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Beach Erosion Project

Have you ever noticed what happens to the coast line when a big storm rolls through? Where did the beach go? What you are noticing is the effect of coastal erosion, and now you can set up a beach erosion demonstration to show your kids what’s happening. This fun and easy ocean science activity is sure to be a hit with your kids, with hands-on learning!

Explore Erosion For Earth Science

Break out the sensory play as you prepare to add this beach erosion activity to your ocean-theme lesson plans. If you want to learn about what’s happening between the sand and the waves, let’s dig in (literally!). While you’re at it, check out more fun ocean activities , experiments, and ocean crafts. 

Our earth science activities are designed with you, the parent or teacher, in mind! They are easy to set up and quick to do. Most activities will take only 15 to 30 minutes to complete and are heaps of fun! Plus, our supplies lists usually contain only free or cheap materials you can source from home!

Let’s explore beach erosion by building a model! This is a great hands-on ocean STEM activity that is sure to get kids thinking!

What Is Beach Erosion?

Beach erosion is the loss of beach sand, usually from a combination of wind and water movement such as waves and currents. Sand is moved off the beach or shore by these things and is transferred to deeper water.

This process makes beaches appear shorter and lower. You can see severe beach erosion after a strong storm like a hurricane.

TRY: Learn more about erosion with an edible soil layer model and this fun soil erosion activity.

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Erosion Experiment

Dive into Earth Science and explore what happens to our beaches due to coastal erosion.

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• White paint pan
• Blue food coloring
• Plastic bottle
• Large pan or tray.

How To Set Up A Beach Erosion Model

STEP 1: Add about 5 cups of sand to one side of your pan. You will want to build it up on a slope so that when water is added some of the sand is higher.

STEP 2: Place some rocks or shells in the sand for a beach theme!

STEP 3: Fill a small bottle with water, add a drop of blue food coloring, shake and pour into the deep part of your pan.

STEP 4: Add 4 more cups of water.

STEP 5: Use the empty bottle to press up and down in the water to make waves.

STEP 6: Pay attention to how the water affects the sand. What happens if the waves move faster or slower?

How Can We Stop Coastal Erosion?

Coastal erosion is the loss of coastal land due to the removal of sand or rock from the shoreline. Sadly, building along the coast can damage sand dunes.

Dunes are mounds of sand that separate the beach you walk on and higher ground. The roots of dune grasses help keep the sand in place. Try not to walk on the dune grasses, so they are not destroyed!

People sometimes build walls called jetties that stick out into the ocean and change the movement of the sand.

Seawalls can also help with erosion. They are structures that separate land and water and generally help prevent erosion from large waves. Seawalls are more significant structures where flooding is more common. Please don’t remove rocks from the seawall!

Classroom Tips

This beach erosion activity asks a few questions!

• What is coastal erosion?
• What causes beach erosion?
• How can we stop erosion?

Let’s explore the answers together!

Be prepared! Kids are going to loving play with this, and it could get a bit messy!

Further Extension: Have kids develop ideas for something they can make that will help prevent beach erosion during a storm!

More Ocean Experiments For Kids

• Oil Spill Cleanup Experiment
• Layers of the Ocean
• How Do Whales Stay Warm?
• Ocean Waves In A Bottle
• Ocean Acidification: Seashells In Vinegar Experiment
• Fun Facts About Narwhals
• Ocean Currents Activity

Printable Ocean Activities Pack

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Science Fun

Coastal Erosion Ocean Science Experiment

In this fun and easy ocean science experiment, we’re going to explore and investigate coastal erosion. 

Instructions:

• Pile sand on one end of the baking pan and firmly pat it down to create a gradually sloping beach.
• Pour some water into the pan until the sand is partly covered.
• First gently and then progressively faster slide the pan back and forth to create waves that was up on your beach.
• Observe the sand move and shift.

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How it Works:

Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land from processes such as waves and other actions that remove sand, sediment, and bedrock. This ocean experiment allows you to visualize coastal erosion. This experiment uses water to create erosion but wind is also another contributor to coastal erosion. Storms, currents, and even ice are other contributors to coastal erosion. 

Make This A Science Project:

Try filling little sandwich baggies with sand and place these sand bags between the pile of sand and water. 

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Science project, erosion experiment.

Huff, puff and blow as hard as you can—do you think you can blow down a sand castle with your mighty breath? Blowing air erodes —wears away—sand and dirt. In Three Little Pigs , houses of straw or twigs were no match for the Big Bad Wolf's strong lungs. Do you think a house made of sand or mud could hold up to wind or water? Let's find out in this erosion experiment.

In some parts of the world, houses are still made from mud and sand, which makes them easier to knock down than homes made of brick and stone. To understand how these materials can (and should) be used to make homes, you'll need to explore how they stand up to the elements.

How does erosion affect structures made of sand and soil?

• Garden hose
• Plastic cups
• Battery-operated portable fan
• Stopwatch (optional)
• Before you start your erosion experiment, take a look at your ingredients. How does the sand feel? How does the soil feel? Do sand and soil stick together easily, or fall apart? Record any observations —things you see—in your notebook.
• Look over your notes, and make a guess about what you think will happen to your soil structure, and what will happen to your sand structure, when you try to knock them down with wind or water. Which "castle" will last longer? Write your guess—called a hypothesis —in your notebook.
• Take your ingredients to a hard surface, like concrete or asphalt. These smooth surfaces will allow you to see exactly how the water and wind affect your structures.
• Create mud by mixing some soil with water. Dirt and soil may look the same, but technically they aren't. Soil consists of sand, silt, clay, minerals, water, air and organic material. And you thought it was just dirt, didn't you?
• Create wet sand by mixing sand with just enough water to make it stick together—like sand on the beach that you use to make sand castles.
• Use a plastic cup to make a structure out of the wet soil; maybe it'll be a castle, maybe just a lot of cups turned over in your own design. Be creative and make your structures just the way YOU like them.
• Repeat Step 6 with the wet sand.
• Next, make similar structures with dry soil and dry sand, for a total of four structures: one made from muddy soil, one dry soil, one wet sand, and one dry sand.
• Now that your creations exist, it's time to see which stand up to wind and water. Use your battery-operated fan to blow air on the four structures. Remember, do NOT use an electric fan—mixing water and electricity is dangerous, so make sure you have the right fan before starting.
• What happens to each of your structures? Draw a picture or write what happened in your notebook.
• Take a garden hose and drop it about two feet away from your structures. Turn on the water for about 30 seconds, and then turn it off. Draw a picture or write what happened in your notebook.

The wind from the fan should have blown away the individual particles of your dry sand structure easily. While all of the structures probably ended up washed away by wind or water, the structures made with soil should have been stronger than the structures made with sand.

Dry sand is like dry sugar. It piles up, but wind and water wash it away quickly, because the individual grains of sand don't stick to each other. Wet sand sticks together when combined with just the right amount of water. Too much water washes it away, but it takes more effort than the dry sand because water fills in the space between the grains enough to make the grains stick to each other. You will find that it takes a fan on higher settings to erode, or gradually wear away the sand.

Dry soil holds together better than dry sand. When it's wet, the organic matter and minerals fill the gaps in the soil to hold it tightly together. It takes a strong force (push) of water and wind to knock down a soil castle. This is why ancient Egyptians added straw to their mud when they made bricks for their homes. They molded the mud and straw, allowing them to dry in the sun, becoming bricks. Bricks are hard. Structures, like homes built today with bricks, are harder to tumble. Remember what happened in the Three Little Pigs ?

Now that you've learned about sand and soil with this erosion experiment, keep the science going by testing more elements. Make this project more challenging by recording the time it takes for the structures to erode away with a stopwatch. What would happen if both wind and water hit the castles at the same time? What if you placed your hose at an angle or held it in the air and sprinkled in on your castles? Being a scientist is all about guessing and testing!

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June 21, 2012

Shoreline Science: Exploring the Erosive Energy of Waves

A sandy science activity from Science Buddies

By Science Buddies

Key concepts Oceans Beaches Geology Erosion Introduction A day at the beach is a wonderful way to spend time with your family and friends. You can swim, play games and build sand castles. But have you ever wondered how the beach you are standing on came to be? How, for example, did all of that sand get there? Beaches are formed and continually changed by the ocean's waves moving rock particles onshore, offshore and along the shore. In this activity, you can investigate how beach formations are made by some parts of a beach that can resist erosion from the waves more than other parts. Background A beach is a geologic formation made up of loose rock particles such as sand, gravel and shell fragments deposited along the shoreline of a body of water. A beach has a few key features. The berm is the part that is mostly above water; this is the active shoreline. The top of the berm is known as the crest, and the part that slopes toward the water is called the face. At the bottom of the face there may be a trough and, further seaward, there may be sandbars parallel to the beach. The erosion of rock formations in the water, coral reefs and headlands create rock particles that the waves move onshore, offshore and along the shore, creating the beach. Continual erosion of the shoreline by waves also changes the beach over time. One change that erosion can cause is the appearance of a headland. This is land that juts out from the coastline and into the water and affects how the surrounding shoreline is eroded. Materials •    Paint-roller pan •    Measuring cup •    Sand •    Water •    Timer •    Digital camera •    Plastic 500-milliliter water bottle (empty) •    Adult volunteer to help take pictures •    Small gravel, such as aquarium gravel Preparation •    Cover the bottom of the paint-roller pan with five cups of sand. Build up a beach with most, but not all, of the sand at the shallow end of the pan. •    Slowly pour six cups of water into the deep end of the pan. Let the water and sand settle for five minutes. How has the beach changed during this time? Procedure •    Take a picture of your beach so that you have a record of how it looked in its original state. Where is the shoreline (the area where beach and water meet)?* •    Lay a plastic bottle horizontally so it is floating in the water in the deep end of the pan. •    For two minutes bob the water bottle up and down with your fingertips to create waves. If the waves get so big that water splashes out of the pan, make them smaller. How does the water swirl? How does the shoreline change after one minute? What about after two minutes? •    After two minutes of bobbing the bottle, take a picture of the beach. How does it look compared with the first picture? •    Empty, clean and dry the paint-roller pan. Prepare a "beach" again, as you did for the preparation. When the beach is complete, make a "headland" by creating a mound out of two cups of small gravel in the middle of the shoreline. The headland should be partly in the water and partly on the beach. Take a picture of the beach with the headland. •    Again, lay the plastic bottle horizontally so it is floating in the water. For two minutes, bob the water bottle up and down with your fingertips. Again, if the waves are so big that water splashes out, make them smaller. How does the water swirl? How does the shoreline change after one minute? What about after two minutes? •    After two minutes, take a picture of the beach. How does it look compared with the previous picture? •    How does the headland affect where the water goes? How does it affect how much the shoreline erodes? •    Extra : Repeat this activity at least two more times with a ruler taped to the side of the pan. Exactly how much shoreline erosion occurs with and without a headland? •    Extra: Try increasing or decreasing the speed of bobbing the bottle. Does this affect how the beach changes over time? •    Extra: Pour a large volume of water all at once into the deep end of the pan to simulate a storm surge or a tsunami. What happens to the beach?

