they
move, sand dunes interact with and repel their downstream neighbours.

Using an experimental dune 'racetrack', the researchers observed that two
identical dunes start out close together, but over time they get further
and further apart. This interaction is controlled by turbulent swirls from
the upstream dune, which push the downstream dune away. The results,
reported in the journal *Physical Review Letters*, are key for the study of
long-term dune migration, which threatens shipping channels, increases
desertification, and can bury infrastructure such as highways.

https://phys.org/news/2020-02-sand-dunes.html