bigscoop
Gold Member
- Jun 4, 2010
- 13,508
- 9,025
- Detector(s) used
- Older blue Excal with full mods, Equinox 800.
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
The Life Cycle of Beach Sand:
While living in New Smyrna Beach and hunting those beaches nearly every day, in either 2012 or 2013 (I can't remember the exact year) I had recovered over 40 gold rings by the first of May. By the end of that year, however, and despite those extremely heavy crowds that were on the beach in the summer, I had failed to recover 70 gold rings for the year.
Over 40 gold rings in four months, and less than 30 gold rings during the remaining eight months of that same year despite the huge increase in the summer beach traffic. Why the vast difference? The answer is simple. It was all the result of the seasonal shifts of that migrating beach sand.
If we could position ourselves several hundred feet above these beaches throughout the year we could even watch this sand slowly migrate back and forth. Just offshore there exist a series of sandbars that run parallel to the beach, each of these separated by long troughs that likewise run parallel between each of these sandbars.
The inshore currents are what moves this expanse of sand, in the winter season this waves action attacks the beach at an angle in huge arches of sweeping water, thus producing a scolding effect that sweeps the sand back out towards deep water. However, in the summer this wave action shifts and begins to attack the beach straight on, thus pushing all of that offshore sand back towards the shallows and back onto the beach.
During the winter months one can walk those troughs on fairly firm bottoms, however, during the summer season one will sink to ankles and shins due to the buildup of that soft and fluffy summer sand.
In order to find items gold rings during the summer months one nearly has to get their coil over that ring almost as soon as it falls from the finger otherwise that ring will get deep-deep in a hurry. In the winter months this isn't the case as the soft fluffy sand has been pulled away from the shallows and thus revealing and allowing access to a great deal of that jewelry that was lost during the summer season.
High upon our perch, and during the winter we can see all of the veins and arteries that have sliced deep runs and runnels through those offshore sandbars as the sweeping winter water makes its way back to the sea, and as these runs and runnels continue to be cut the volume of water passing through them increases and picks up speed, thus creating a more aggressive cutting action, and yep, those dangerous rip currents.
During the winter we can look down the exposed beach and we can see, at the very least, low spots, runnels, ditches, cuts, etc., the range of damage simply dependent on how rough and aggressive those northeaster currents have been, especially at high tide periods when the volume of sweeping and attacking water is the greatest.
But in the summer, well, just the opposite is taking place as all of that sand begins to stack up in the shallows and on the beach, and folks, we are talking feet upon feet of soft fluffy sand.
In the winter the walls of those runnels and ditches and troughs will be steep and sharply cut as the force of the increased water volume has swept away all of the deep soft sand and begun to cut its way into those deeper layers. In the summer season these existing walls will be far less steep and far less firm, but rather they will be extremely soft and consisting of that deep soft and fluffy summer sand that continues to rapidly swallow up all of those heavier and denser items that we pursue. With just a single changing of the summer tides these items can quickly become covered by several feet of that soft and fluffy shifting summer sand. Sunglasses, pull-tabs, bottle caps, bits and pieces of foil, these are just a few examples of the lighter items that will dominate the surface and shallower depths of this summer sand.
On the other hand, and once the winter tides have swept all of that sand from the shallows and beach, we begin to encounter items like heavy steel bolts, heavy and dense fishing weights, more gold and silver jewelry, etc., etc., those stronger and more aggressive winter currents having swept away a great deal of those much lighter summer debris.
During the summer we are faced with what is called, “recent drop hunting” while in the winter we are hunting for, “both old and recent drops” because all of it will eventually settle upon those firmer layers far below all of that deep and fluffy summer sand.
This is why a detectorist can recover over 40 gold rings by the end of April and only manage a fraction of that total throughout the rest of the year, despite the huge increase in that beach traffic and the huge increase in drops and losses that come along with it.
This seasonal sand movement understanding has also served me well on the Great Lakes and also at many other smaller freshwater bodies of water where the shifting sands have come into play. Boat traffic, wave action, and even the seasonal installing and removal of boat docks, piers and boat lifts can cause sand to accumulate and then be dispersed in a seasonal fashion.
So wherever you detect, if sand is a factor or an existing element, then there is also likely some measure of a seasonal migration of this sand that you can play to your advantage.