* Correction (6/26/12): The sentence was edited after posting to clarify meaning. In this activity, experimenters are asked to observe changes in the shoreline.

Observations and results Did the shoreline erode, or recede from the water, after you bobbed the water bottle up and down for two minutes? Did most of the shoreline erode less when there was a headland, especially the shoreline closest to it? As waves hit the shoreline over time they erode it and push it further inland. When larger and stronger waves hit the shoreline, such as in a storm, more shoreline is eroded. On a beach that is made up of a mixture of small sand grains and larger, dense rocks, the sand will be eroded away first, leaving behind the larger rocks. Over time this can create a headland—an outcropping of the larger rocks—and a bay nearby. The headland receives most of the waves' energy and consequently protects the bay from erosion. Artificial headlands are sometimes created for this purpose: to prevent coastal erosion. In your model, you should have seen that less shoreline eroded near the headland, but further away from the headland, along the sides of the pan, more erosion occurred and the shoreline was pushed farther inland because the more distant shoreline was not as well protected by the headland. More to explore What Causes Beach Erosion? from Scientific American Shoreline erosion and migration from the State of Delaware A guide to managing coastal erosion in beach/dune systems: Artificial headlands from the Scottish Natural Heritage Restore Your Shore from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Building Beaches from Science Buddies

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Soil Erosion Experiment - Teach Kids How Soil Erosion Occurs

Posted by Admin / in Physics Experiments

Erosion occurs when water washes away dirt, rock, or sand. Erosion happens everyday during man-made events, rainfall, and in the ocean. You have probably seen how people try to defend against erosion by placing large rocks near the edge of a river, lake, or the ocean to try to stop water from washing away the land. Erosion can also be a problem for farmers. When a farmer plows their field, there is almost no protection against erosion. Rainfall can easily wash away valuable topsoil which helps the farmer grow things. The soil that is washed away from the farmer's fields can also cause problems for others. The soil sediment can cause ditches, streams, and rivers to become filled. This can result in slower drainage and flooding people's land and buildings. So erosion can be a problem for us and for the fish and other creatures that live in the water, but let's see how it works.

Items Needed for Experiment

• Soil or sand
• Empty milk jug
• Small piece of clay

EXPERIMENT STEPS

Step 1: Place the board on the ground. This experiment is best performed outside because it will result in soil washing off the board.

Step 2: Place a thin layer of soil over the entire board. The soil should be about 1 inch deep for this experiment.

Step 3: Tilt up the board so it is not level. One end of the board should be 3 to 4 inches (75 to 100 mm) higher than the other end. Use some of the extra soil or some rocks under one end to prop it up.

Step 4: Cut a 1/2 inch (13 mm) diameter hole in the bottom of the milk jug using the scissors. The hole does not need to be perfectly round, but the size should be close to 1/2 inch (13 mm).

Step 5: Plug the hole in the milk jug using a small piece of clay so the jug holds water.

Step 6: Fill the milk jug with water.

Step 7: Place the milk jug filled with water on the high side of the board.

Step 8: Release the water by removing the piece of clay from the opening in the bottom of the jug.

Step 9: Observe what happens to the soil on the board.

SCIENCE LEARNED

Soil erosion has become a problem in most areas of the world where there is development. Soil washes into streams and rivers which then exits into lakes and oceans. Water quality is impacted by the amount of sediment washed into the water. Waterways with boat traffic also require dredging to remove the excess sediment in navigation channels in rivers and lakes to keep boats from hitting the bottom. Farm land is also impacted when valuable topsoil is lost to erosion.

There are many ways to slow down soil erosion including:

1. Using silt fences

2. Allowing trees and plants to grow also the side of rivers, streams, lakes, and seas

3. Control the path of water flow and slow down the velocity of the water by re-sloping the ground and ditches which allow runoff

4. Keeping plant growth on the ground also helps keep the soil in place because of the plant roots.

5. Where water travels too quickly, large stones are used to stop erosion.

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Scientists Develop “Shockingly” Simple Solution To Combat Coastal Erosion

A new method developed by Northwestern University uses electrical currents to solidify marine sand, creating durable, rock-like structures that could replace costly traditional coastal defenses like sea walls.

Researchers from Northwestern University have demonstrated that a zap of electricity can strengthen a marine coastline for generations, mitigating the rising threat of erosion in the face of rising sea levels and climate change.

In their study, recently published in Communications Earth and the Environment , the researchers took inspiration from clams, mussels, and other shell-dwelling sea life, which use dissolved minerals in seawater to build their shells. Similarly, the researchers leveraged the same naturally occurring, dissolved minerals to form a natural cement between sea-soaked grains of sand. But, instead of using metabolic energy like mollusks do, the researchers used electrical energy to spur the chemical reaction.

In laboratory experiments, a mild electrical current instantaneously changed the structure of marine sand, transforming it into a rock-like, immovable solid. The researchers are hopeful this strategy could offer a lasting, inexpensive, and sustainable solution for strengthening global coastlines.

“Over 40% of the world’s population lives in coastal areas. Because of climate change and sea-level rise, erosion is an enormous threat to these communities. Through the disintegration of infrastructure and loss of land, erosion causes billions of dollars in damage per year worldwide. Current approaches to mitigate erosion involve building protection structures or injecting external binders into the subsurface,” said Alessandro Rotta Loria, Louis Berger Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering, who led the study.

“My aim was to develop an approach capable of changing the status quo in coastal protection — one that didn’t require the construction of protection structures and could cement marine substrates without using actual cement. By applying a mild electric stimulation to marine soils, we systematically and mechanistically proved that it is possible to cement them by turning naturally dissolved minerals in seawater into solid mineral binders — a natural cement.”

Challenges in Current Coastal Defense Strategies

From intensifying rainstorms to rising sea levels, climate change has created conditions that are gradually eroding coastlines. According to a 2020 study by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, nearly 26% of the Earth’s beaches will be washed away by the end of this century.

To mitigate this issue, communities have implemented two main approaches: building protection structures and barriers, such as sea walls, or injecting cement into the ground to strengthen marine substrates, widely consisting of sand. However, multiple problems accompany these strategies. Not only are these conventional methods extremely expensive, but they also do not last.

“Sea walls, too, suffer from erosion,” Rotta Loria said. “So, over time, the sand beneath these walls erodes, and the walls can eventually collapse. Oftentimes, protection structures are made of big stones, which cost millions of dollars per mile. However, the sand beneath them can essentially liquify because of a number of environmental stressors, and these big rocks are swallowed by the ground beneath them.

“Injecting cement and other binders into the ground has a number of irreversible environmental drawbacks. It also typically requires high pressures and significant interconnected amounts of energy.”

Eco-Friendly Electrocementation Process

To bypass these issues, Rotta Loria and his team developed a simpler technique, inspired by coral and mollusks. Seawater naturally contains a myriad of ions and dissolved minerals. When a mild electrical current (2 to 3 volts) is applied to the water, it triggers chemical reactions. This converts some of these constituents into solid calcium carbonate — the same mineral mollusks use to build their shells. Likewise, with a slightly higher voltage (4 volts), these constituents can be predominantly converted into magnesium hydroxide and hydromagnesite, a ubiquitous mineral found in various stones.

When these minerals coalesce in the presence of sand, they act like glue, binding the sand particles together. In the laboratory, the process also worked with all types of sands — from common silica and calcareous sands to iron sands, which are often found near volcanoes.

“After being treated, the sand looks like a rock,” Rotta Loria said. “It is still and solid, instead of granular and incohesive. The minerals themselves are much stronger than concrete, so the resulting sand could become as strong and solid as a sea wall.”

While the minerals form instantaneously after the current is applied, longer electric stimulations garner more substantial results. “We have noticed remarkable outcomes from just a few days of stimulations,” Rotta Loria said. “Then, the treated sand should stay in place, without needing further interventions.”

Sustainable Applications and Future Prospects

Rotta Loria predicts the treated sand should keep its durability, protecting coastlines and property for decades. He also says there is no need to worry about negative effects on sea life. The voltages used in the process are too mild to feel. Other researchers have used similar processes to strengthen undersea structures or even restore coral reefs. In those scenarios, no sea critters were harmed.

If communities decide they no longer want the solidified sand, Rotta Loria has a solution for that, too, as the process is completely reversible. When the battery’s anode and cathode electrodes are switched, the electricity dissolves the minerals — effectively undoing the process.

