Surface Textures of Sand Grains—an Application of Electron Microscopy: Glaciation

Abstract

To simulate glacial conditions, a mixture of ice and quartz grains was subjected to grinding under hydrostatic pressure of 500 bars. Electron microphotographs of these "synthetic" glaciated surfaces were then compared with electron microphotographs of grain surfaces which had been abraded and crushed by glacial action, and the correspondence was found to be good. Thus it appears possible to distinguish glacial sands from beach and eolian sands byexamining the surface textures of these grains with the electron microscope.