#scratch circle

A circle in the sand

While it looks like some doodle that someone has done with a pointed stick or the like, these strange patterns are of natural origin, caused by wind and grass. Known as scratch circles, or Scharrkreise, they form rarely when howling gales beat a blade of dune grass around on its axis in the sand. Their potential for entering the sedimentary record is poor, as they are fleeting easily erased features, but examples have been found in sandstones from the Triassic (250-200 million years ago) Pont de Suert Formation of the Central Spanish Pyrenees.

Loz

Image credit: David Marvin via EPOD

Happy 2016 … plus Scratch Circles and the Sands of Time

The Sands of Time, photo by David Marvin

The Wheel of Time has rolled into another year. It might be my increasing age talking, but it seems as if the world has gotten harder over the last couple of decades. I hope that 2016 treats everyone more kindly, including you!

Apparently I can’t even post a simple metaphor without learning something new. David writes:

Scratch Circles or “Scharrkreise”…