“The minerals form because we are locally raising the pH of the seawater around cathodic interfaces,” Rotta Loria said. “If you switch the anode with the cathode, then localized reductions in pH are involved, which dissolve the previously precipitated minerals.”

The process offers an inexpensive alternative to conventional methods. After crunching the numbers, Rotta Loria’s team estimates that his process costs just $3 to $6 per cubic meter of electrically cemented ground. More established, comparable methods, which use binders to adhere and strengthen sand, cost up to $70 for the same unit volume.

Research in Rotta Loria’s lab shows this approach can also heal cracked reinforced concrete structures. Much of the existing shoreside infrastructure is made of reinforced concrete, which disintegrates due to complex effects caused by sea-level rise, erosion, and extreme weather. If these structures crack, the new approach bypasses the need to rebuild the infrastructure fully. Instead, one pulse of electricity can heal potentially destructive cracks.

“The applications of this approach are countless,” Rotta Loria said. “We can use it to strengthen the seabed beneath sea walls or stabilize sand dunes and retain unstable soil slopes. We could also use it to strengthen protection structures, marine foundations, and so many other things. There are many ways to apply this to protect coastal areas.”

Next, Rotta Loria’s team plans to test the technique outside of the laboratory and on the beach.

Reference: “Electrodeposition of calcareous cement from seawater in marine silica sands” by Andony Landivar Macias, Steven D. Jacobsen and Alessandro F. Rotta Loria, 22 August 2024, Communications Earth & Environment . DOI: 10.1038/s43247-024-01604-3

The study was supported by the Army Research Office (grant number W911NF2210291) and Northwestern’s Center for Engineering Sustainability and Resilience.

Earth Science Week Classroom Activities

Erosion in a bottle, activity source:.

Source: Soil Science Society of America. Adapted with permission.

Soil erosion is the process of moving soil by water or wind — this happens naturally or through human interference. Preventing soil erosion is important because nutrients are lost, and sediment that accumulates in waterways impacts life there. Conserving soil depends on how it is protected by plants and coverings. You will model erosion by water and compare the amounts of runoff and soil loss generated from three different ground cover types.

• Photos showing erosion • 3 plastic 2-liter bottles • Dry soil (enough to fill each bottle 2/3 full, not potting soil) • Sod patch (about 10 cm x 30 cm) • 3 plastic cups (about 16 oz.) • Leaves and twigs • 2 wire hangers • Blocks to support bottles • Sprinkling-style watering can • Tape • 1L water

• Carefully cut off one side of each bottle. Twist wire hangers around the necks of the bottles to connect them.
• Fill each bottle halfway with soil. Pat the soil down. Leave the soil in one bottle bare. Add twigs and leaves to cover the soil in one bottle to simulate forest soil cover. Cover the soil in another bottle with the sod patch.
• Suspend the bottles at a 25-degree angle with the spouts facing downward and over the cups.
• Use the watering can to slowly sprinkle equal amounts of water (about 330 mL each) evenly over the surface in each bottle.

• Describe the erosion in the bottles. • If each cup was a lake, in which would you choose to swim? • Which would be best for fish? • How would compressing the soil before adding water change the result?

Supplemental Worksheet :

www.soils4teachers.org/esw

Optional: Quantify the soil lost from each bottle.

• Measure the mass of the empty collection cups (no water or soil).
• After collecting runoff water, allow the water to evaporate completely from each cup.
• Measure the mass of each cup again.
• Subtract the mass of the empty cups step 1) from the mass of cups with dried soil (step 3). The difference is equal to the mass of soil eroded from each bottle.

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Home Education Resources Science Experiment – Erosion

Science Experiment – Erosion

About this experiment

Forces of nature like wind, rain, and ice can all cause soil erosion. In this experiment, you’ll see how these natural patterns weather your soil landscape in different ways.

• 3 plastic containers (about the size of a shoe box is best)
• Soil (enough to fill your containers)
• A few ice cubes
• Spray bottle of water
• Optional: small stones, grass shoots or small plants
• In each container, pour soil up against one side, creating a sloped pile.
• In the first container, simulate water erosion by spraying water over the soil. What happens to the water? What happens to the soil?
• In the next container, simulate wind erosion by blowing air through the straw onto the top of the hill. How does the soil move, and how much of it moves? Do you think you would have had the same results on soil on flat ground, or on soil surrounded by trees?
• In the last container, simulate glacial erosion by placing a few ice cubes in the top of the hill, then pushing them down the hill. How is the landscape affected this time?
• Overall, examine which type of erosion had the greatest effect on the original structure of the soil. You could repeat the steps of this experiment, adding other materials to your “environments” like small plants or stones. How might the erosion differ in a more complex landscape?

Do you want to keep learning? Find more experiments  here !

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How electrified beaches could save our shores from devastating erosion

By StudyFinds Staff

Reviewed by Steve Fink

Research led by Alessandro Rotta Loria, Northwestern University

Aug 24, 2024

Beach erosion after storm activity along Australia's Gold Coast (© DavidJMorgan - stock.adobe.com)

CHICAGO — As coastal communities around the world grapple with the growing threat of erosion, researchers have uncovered a surprising potential solution: electricity. Scientists from Northwestern University say that applying mild electrical currents to marine sands could create natural, sustainable defenses against the relentless assault of waves and rising sea levels.

Coastal erosion is a pressing global issue, with approximately 40% of the world’s population living in coastal areas. As sea levels rise and storms intensify, nearly 26% of the Earth’s beaches could vanish by the end of this century. Traditional methods to combat this problem, such as seawalls and beach replenishment, often provide only temporary relief and can be costly to maintain.

Now, Northwestern’s Alessandro Rotta Loria and his team have found a way to turn sand into a rock-like substance, creating a natural armor for our coasts that could last for generations.

“My aim was to develop an approach capable of changing the status quo in coastal protection — one that didn’t require the construction of protection structures and could cement marine substrates without using actual cement,” Rotta Loria says in a statement. “By applying a mild electric stimulation to marine soils, we systematically and mechanistically proved that it is possible to cement them by turning naturally dissolved minerals in seawater into solid mineral binders — a natural cement.”

This innovative technique, called electrodeposition , draws inspiration from nature’s own architects: clams, mussels, and other shell-dwelling sea creatures . Just as these marine mollusks use dissolved minerals in seawater to construct their protective homes, the researchers harnessed these same minerals to create a natural cement between grains of sand. The twist? Instead of relying on the slow process of metabolic energy, they used electricity to kickstart the reaction.

In their laboratory experiments, the team applied mild electrical currents (ranging from 2 to 4 volts) to seawater-saturated sand. The results, published in Communications Earth & Environment , were nothing short of miraculous. The electricity triggered chemical reactions that converted naturally occurring ions and minerals in the seawater into solid calcium carbonate—the same stuff seashells are made of—and other mineral compounds like magnesium hydroxide and hydromagnesite.

These newly formed minerals act like a super-glue , binding sand particles together into a solid, immovable mass. “After being treated, the sand looks like a rock,” Rotta Loria explains. “It is still and solid, instead of granular and incohesive. The minerals themselves are much stronger than concrete, so the resulting sand could become as strong and solid as a sea wall.”

The researchers conducted a series of laboratory experiments using custom-designed electrochemical cells filled with silica sand and artificial seawater. By varying the voltage applied, the density of the sand, and the duration of the electrical treatment, they were able to observe how different conditions affected the formation and distribution of mineral deposits within the sand.

The results were striking. Depending on the voltage applied, the researchers observed the formation of different types of minerals. At lower voltages, calcium carbonate (the same material found in seashells and coral reefs ) was the primary deposit. As the voltage increased, magnesium hydroxide became more prevalent. Surprisingly, the team also discovered the formation of hydromagnesite, a mineral not previously observed in similar electrodeposition studies.

These mineral deposits didn’t just coat the sand particles; they formed bridges between them, effectively creating a cohesive, rock-like material from what was once loose sand. The strength of these newly formed “rocks” varied based on the amount of mineral content, with some samples achieving strengths of several megapascals – comparable to weak concrete.

Perhaps most importantly, the electrodeposition process significantly reduced the sand’s permeability. In some cases, the hydraulic conductivity (a measure of how easily water can flow through the material) decreased by an order of magnitude. This could have profound implications for mitigating erosion, as it would make the treated sand much more resistant to water infiltration and the undermining effects of waves and currents.

The implications of this discovery are vast. Traditional methods of coastal protection, such as building sea walls or injecting cement into the ground, are not only expensive but often temporary solutions. Sea walls themselves can erode, and the sand beneath them can liquefy, causing these multi-million dollar structures to sink into the very ground they’re meant to protect. In contrast, the electrodeposition method works with nature, strengthening the existing beach structure from within.

What’s more, this process is remarkably cost-effective. The researchers estimate that electrically cementing a cubic meter of sand would cost between $3 to $6, compared to up to $70 for conventional methods using binders. It’s also environmentally friendly and reversible—if needed, the process can be undone by simply switching the electrodes.

But perhaps the most exciting aspect of this research is its potential for widespread application. Beyond strengthening beaches, this technique could be used to stabilize sand dunes, reinforce seabeds beneath existing structures, and even heal cracks in reinforced concrete infrastructure along the shore.

However, as with any new technology, there are challenges to overcome before this method can be widely implemented. The researchers note that the process is sensitive to variables such as sand density and ionic concentration in the seawater. Scaling up from laboratory conditions to real-world beaches will require further study and refinement.

Despite these hurdles, the promise of this approach is clear. As climate change continues to threaten coastal areas with rising sea levels and more frequent storms, innovative solutions like electrodeposition could play a crucial role in protecting our shores. By harnessing the power of electricity and the minerals naturally present in seawater, we may have found a way to work with nature, rather than against it, in our ongoing battle against coastal erosion.

Paper Summary

Methodology.

