GPS Tracking Helps Solve the Mystery of “Sailing Stones”
11 Sep 2014Mysterious sailing stones are followed with GPS tracking devices, providing more information to researchers about their movement.
Death Valley National Park is known for many things, ranging from the rocket-high temperatures, to the barren lands. Another thing it is known for is having sailing stones.
What are Sailing Stones
Sailing stones are rocks that move across level surfaces without being aided by humans, animals, or gravity. Up until now, the way this occurs has been a mystery. These are not all lightweight rocks either; some have been 700 pounds, still able to move along the soil.
Theories of the Sailing Stones
There have been many theories over the years about how the sailing stones are able to move, from magnetic fields to strong winds. Others believe it was actually humans pulling a prank and moving it on their own, while some even blamed it on extraterrestrials. The stones, up until now, are simply referred to as a geological phenomenon. They move every few years, leaving striated tracks where they moved.
The Mystery of the Sailing Stones Solved with GPS Tracking Technology
A study performed by Richard Norris of Scripps Institution of Oceanography and James Norris of Interwoof, which was published in PloSone, shows more in-depth information about the sailing stones. The study used GPS tracking devices that were placed on 15 rocks in Racetrack Playa, which is a dry lake formation in Death Valley, and known to be a common place for the moving rocks.
The study lasted for two years, which was undoubtedly a very long two years. Even Dr. Ralph Lorenz, one of the researchers at Johns Hopkins University, called it the most boring experiment ever. However, it was when Richard and Jim Norris, of Scripps and Interwoof respectively, came to look at the water-flooded area that they saw the sailing phenomenon for themselves.
It was pure luck that they happened to arrive when the rocks began to move. They thought the rocks might not have movement until the five-year mark, but at two years, they were lucky enough to see it happen. By viewing the movement and looking at the GPS data, they have determined that there are very specific geological conditions that must be present for the rocks to move.
The water that flooded the Playa was the first indication. It must be deep enough for the base of the rocks to be surrounded by a thin pane of ice. Once they are covered in the ice, any type of wind can move them. After they begin moving, they do so slowly, and stop occasionally. The reason there were striated marks from movements, is because they end up making changes in direction when the wind shifts.
For movement to occur, the ice cannot be too thick, the wind has to be steady, and the day cannot be too sunny. This is why, researchers believe, it only happens every few years.
Comments are closed.