Comments on: Sailing stones http://haha.nu/entertainment/sailing-stones/ the lifestyle blogzine Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:11:07 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Mark Berger http://haha.nu/entertainment/sailing-stones/comment-page-1/#comment-20026 Mark Berger Fri, 25 Dec 2009 20:04:36 +0000 http://haha.nu/?p=10854#comment-20026 The prior theories that rocks are being blown uphill, with or without the aid of ice sheets make no sense to me. My personal belief is that the stones are sliding downhill. The soil type of the playa is conducive to, and the temperature gets cold enough to produce ice lens formation, typically referred to as frost heave. The southern end of the playa is especially susceptible to this phenomenon as the surrounding terrain features block the suns rays in the winter. Any rainfall while ice lens formations are present would turn the southern end of the playa into a slippery slope setting the stones in motion. Not only that, but a portion of the playa surface would wash away as well so that as the temperature rises, and the playa surface subsides, the southern end of the playa is left lower than the rest of the playa surface. Mark Berger Greenville, Ohio The prior theories that rocks are being blown uphill, with or without the aid of ice sheets make no sense to me. My personal belief is that the stones are sliding downhill. The soil type of the playa is conducive to, and the temperature gets cold enough to produce ice lens formation, typically referred to as frost heave. The southern end of the playa is especially susceptible to this phenomenon as the surrounding terrain features block the suns rays in the winter. Any rainfall while ice lens formations are present would turn the southern end of the playa into a slippery slope setting the stones in motion. Not only that, but a portion of the playa surface would wash away as well so that as the temperature rises, and the playa surface subsides, the southern end of the playa is left lower than the rest of the playa surface.

Mark Berger
Greenville, Ohio

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