The researchers conducted their experiments using custom-designed glass cells filled with various types of sand (including silica, calcareous, and iron sands) and artificial seawater. They applied different voltages (2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 volts) to the sand using electrodes, varying the duration of the electrical treatment. Throughout the experiments, they monitored pH levels and electrical current. After treatment, the researchers used various analytical techniques, including scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis, to examine the type, amount, and distribution of minerals formed in the sand. They also conducted tests to measure the strength and permeability of the treated sand.

The study found that applying electrical current to seawater-saturated sand resulted in the formation of mineral deposits that cemented sand particles together. Lower voltages (2.0-3.0V) primarily produced calcium carbonate, while higher voltages (4.0V) favored magnesium hydroxide and hydromagnesite formation. The treated sand showed significantly increased strength, with some samples becoming as solid as weak concrete. The process also greatly reduced the sand’s permeability, making it more resistant to water infiltration. The volume of sand affected by the treatment increased with voltage and duration, with longer treatments affecting larger areas.

Limitations

While promising, this study has several limitations. The experiments were conducted under controlled laboratory conditions, which may not fully replicate the complex environment of real beaches. The longest duration tested was 28 days, which may not be sufficient to understand long-term effects and stability of the mineral formations. The study used artificial seawater, which might not represent all coastal environments. Additionally, while the researchers predict the treatment should last for decades, long-term durability in real-world conditions has not yet been tested.

Discussion and Takeaways

This research presents a novel approach to coastal erosion mitigation that could be more sustainable, cost-effective, and adaptable than traditional methods. The ability to selectively produce different minerals by controlling voltage offers flexibility in tailoring the treatment to specific coastal environments. The reduction in sand permeability and increase in strength suggest that this method could significantly enhance beach resistance to erosion. The reversibility of the process and its potential eco-friendliness are additional advantages. However, the researchers emphasize that more work is needed to understand how this process would work in real-world conditions and at larger scales.

Funding and Disclosures

The study was funded by several organizations, including the Army Research Office and the Center for Engineering Sustainability and Resilience at Northwestern University. The researchers used facilities at Northwestern University’s NUANCE Center, IMSERC Crystallography facility, and the Jerome B. Cohen X-Ray Diffraction Facility, which receive support from various sources including the National Science Foundation. The authors declared no competing interests related to the study.

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Last updated by Linda Kamp on May 25, 2024 • 3 Comments

Water Erosion Science Experiment: Save the Lighthouse!

This water erosion experiment for kids is a fun science activity that is easy to do in any classroom. Ideal for teaching second grade students about slow earth changes, all of the materials you will need are from Walmart and the dollar store. The PowerPoint lessons and student lab sheet I use are part of this landforms & earth changes science unit .

By doing this experiment students gain:

• lab experience creating a simulation
• recording observations
• collecting data
• carrying out an investigation to answer a scientific question

What is Erosion?

Erosion is the process of wearing away rocks and soil by water, wind, ice, and gravity. The erosion process is part of the rock cycle and forms some pretty interesting landforms like mountain peaks, valleys, and coastlines.

I use this erosion science experiment, that is really more of a simulation, for students to answer the question, “How do ocean waves affect a coastline?”.

Base the Lab on Natural Phenomena

Whenever possible I like to center science lessons around natural events. Give students background for saving their lighthouses by showing this video of a 120 year old lighthouse endangered by erosion. The 1 minute video shows how the lighthouse was moved to a safer location.

Introduce the lab by posing the question: “How does erosion endanger a lighthouse?”

PowerPoint lesson & lab

Water Erosion Science Experiment

• paper lighthouse template
• plastic paint pan liner or shallow plastic bin
• student lab sheet
• blue food coloring (optional)

Place students in small groups or partners with the above materials needed to carry out their experiment. Guide students through the following procedure.

1. Fill the top two-thirds of a paint pan liner with sand. The sand we used is for hermit crabs from the pet department at Walmart, however regular sand is ideal.

2. Press the sand to form a “shoreline”. The sand should be about 2 or 3 inches deep.

3. Gently pour water into the pan filling the bottom half.

Students draw a diagram of  their model on the lab sheet telling what each material used represents.  Observe the sand as the water is poured. Ask students, “What change do you see as water is poured into the pan?”. (The sand is absorbing the water).

4. Using a plastic spoon, gently move the spoon up and down in the water to create small waves.

5. Have students pause after a few minutes to draw the changes on their lab sheet.

Erosion lab sheet

Ask students to note what happens when the waves wash up against the sand. (The “shoreline” changes because water washes back into the pan, carrying sand with it, and depositing it in a new location.)

6. Continue making waves until the shoreline is eroded up to the lighthouse.

7. Lastly, students discuss ways they can help prevent or slow down the erosion of their coastline. (A possible solution is to add rocks to the edge of the shoreline.)

More Erosion Experiments and Lesson Plans

This simple erosion experiment is a fun way for students to see the causes and effects of coastal erosion when learning about slow earth changes. It is part of  a complete NGSS Landforms & Earth Changes unit for 2nd grade that is also available in a similar digital version .

Click here to see the yearlong 2nd grade science series.

Be sure to pin this lab for later so you have it when you plan!

Visit this post for more landforms and earth changes science activities and experiments.

10 Hands-On Activities for Teaching Earth Changes & Landforms

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March 20 at 7:48 pm

Hi Linda! This lesson is amazing. Is it possible to just purchase the lighthouse lesson? It’s perfect for my homeschool curriculum but I don’t need the whole bundle. Thank you!

March 28 at 8:05 am

Hi Micaela! I’m so glad you like the lesson! Unfortunately I don’t have the labs available separately.

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I’m Linda Kamp, a 20 year primary grade teacher with a passion for creating educational materials that excite students and make learning fun! I'm so glad you're here!

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• Published: 22 August 2024

Electrodeposition of calcareous cement from seawater in marine silica sands

• Andony Landivar Macias 1 ,
• Steven D. Jacobsen   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9746-958X 2 &
• Alessandro F. Rotta Loria   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6584-7526 1  

Communications Earth & Environment volume  5 , Article number:  442 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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• Climate-change mitigation
• Geochemistry
• Natural hazards

The erosion of marine sediments is a pressing issue for coastal areas worldwide. Established methods to mitigate coastal erosion fail to provide lasting and sustainable solutions to protect marine ecosystems. Here we demonstrate the application of mild electrical stimulations to precipitate calcareous mineral binders from seawater in the pores of marine soils via electrodeposition, an alternative approach to mitigating coastal erosion. Results of electrochemical laboratory experiments unveil that the polymorphs, precipitation sites, intrusion mechanisms, and effects of electrodeposited minerals in marine sands vary as a function of the magnitude and duration of applied voltage, soil relative density, and electrolyte ionic concentration. Surprisingly, in addition to the precipitation of calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide, the formation of hydromagnesite is also observed due to electrically driven fluctuations in the local \({pH}\) . These electrodeposits lead to enhanced mechanical and hydraulic properties of the marine sands, indicating that electrodeposition routes could be developed to reinforce marine soils in coastal areas that more closely mimic natural systems.

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Introduction.

Coastal areas support the world’s most heavily developed regions 1 and house approximately 40% of the global population 2 . Yet, coastal areas face daunting challenges in the wake of extreme weather and rising sea-level, particularly erosion 1 , 3 , 4 .

Conventional methods to mitigate coastal erosion include seawalls 4 , 5 and beach replenishment 6 , 7 . However, these approaches are effective only within timeframes of a few years, representing costly and temporary solutions that require recursive retrofit 8 . In contrast, natural systems, such as coral reefs 7 , 9 and ecological barriers 7 , 10 , 11 , not only enhance coastal resilience, but also provide more structural support and can even contribute to beach accretion 8 .

Inspired by the way marine organisms utilize metabolic energy to grow their skeletons and shells through mineral precipitations in seawater, capable of resisting even the most extreme perturbations, this work explores an emerging and potentially disruptive approach to mitigate the erosion of marine soils. This approach consists of using electrical energy to precipitate comparable mineral precipitations to those that build the skeletons and shells of marine organisms in the pores of marine soils for cementation purposes and the ultimate enhancement of the erosion resistance of such materials.

The possibility to precipitate solid mineral binders in seawater through the application of mild electrical stimulations derives from the large buffering capacity 12 , 13 and wide availability of ions 14 , 15 characterizing such an electrolyte, and the process of electrodeposition 16 : the electrically mediated precipitation of minerals dissolved in solutions. Specifically, when an electrical current is applied to seawater, a variety of reduction and oxidation (redox) reactions occur, along with solid precipitations 17 . These reactions commence with the release of hydroxide ions ( \(O{H}^{-}\) ) around cathodic interfaces, leading to an increase in the local \({pH}\) . Under these conditions, the generated hydroxide ions react with naturally dissolved divalent cations in seawater ( \(M{g}^{2+}\) and \(C{a}^{2+}\) ) and bicarbonate anions ( \({HC}{O}_{3}^{-}\) ), yielding the otherwise non-spontaneous precipitation of two ubiquitous minerals: magnesium hydroxide ( \({Mg}{\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) ) and calcium carbonate ( \({CaC}{O}_{3}\) ) 18 , 19 .

Currently, the electrodeposition of minerals in seawater is largely exploited to protect marine structures against corrosion 20 , 21 , 22 , contribute to marine life 16 , 23 , 24 , and heal cracks in shoreside infrastructure 25 , 26 . Recent experimental evidence shows that electrodeposition can also cement marine substrates in contact with metallic structures 27 and the minerals formed in this manner appear to be durable 28 . However, the understanding of the influence of electrodeposition on the structure and properties of marine soils remains limited. In this context, a knowledge gap exists due to the apparent absence of studies examining the influence of the magnitude of the applied voltage on mineral selectivity, composition, spatial distribution, intrusion mechanisms, and effects on soil properties, despite voltage being the driver of electrodeposition. Although a mechanistic understanding of the reactions and products of electrodeposition has been achieved for seawater 17 , this knowledge is unavailable for soils, where the electrical and kinetic phenomena ruling electrodeposition are inherently more complex due to the influence of geometric, physical, and chemical constraints exerted by the pore network of such materials. Therefore, the implications of variable reaction regimes and mineral formations that can be achieved with different electrochemical potentials on the structure and properties of marine soils remain uncharted.