Just passing all of this along. Hope it helps.........
While living in New Smyrna Beach and hunting those beaches nearly every day, in either 2012 or 2013 (I can't remember the exact year) I had recovered over 40 gold rings by the first of May. By the end of that year, however, and despite those extremely heavy crowds that were on the beach in the summer, I had failed to recover 70 gold rings for the year.
Over 40 gold rings in four months, and less than 30 gold rings during the remaining eight months of that same year despite the huge increase in the summer beach traffic. Why the vast difference? The answer is simple. It was all the result of the seasonal shifts of that migrating beach sand.
If we could position ourselves several hundred feet above these beaches throughout the year we could even watch this sand slowly migrate back and forth. Just offshore there exist a series of sandbars that run parallel to the beach, each of these separated by long troughs that likewise run parallel between each of these sandbars.
The inshore currents are what moves this expanse of sand, in the winter season this waves action attacks the beach at an angle in huge arches of sweeping water, thus producing a scolding effect that sweeps the sand back out towards deep water. However, in the summer this wave action shifts and begins to attack the beach straight on, thus pushing all of that offshore sand back towards the shallows and back onto the beach.
During the winter months one can walk those troughs on fairly firm bottoms, however, during the summer season one will sink to ankles and shins due to the buildup of that soft and fluffy summer sand.
In order to find items gold rings during the summer months one nearly has to get their coil over that ring almost as soon as it falls from the finger otherwise that ring will get deep-deep in a hurry. In the winter months this isn't the case as the soft fluffy sand has been pulled away from the shallows and thus revealing and allowing access to a great deal of that jewelry that was lost during the summer season.
High upon our perch, and during the winter we can see all of the veins and arteries that have sliced deep runs and runnels through those offshore sandbars as the sweeping winter water makes its way back to the sea, and as these runs and runnels continue to be cut the volume of water passing through them increases and picks up speed, thus creating a more aggressive cutting action, and yep, those dangerous rip currents.
During the winter we can look down the exposed beach and we can see, at the very least, low spots, runnels, ditches, cuts, etc., the range of damage simply dependent on how rough and aggressive those northeaster currents have been, especially at high tide periods when the volume of sweeping and attacking water is the greatest.
But in the summer, well, just the opposite is taking place as all of that sand begins to stack up in the shallows and on the beach, and folks, we are talking feet upon feet of soft fluffy sand.
In the winter the walls of those runnels and ditches and troughs will be steep and sharply cut as the force of the increased water volume has swept away all of the deep soft sand and begun to cut its way into those deeper layers. In the summer season these existing walls will be far less steep and far less firm, but rather they will be extremely soft and consisting of that deep soft and fluffy summer sand that continues to rapidly swallow up all of those heavier and denser items that we pursue. With just a single changing of the summer tides these items can quickly become covered by several feet of that soft and fluffy shifting summer sand. Sunglasses, pull-tabs, bottle caps, bits and pieces of foil, these are just a few examples of the lighter items that will dominate the surface and shallower depths of this summer sand.
On the other hand, and once the winter tides have swept all of that sand from the shallows and beach, we begin to encounter items like heavy steel bolts, heavy and dense fishing weights, more gold and silver jewelry, etc., etc., those stronger and more aggressive winter currents having swept away a great deal of those much lighter summer debris.
During the summer we are faced with what is called, “recent drop hunting” while in the winter we are hunting for, “both old and recent drops” because all of it will eventually settle upon those firmer layers far below all of that deep and fluffy summer sand.
This is why a detectorist can recover over 40 gold rings by the end of April and only manage a fraction of that total throughout the rest of the year, despite the huge increase in that beach traffic and the huge increase in drops and losses that come along with it.
This seasonal sand movement understanding has also served me well on the Great Lakes and also at many other smaller freshwater bodies of water where the shifting sands have come into play. Boat traffic, wave action, and even the seasonal installing and removal of boat docks, piers and boat lifts can cause sand to accumulate and then be dispersed in a seasonal fashion.
So wherever you detect, if sand is a factor or an existing element, then there is also likely some measure of a seasonal migration of this sand that you can play to your advantage.
Just passing all of this along. Hope it helps.........
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