The fundamental hypothesis of this work is that the electrodeposition in marine soils depends principally on the features of the (1) electrical treatment, (2) soil fabric, and (3) electrolyte solution. To test this overarching hypothesis, we carried out two distinct types of experiments in custom-designed electrochemical cells on silica sand under highly controlled conditions (see Methods). The first involved short-term batch experiments with no water recirculation to uncover the selectivity of electrodeposits in soils. The second comprised long-term experiments with periodic water recirculation to unveil the intrusion mechanisms and effects of electrodeposits in soils under conditions comparable to open seawater environments. Altogether, these experiments explored the influence of the following central variables for the features of applied electrical treatments, treated porous materials, and electrolyte solutions: (1) magnitude and duration of the applied voltage, (2) soil relative density, and (3) electrolyte ionic concentration, respectively. Multiple physical, chemical, and mechanical characterization methods were used to investigate the morphology, structure, composition, spatial distribution, and effects of electrodeposited minerals in sand.

The results of this work uncover key mechanisms and effects of the artificial precipitation of minerals in marine soils, advancing geochemical knowledge and supporting engineering and technology in the development of more effective mitigation strategies for coastal erosion.

Physical characterization

Physical characterization achieved via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, and imaging analyses of the electrodeposited minerals highlights key microscopic features of their precipitation loci, morphology, and polymorphism, along with apparent macroscopic effects on the silica sand (Fig.  1 , Methods). The first uncovered pattern is that the precipitation loci and type of electrodeposits depend on the applied voltage, which governs the reaction regimes and hence the electrodeposition process (Fig.  1a ). At a relatively low voltage (2.0 V), sparse electrodeposits surround sand particles without significantly bonding them together (Fig.  1a , row 1, column 1). At a medium voltage (3.0 V) and high voltage (4.0 V), denser electrodeposits surround and bond sand particles via mineral bridges (Fig.  1a , row 1, columns 2 and 3). The SEM results consistently indicate two dominant mineral formations: \({CaC}{O}_{3}\) in the forms of calcite (rhombohedral morphology) and aragonite (needle-like morphology) 29 , as well as \({Mg}{\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) in the form of brucite (fibrous compounds constituted of lamellar structures) 18 , 19 . \({CaC}{O}_{3}\) formations appear especially at lower voltages (Fig.  1a , rows 2 and 3, columns 1 and 2), whereas \({Mg}{\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) formations are mainly electrodeposited at higher voltages (Fig.  1a , rows 2 and 3, column 3); when both \({CaC}{O}_{3}\) and \({Mg}{\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) are electrodeposited, \({Mg}{\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) minerals coat the silica soil particles and form a substrate for the precipitation of \({CaC}{O}_{3}\) minerals (Fig.  1a , rows 2 and 3).

a SEM images at different scales (i.e., particle, interface, and mineral scale) of loose silica sand subjected to short-term electrical conditioning (i.e., 7 days) at voltages of 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 V; b SEM images of all the visible solid minerals achieved by electrodeposition; c Raman spectra for minerals precipitated in the tested sands, compared with reference spectra; d SEM images on silica sand at different relative densities (i.e., loose and dense) at a voltage of 2.0 V; e Summary of the affected volumes of cemented (or affected) sand at voltages of 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 V for short-term tests (7 days) and long-term tests (28 days); f Photographs of the effects of the distinct intrusion mechanisms associated with variable voltages for the long-term tests at 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 V.

An analysis of SEM images of selected samples of the tested silica sand shows that \({Mg}{\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) is formed as both lamellar and block brucite, and \({CaC}{O}_{3}\) is found in the increasingly stable forms of vaterite, aragonite, and calcite (with aragonite dominating in quantity with respect to calcite and vaterite) (Fig.  1b ). Notably, a quantitative analysis of Raman spectra of precipitated minerals on the silica sands consistently indicates \({CaC}{O}_{3}\) precipitations in the forms of calcite and aragonite, as well as \({Mg}{\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) in the form of brucite; additionally, Raman spectra also unveil the precipitation of hydromagnesite, \(M{g}_{5}{\left(C{O}_{3}\right)}_{4}{\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\cdot 4{H}_{2}O\) (Fig.  1c and Supplementary Fig.  1 ). XRD analyses reported in the sequel (Fig.  2e ) also quantitatively confirm such evidence.

A second discernible pattern in the electrodeposition of minerals in marine sands is that the size and precipitation loci of electrodeposits depend on the relative density (Fig.  1d ), which is a proxy of porosity. Loose sands exhibit smaller minerals and more uniform and widespread precipitations (Fig.  1d , columns 1 and 2). In contrast, dense sands exhibit larger minerals and less uniform and widespread precipitations, as well as more aragonite compared with calcite, with almost no brucite (Fig.  1d , columns 3 and 4).

An analysis of the volume and mass of “cemented” (or affected) sand elucidates a third discernible feature for the electrodeposition in marine soils (Fig.  1e ); the volume of soils influenced by electrodeposits depends on the duration and magnitude of the applied electrical stimulation. After 7 days of treatment, a limited volume of sand is cemented by electrodeposits. The largest cemented volume is achieved for 3.0 V, whereas smaller volumes are achieved (in order) for 4.0 and 2.0 V. After 28 days, a larger volume of sand is cemented by electrodeposits. The largest cemented volume is achieved for 4.0 V, whereas smaller volumes are achieved (in order) for 3.0 and 2.0 V. For a given voltage, the affected volume of electrodeposits decreases with an increase in the soil relative density, whereas it increases for a longer electrical stimulation. Extending the duration of the electrical stimulation from 7 to 28 days does not significantly change the extent of the cemented volume of sand for 2.0 and 3.0 V, whereas it tremendously enhances such extent for 4.0 V. After 7 days, the soil area affected by electrodeposition reaches a radial distance of about 2–3 times the electrode diameter for 3.0 V. In contrast, this area exceeds a radial distance of 20 times the electrode diameter after 28 days of treatment with 4.0 V.

Consideration of the macroscopic effects of electrodeposition for varying magnitudes of voltage elucidates a final feature for the electrodeposition of minerals in marine soils (Fig.  1f ); there exist distinct intrusion mechanisms and extents of volumes affected by electrodeposition, mainly as a function of changes in the electrochemical reactions ruling electrodeposition (see Discussion and Supplementary Discussion). The application of a low voltage (2.0 V) over a prolonged time yields electrodeposits near the cathode, which penetrate in the soil farther away from the electrode for a medium voltage (3.0 V) and influence a significant portion of the bulk of the soil for a high voltage (4.0 V). Comparable results are obtained within shorter timeframes (Supplementary Fig.  2 ), with the difference that the overall volume influenced by electrodeposits is consistently less significant. As electrodeposits grow within sands, they form a cemented material. Electrical current and resistance vary according to such mineral formations, with an overall decrease of the former and an increase of the latter due to the constant applied potential over time (Supplementary Fig.  3 ).

Chemical characterization

Chemical characterization of the environmental conditions in the sand and the electrodeposits (Fig.  2 ) achieved by \({pH}\) measurements, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) (see Methods) supports an enhanced analysis of the mineral properties and their formation in closed and open electrochemical systems. The temporal variations of \({pH}\) at the anode (Fig.  2a ) and cathode (Fig.  2b ) measured in the short-term in a closed system show that the \({pH}\) in the sand can change significantly, leading to the creation of an acidic environment near the anode and a more alkaline environment near the cathode due the influence of oxidation and reduction reactions, respectively. For both loose and dense sands, the low voltage level (i.e., 2.0 V) results in minimal to negligible changes in \({pH}\) . However, for the highest voltage level (i.e., 4.0 V) the impact is considerable. In all cases, \({pH}\) variations are delayed in dense sands due to their smaller porosity and greater tortuosity compared to loose sands. Upon the termination of the electrical conditioning, the \({pH}\) starts to return to its initial value. In contrast, the temporal variations of \({pH}\) at the anode and cathode (Fig.  2c ) measured in the long-term tests in an open system highlight minimal to negligible variations in \({pH}\) due to the periodic recirculation of seawater. By refilling the system with \(C{a}^{2+}\) and \(M{g}^{2+}\) ions, these conditions keep the bulk electrolyte ionic concentration approximately constant.

a Evolution of \({pH}\) over time near the anode for short-term experiments (7 days), measured via a \({pH}\) meter; b Evolution of \({pH}\) over time near the cathode for short-term experiments (7 days), measured via a \({pH}\) meter; c Evolution of \({pH}\) over time in the electrochemical cell and at the inlet and outlet of the cell for long-term experiments (28 days), measured via a \({pH}\) meter; d Summary of the elemental ratio of calcium over magnesium \(({Ca}/{Mg})\) obtained for loose and dense sands at different voltages (2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 V) for both short-term and long-term tests through EDS mapping (error bars indicate standard deviations); e Summary of the relative weight of mineral according to Rietveld refinement deriving from XRD analyses of sands ( \({m}_{c}\) is the mass cement content, with \({M}_{c}\) the mass of the cementing calcareous deposits and \({M}_{i}\) the mass of the cemented soil; error bars indicate standard deviations); f Summary of the relative weight of minerals according to TGA measurements for sands subjected to long-term electrical conditioning (error bars indicate standard deviations).

An analysis of the elemental mapping obtained via EDS for loose and dense sands (Fig.  2d and Supplementary Fig.  4 ) reveals a decrease in the \({Ca}/{Mg}\) ratio with increasing voltage, consistently with all the qualitative results obtained via SEM (Fig.  1a ). The same trend for the \({Ca}/{Mg}\) ratio as a function of the applied voltage is calculated from the Rietveld refinement of the XRD spectra (Fig.  2e and Supplementary Fig.  5 ) and the TGA results (Fig.  2f and Supplementary Fig.  6 ). The quantitative differences between the obtained trends for the \({Ca}/{Mg}\) ratio are associated with the different techniques employed to analyze this variable, remaining qualitatively consistent. Notably, both the XRD and TGA results confirm again the dominant precipitation of calcium-based minerals at limited voltages, as opposed to the dominant precipitation of magnesium-based minerals at substantial voltages, as previously shown by the SEM analyses (Fig.  1a ). The XRD analyses substantiate the presence of vaterite, calcite, aragonite, brucite, and hydromagnesite, as previously highlighted by the Raman spectra (Fig.  1c and Supplementary Fig.  1 ).

Hydromechanical characterization

The nucleation and growth of mineral electrodeposits change the structure of marine sands. Consequently, these mineral precipitations modify the properties of such materials. The results of this work quantitatively unveil changes in the hydraulic conductivity, \(k\) , and the unconfined compressive strength, \({UCS}\) , of marine sands subjected to electrodeposition (Fig.  3 ).

a Variation in hydraulic conductivity as a function of applied voltage level for both loose and dense sands subjected to long-term electrical conditioning; b Variation in unconfined compressive strength against mass cement content for both loose and dense sand (the samples tested refer to long-term electrical conditioning tests involving the application of 3.0 and 4.0 V; the trendline refers to variations in unconfined compressive strength achieved by microbially induced calcite precipitation in a myriad of coarse-grained soils, including sands 38 ). Error bars indicate standard deviations.

A hydraulic characterization of the sands subjected to long-term electrical conditioning (Fig.  3a ) indicates a decreasing trend in hydraulic conductivity for materials subjected to increasing voltages. Interestingly, the decrease in hydraulic conductivity of a cemented sand compared to a clean (i.e., untreated) sand can be as high as one order of magnitude for the highest voltage (4.0 V). In all cases, the results show a higher hydraulic conductivity of loose compared to dense sands because of the more porous packing of the former compared to the latter.

An analysis of the correlation between the unconfined compressive strength and the mass cement content of the tested sands (Fig.  3b ) shows that both loose and dense sands benefit from a marked increase in strength with the mass cement content. The electrodeposits can yield cemented sands with \({UCS}\) reaching several MPa. In other words, electrodeposition can turn initially cohesionless sands into rocks.

Mechanistic analysis of electrodeposition reactions and effects

The results unveil a selectivity of the mineral type, polymorph, proportions, precipitation loci, and intrusion mechanisms achieved by electrodeposition in marine sands depending on the (1) applied voltage, (2) soil relative density, and (3) electrolyte ionic concentration.

The applied voltage fundamentally influences the process and effects of electrodeposition in sands by triggering different electrochemical reactions that govern the kinetics of mineral precipitations and their penetration in the bulk of the treated materials. An analysis of the applied voltages with respect to a reference electrode (see Supplementary Discussion, Supplementary Figs.  7 and 8 , and Supplementary Table  1 ) indicates that two key redox reactions govern the electrodeposition in sands: the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the water reduction reaction (WRR). The identification of the reaction regimes corresponding to the application of 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 V specifically allows identifying the reaction pathways that result in the electrodeposition of \({{Mg}\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) , \({{CaCO}}_{3}\) , and \(M{g}_{5}{\left(C{O}_{3}\right)}_{4}{\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\cdot 4{H}_{2}O\) in the experiments.

At the lower voltage of 2.0 V, which is equivalent to −0.84 \({V}_{{Ag}/{AgCl}}\) or −0.64 \({V}_{{SHE}}\) , ORR involves \({{OH}}^{-}\) production as follows:

At the higher voltages of 3.0 and 4.0 V, which correspond to −1.32 \({V}_{{Ag}/{AgCl}}\) or −1.13 \({V}_{{SHE}}\) as well as −1.58 \({V}_{{Ag}/{AgCl}}\) or −1.38 \({V}_{{SHE}}\) , respectively, WRR shifts selectivity of \({{OH}}^{-}\) production through hydrogen evolution, thereby leading to the formation of hydrogen gas bubbles at the cathode surface. Under neutral and alkaline conditions, hydrogen evolution proceeds as follows:

Under acidic solutions, hydrogen evolution proceeds instead as follows:

The direct consequence of the generation of \({{OH}}^{-}\) ions in the vicinity of a cathode, whether in either the ORR or WRR regimes, is an increase in the interfacial \({pH}\) 17 . Due to this phenomenon, naturally occurring \(M{g}^{2+}\) ions in seawater will react with the released \({{OH}}^{-}\) ions, leading to the precipitation of insoluble \({{Mg}\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) as follows:

In other words, upon the application of electrical stimulations to sands wetted by seawater under ambient conditions, \({{Mg}\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) will precipitate initially instead of \({{CaCO}}_{3}\) due to the higher concentration of \({{Mg}}^{2+}\) ions compared to \({{Ca}}^{2+}\) ions in seawater. Under these conditions, the mineral formation process is specifically driven by kinetics instead of thermodynamics. Following a decrease in the local \({pH}\) and concentration of \({{Mg}}^{2+}\) ions in solution resulting from the precipitation of \({{Mg}\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) , two possible outcomes will subsequently occur.

On the one hand, in the ORR regime, \({{CaCO}}_{3}\) will precipitate atop the initial \({{Mg}\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) formations due to a favorable local \({pH}\) that is nonetheless insufficient for continued \({{Mg}\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) precipitations. In this context, \({{Ca}}^{2+}\) and \({{HCO}}_{3}^{-}\) ions naturally present in seawater will react with the released \({{OH}}^{-}\) ions, resulting in the precipitation of insoluble \({{CaCO}}_{3}\) as follows:

Alternatively, \({{CaCO}}_{3}\) precipitation will also possibly occur due to the influence of the released \({{OH}}^{-}\) ions on the carbonate equilibrium:

which will lead to a higher concentration of carbonate ions ( \({{CO}}_{3}^{2-}\) )

and the consequent precipitation of insoluble \({{CaCO}}_{3}\) as follows:

On the other hand, in the WRR regime, \({{Mg}\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) will continue to precipitate instead of \({{CaCO}}_{3}\) due to a sufficiently high local \({pH}\) driven by hydrogen evolution. Consistent with results presented here for soils wetted by seawater and studies of electrodeposition in seawater 21 , 27 , 30 , the \({Ca}/{Mg}\) ratio will hence decrease with increasing values of the applied voltage. However, as the \({pH}\) of seawater is typically of 8.2-8.4 31 under standard conditions but the \({pH}\) of stability of brucite is of 9.4 under ambient conditions 32 , brucite will turn into aragonite over time 28 . Notably, in the WRR regime, the penetration of electrodeposits in the pore network of soils will be facilitated by the formation a hydrogen gas front that pushes the electrodeposits away from the cathode.

In addition to \({{Mg}\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) and \({{CaCO}}_{3}\) , the results of this work surprisingly support the electrodeposition of \(M{g}_{5}{\left(C{O}_{3}\right)}_{4}{\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\cdot 4{H}_{2}O\) in soils wetted by seawater. To the best of our knowledge, the identification of hydromagnesite appears unprecedented in the literature about electrodeposition in seawater 17 , 18 , as only \({{Mg}\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) and \({{CaCO}}_{3}\) have been traditionally identified. Interestingly, the presence of dissolved silica in the soil-water system considered here may play an important for this evidence, as silica is renowned to play a catalytic role in the development of magnesium bearing carbonates 33 . \(M{g}_{5}{\left(C{O}_{3}\right)}_{4}{\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\cdot 4{H}_{2}O\) preferentially forms in the ORR regime and in the early stages of WRR regime, characterized by relatively slow kinetics. This evidence, quantitatively supported by the results of Raman spectroscopy and XRD analyses, is attributed to successive \({pH}\) and salinity fluctuations associated with the alternating formation of \({{Mg}\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) and \({{CaCO}}_{3}\) observed in this regime, as opposed to the sustained \({pH}\) leading to the preferential growth of only \({{Mg}\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) , which is characteristic of the fully established WRR regime due to hydrogen evolution. Under these conditions, \(M{g}_{5}{\left(C{O}_{3}\right)}_{4}{\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\cdot 4{H}_{2}O\) can form due to the local availability of \(M{g}^{2+}\) , \(C{O}_{3}^{-}\) , and \(O{H}^{-}\) ions in solution, which results in the precipitation of such an hydrated form of magnesium carbonate, \({MgC}{O}_{3}\) . The precipitation of \(M{g}_{5}{\left(C{O}_{3}\right)}_{4}{\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\cdot 4{H}_{2}O\) , instead of \({MgC}{O}_{3}\) , takes place at ambient temperature because it is kinetically favored due to the high hydration character of \(M{g}^{2+}\) ions in solution 34 . However, hydromagnesite is a metastable mineral form that will eventually transform (through dehydration and recrystallization) into anhydrous magnesite, either at elevated temperatures or under high \(C{O}_{2}\) pressures 35 . This phenomenon is anticipated to further enhance the strength of electrodeposited sands, as \({MgC}{O}_{3}\) has better mechanical properties than \(M{g}_{5}{\left(C{O}_{3}\right)}_{4}{\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\cdot 4{H}_{2}O\) .

Complementary oxidation reactions proceed at the anode, which balance the reduction reactions of water at the cathode. In the ORR, oxygen evolution leads to:

In the WRR regime, oxygen evolution develops in alkaline media as follows:

whereas in acidic media as follows:

Higher applied voltage leads to higher production rates of \({H}_{2}\) and \({{OH}}^{-}\) at the cathode and \({O}_{2}\) and \({H}^{+}\) at the anode, increasing the driving force for \({H}^{+}\) and \({{OH}}^{-}\) ions to diffuse further away from the electrodes at which they are produced. This phenomenon can result in a crosstalk of ions between the electrodes and neutralization of the \({{OH}}^{-}\) intended to participate in mineral precipitation as follows:

In addition to the applied voltage, the soil relative density also influences polymorph selectivity because changes in the relative density of soils affect the available surface area and number of nucleation sites, which are renowned to govern mineral formations 36 , 37 . A looser packing provides a constrained number of ample nucleation surfaces and a facilitated frequency of ionic interactions, which lead to smaller and uniformly distributed electrodeposits. In contrast, a denser packing provides more numerous and smaller nucleation surfaces and a hampered frequency of ionic interactions, which involve larger and less uniform electrodeposits. Increasingly tortuous and denser soils, coupled with the influence of low voltages, specifically appear to involve a slow reaction kinetics that results in alternating \({{Mg}\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) and \({{CaCO}}_{3}\) formations (with a smaller amount of precipitated \({{Mg}\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) compared to looser soils subjected to the same voltages).

The electrolyte ionic concentration also contributes to polymorph selectivity. The \({pH}\) variations observed in the closed batch experiments are significant and involve a progressive ionic deprivation of seawater that affects the mineral precipitations. In contrast, minimal \({pH}\) variations and substantial mineral precipitations are observed in the long-term experiments where seawater is periodically recirculated, and the ionic concentrations of calcium and magnesium ions remain approximately constant. This evidence is considered representative of open seawater conditions due to the continuous replenishment of ions through marine currents and biogenic activity.

Implications for coastal erosion mitigation

The results show that electrodeposition changes the structure of marine sands. As the porous structure of sands progressively fills with newly formed electrodeposits, the porosity is reduced while particle contacts increase and are cohesively bonded. As a result, the hydraulic conductivity of marine soils decreases whereas their shearing strength increases.

The variations in hydraulic conductivity and strength achieved with electrodeposition are consistent in magnitude with those of other emerging methods of soil cementation 38 , 39 . Compared to such methods, treatments using electrodeposition benefit nonetheless from their avoidance of external fluid injections and their ability to trigger mineral precipitations in porous networks of highly variable sizes. These advantages result from the pervasive action of the electrically mediated charge transport and mineral precipitation pathways leveraged by electrodeposition. Additionally, treatments targeting the electrodeposition of minerals via electricity deriving from renewable energy sources offer the benefit of producing green hydrogen in the WRR regime, which may be collected for valuable purposes. In principle, a downside of electrodeposition in seawater is that it will lead to chlorine production at significant potentials in the WRR regime 17 , 40 , which may affect some fish and marine mammals, especially in closed environments 24 . In practice, the chemistry of seawater favors dominant oxygen production over chlorine, and any chlorine gas will rapidly neutralize with dissolved organic matter in any open environment 24 . Therefore, treatments using electrodeposition have significant potential to engineer marine soils sustainably.

In summary, the ability to tailor the hydraulic conductivity and strength of marine sands with electrodeposition appears to bear tremendous relevance for coastal erosion mitigation, as these material properties significantly influence erosion patterns, sediment transports and seepage, and the structural stability of coastal and offshore structures.

Conclusions

Motivated by the lack of sustainable and lasting approaches to mitigate coastal erosion worldwide, this study presented an experimental laboratory study on the electrically mediated precipitation of mineral binders in marine sands via the process of electrodeposition. Specifically, by harnessing custom-designed electrochemical cells, this study systematically and mechanistically explored the electrodeposition of calcium- and magnesium-based minerals in silica sand saturated by seawater. For the first time, this work analyzed the influence of the (1) magnitude and duration of the applied voltage, (2) soil relative density, and (3) electrolyte ionic concentration, which are central variables for any applied electrical treatment, treated porous material, and electrolyte solution, respectively.

The results of this work shed light on distinct reaction mechanisms governing the electrodeposition of \({CaC}{O}_{3}\) , \({Mg}{\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) , and \(M{g}_{5}{\left(C{O}_{3}\right)}_{4} {\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\cdot 4{H}_{2}O\) in sands saturated by seawater. A transition from oxygen reduction to water reduction particularly occurs between 2.0 and 3.0 V, with marked hydrogen evolution at 4.0 V. During oxygen reduction, hydroxide formation is mass transport limited and results in predominant \({CaC}{O}_{3}\) depositions, mostly in the form of calcite, with companion \(M{g}_{5}{\left(C{O}_{3}\right)}_{4}{\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\cdot 4{H}_{2}O\) formations. During water reduction, hydroxide formation is reaction rate limited and favors \({Mg}{\left({OH}\right)}_{2}\) productions, mostly in the form of brucite. By identifying these two distinct potential regimes, this work highlights that control of the applied electrode potential, with consideration of the soil relative density and electrolyte features, enables selectivity of the type of precipitated mineral and polymorph, mineral precipitation location, and mineral intrusion mechanism. Therefore, electrodeposition allows achieving variable effects on the structure and properties of electrodeposited sands. These effects are limited in the oxygen reduction reaction regime. In contrast, they are remarkable in the water reduction reaction regime, where hydrogen evolution enables higher mineral production rates by preventing surface film buildup and electrode passivation, as well as the creation of a gas front that pushes electrodeposits in the soil bulk, affecting significant volumes of soils around cathodic interfaces.

This work advances the knowledge of mineral electrodeposition in soils saturated by seawater, underscoring the feasibility of harnessing such a process to protect coastal areas against erosion processes. Additionally, the results of this work enhance the analysis of problems related to sedimentation, biomineralization, and geological carbon sequestration, which are governed by the nucleation and growth of minerals in porous materials.

Experimental laboratory tests

This study performed an integrated experimental investigation across different spatial scales (e.g., from the macroscale of sand specimens to the microscale of sand particles) and temporal scales (i.e., from 7 to 28 days of electrical conditioning). Specifically, this work performed two classes of electrochemical laboratory experiments in custom-designed electrochemical cells, followed by several qualitative and quantitative characterization methods to address the physical and chemical properties of the electrodeposits, their spatial distribution and features in the porous structure of the treated soils, and their resulting effects on the hydraulic conductivity and shearing strength of such materials.

Short-term batch experiments (lasting 7 days) with no water recirculation were performed to assess the fundamental mechanisms of electrodeposition in soils. Long-term recirculation experiments (lasting 28 days) with periodic water recirculation were performed to simulate electrodeposition under field conditions and explore the interconnected influence of structural changes on the bulk properties of soils. Each short-term and long-term experiment was repeated three times to ensure repeatability. Among the various features that characterize any (1) applied electrical treatment, (2) treated porous material, and (3) electrolyte solution, these experiments allowed to address the following variables that were hypothesized to play a central role for the electrodeposition of minerals in marine sands:

Magnitude of applied voltage. This variable was chosen due to its prominent influence on the electrodeposition of minerals in seawater 18 , which was unchartered for soils saturated by seawater at the time this work was performed. Voltage levels of \(E=\) 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 V were selected to address the efficacy and mineral precipitation mechanisms at relatively low, moderate, and high potentials, respectively. These voltage values also correspond to \(E=-0.839,-1.323,\) and \(-1.579\) \({V}_{{Ag}/{AgCl}}\) , which correspond to development of the sole oxygen reduction reaction, the onset of the water reduction reaction, and the dominant development of the water reduction reaction, respectively (see Supplementary Discussion).

Duration of applied voltage. This variable was chosen to explore the spatial growth of electrodeposits over time and assess the presence of a “curing time” for such deposits, which is renowned to characterize other methods for soil cementation resorting to carbonate precipitations 39 . Test durations of \(t=\) 7 and 28 days were chosen for this purpose.

Soil relative density. This variable was chosen due to its prominent influence on soil mechanics 41 and the efficacy of other treatments for soil cementation 39 through its impact on the contact topology and packing of granular materials, although this evidence was unchartered for soils subjected to electrodeposition at the time this work was performed. Relative densities associated with loose states ( \({D}_{r}=\) \(25\pm 5\) \(\%\) ) and dense states ( \({D}_{r}=\) \(80\pm 5\) \(\%\) ) were selected for this purpose. Analyzing the soil relative density also allowed to indirectly assess the influence of surface density, which is a critical parameter for the formation of minerals 36 . Surface density refers to the concentration or availability of sites that are suitable for nucleation, where mineral depositions can prosper 41 . Higher surface densities generally translate to a greater number of active sites available for deposition, while lower surface densities indicate a fewer number of available active sites for deposition 37 .

Electrolyte ionic concentration. This variable was again chosen based on its prominent influence on the electrodeposition of minerals in seawater 18 , although this evidence was unchartered for soils subjected to electrodeposition at the time this work was performed. This variable was indirectly assessed by developing short- and long-term electrical conditioning experiments without or with a periodic replenishment of seawater, respectively. This approach ensured a variable (i.e., decreasing) and quasi-constant (i.e., stable) ionic concentration of seawater during electrodeposition, given that its underlying reactions consume key ions over time if no mass transfer with a source of fresh seawater takes place.

The experimental protocol underpinning the developed electrochemical experiments was as follows. Initially, the sand was compacted in the relevant electrochemical cell to achieve the desired relative density through the pluviation method 42 . Next, the compacted sand was slowly saturated with seawater, by injecting such a fluid at minimal velocity from hose connector located at the bottom of the electrochemical cells to prevent the formation of air bubbles and prevent any noteworthy soil disturbance, which would have otherwise affected the relative density. Then, the sand was allowed to rest for 1 h while ensuring that it achieved full saturation. Afterward, voltage was applied to the electrochemical cell while keeping drainage lines (i.e., the hoses) closed. After the electrochemical conditioning, the lid atop the system was removed and the bottom hose was open to allow for desaturation for 72 h to facilitate the subsequent sample extraction process. Once extracted, the samples were thoroughly washed with deionized water to eliminate any excess sodium chloride ( \({NaCl}\) ) and eventually dried for characterization or testing. The same experimental procedure characterized the short- and long-term experiments, at the exception that seawater was recirculated (i.e., flushed out from the top hose) using the peristaltic pump over a period of 8 h to ensure approximately constant \({pH}\) conditions during each long-term experiment. In the long-term experiments, \({pH}\) measurements were continuously taken not only inside the cell as in the short-term experiments, but also at the inlet and outlet of seawater flow.

Tested materials

The tested material in this study was F35 sand—a coarse, rounded silica sand composed of over 99% SiO 2 quarried at Ottawa, Illinois purchased from U.S. Silica. Supplementary Fig.  9 shows the particle size distribution obtained via a sieve analysis as well as optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images to illustrate qualitative features of the tested material. Supplementary Table  2 summarizes further details of the properties of the tested material. Silica sand was chosen due to its chemical inertness with respect to acid, bases, oxidation, and reduction owing to the strong silicon-oxygen bond present in its crystal structure 43 .

The tested sand was saturated with artificial seawater to create an electrolyte solution as comparable as possible to actual seawater 14 . Artificial seawater was prepared by mixing distilled Type 1 ultrapure water ( \(18.2\) \({\mbox{M}}\omega -{\mbox{cm}}\) of resistivity at 25 °C from Millipore Sigma) with a “sea salt” preparation mixture (from Lake Products Company LLC) according to the ASTM D1141-98 44 . This process consisted in the dissolution of 41.953 g of sea salt mixture with enough water to make 1 L of total solution. The salts, once mixed and dissolved, yielded a fluid with a chemical composition of over 99% similarity with natural seawater 44 . The \({pH}\) of the prepared solution was measured and adjusted as necessary with weak bases or acids to ensure similarity with natural conditions (i.e. \(,\) \({pH}=\) 8.2–8.4 31 ).

Experimental apparatuses

For this study, two classes of custom-designed tempered glass electrochemical cells of different volume capacities were employed (Supplementary Fig.  10 ): (1) 2-L capacity cells and (2) 500-mL capacity cells. The 2-L liter cell (Supplementary Fig.  10a ) is cylindrical with an inner diameter \(D=160\) \({\mbox{mm}}\) , an inner height of \(H=120\) \({\mbox{mm}}\) , a thickness \(t=5\) \({\mbox{mm}}\) , a flanged top of \(15\) \({\mbox{mm}}\) , and two hose connectors with an opening of 9 \({\mbox{mm}}\) located at heights of \({H}_{1}=20\) \({\mbox{mm}}\) and \({H}_{2}=70\) \({\mbox{mm}}\) . Similarly, the 500 mL cell (Supplementary Fig.  10b ) is cylindrical with an inner diameter \(D=85\) \({\mbox{mm}}\) , an inner height of \(H=100\) \({\mbox{mm}}\) , a thickness \(t=5\) \({\mbox{mm}}\) , a flanged top of \(15\) \({\mbox{mm}}\) , and two serrated hose connectors with an opening of 9 \({\mbox{mm}}\) located at heights of \({H}_{1}=20\) \({\mbox{mm}}\) and \({H}_{2}=70\) \({\mbox{mm}}\) . Depending on the experiments, the hose connectors in the cells were used to saturate the tested material with the chosen electrolyte solution and/or to run hydraulic conductivity measurements with an Intlab peristaltic pump. This pump provided a precise liquid dosing of 30 ml/min within the equipment admissible flowrates of 5–50 mL/min, with an accuracy of \(\pm 1\) mL/min.

Alongside the developed glass cells, Teflon lids with O-rings were used to seal the cells and ensure a closed environment limiting evaporation and chemical reactions with the atmosphere. The lids of both cells incorporated holes to host the anode, the cathode, two \({pH}\) meters, and one gas outlet, ensuring optimal monitoring of the environmental conditions in the cells. The cell and lid materials were chosen given their low electrical conductivity and low chemical reactivity to prevent any external contamination into the testing chamber.

The electrode materials were selected to ensure ideal conditions for studying electrodeposition. For the anode material, a platinum rod (with a diameter \(D_{a}=0.78{{{\rm{mm}}}}\) , a total length of \({L}_{a}\,={\mbox{}}100{\mbox{mm}}\) , and an embedded length of \({L}_{a}^{* }=\) 70 and 45 mm in the batch and recirculation experiments, respectively) was chosen to prevent oxidation and ensure a highly controlled flow of electricity. For the cathode material, a steel 316 rod ( \({D}_{c}=2.0\) \({\mbox{mm}}\) , \({L}_{c}={\mbox{}}100{\mbox{mm}}\) , and \({L}_{c}^{* }=\) 70 mm for the batch tests; \({D}_{c}=3.0\) \({\mbox{mm}}\) , \({L}_{c}={\mbox{}}100{\mbox{mm}}\) , and \({L}_{c}^{* }=\) 45 mm for the recirculation tests) was chosen for its widespread use in practice. Different electrode embedment lengths were used in the batch and recirculation tests to ensure equivalent current density. All electrochemical measurements gathered in the core electrochemical experiments of this work used a Tektronix Keithley Series 2280 S High Precision Bech Power supply that allowed the measurement of voltage and current. Companion electrochemical measurements gathered in complementary electrochemical experiments employed a Biologic SP 150e potentiostat equipped with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and the setup detailed elsewhere 17 .

Two \({pH}\) meters (Hanna Instruments soils \({pH}\) meter HI2002) with an accuracy of \({pH}=\pm 0.01\) were utilized to measure \({pH}\) at 1.5 cm from each electrode. A calibration of these instruments was performed with buffer solutions of \({pH}=\) 4.01, 7.01, and 10.01 from Hanna Instruments.

Supplementary Figs.  10c and   10d shows the experimental set-up for the short-term and long-term electrical conditioning experiments, respectively.

Physical, chemical, hydraulic, and mechanical characterization

Each physical, chemical, hydraulic, and mechanical characterization of the results was repeated at least three times to ensure representativeness and reliability of the data. Errors bars are presented wherever relevant and applicable to show the variability in the obtained results.

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to qualitatively study the microscopic features of the minerals and their spatial distribution in the porous network of the sand (Fig.  1a, b, d ). SEM analyses employed a Quanta 650 F microscope at an accelerating voltage of 20 kV. Before subjecting to a scanning electron microscope, the electrodeposits were coated with gold ( \({Au}\) ) in a 20 nm thickness using a Denton’s Desk IV deposition system. The results encompass different scales: the particle scale, showcasing whole sand particles; the interface scale, revealing the contacts between sand and mineral particles; and the mineral scale, focusing on the electrodeposits.

Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) was employed to qualitatively assess the elemental composition of the materials and create elemental maps (Supplementary Fig.  4 ). This technique facilitated the identification of electrodeposited minerals and the detection of possible impurities caused by oxidation reactions of the electrodes. Yet, EDS elucidated the analysis of the spatial distribution of elements, thereby providing valuable insights into the microscopic behavior of the material and the mineral intrusion mechanisms. Although it is acknowledged that EDS cannot provide data representative of the three-dimensionality of the precipitation patterns in the tested sands, repeatability analyses confirmed the high consistency in the obtained data, which were also qualitatively in agreement with X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analyses data (TGA). As XRD and TGA analyses were performed on randomly selected mineral samples from the tested soils and inherently provide representative data of the three-dimensionality of the precipitations, the consistency between all these results provides strong evidence of the soundness of the developed analyses and interpretations.

Raman spectroscopy was carried out using a custom-built, confocal micro-Raman spectrometer with a 300 mW, 458-nm excitation laser (Melles Griot 85-BLS-601). The system was built around an Olympus-BX optical microscope, 0.3-meter spectrograph (Andor Shamrock 303i), and Newton DU970 EMCCD camera from Andor Technology. Neutral density filters were added to reduce the laser power to ~10 mW at the sample. The excitation laser was focused to ~1–2 μm spot size through a 100x objective (Mitutoyo M Plan Apo SL100x) with 13.0 mm working distance and a 0.55 numerical aperture. Spectra were collected from 0–4000 cm −1 Raman shift with an acquisition time of 3 seconds, averaged over 10 acquisitions. The Raman spectra are shown alongside reference spectra at low and high wavenumber regions, enabling a precise identification of calcium- and magnesium-based minerals (Fig.  1c ). Supplementary Fig.  1 identifies the characteristic peaks of the studied substances for detailed reference, representing a quantitative and complementary piece of evidence in support of the analysis of the obtained results.

Image processing analyses were used to examine the macroscopic features of the electrodeposited sand, with a focus on the volume affected by electrodeposits (Fig.  1e, f , and Supplementary Fig.  2 ). The volume calculations were performed analytically through the open-source code Fiji ImageJ 45 . The volume calculations were addressed in three key steps. First, any original image was digitalized. Second, such an image was binarized into two colors (i.e., black and white) to better classify the area of the analyzed view. Such area ( \({A}_{s}\) ) was calculated by the software, and subsequently it was converted into an equivalent cylindrical shape. For this process, the height of the equivalent cylinder was assumed to be the length of the electrode (i.e., \({L}_{c}=100\) \({\mbox{mm}}\) ), and the equivalent diameter, \({D}_{{eq}}\) , was calculated as follows:

Finally, based on the geometrization of the irregular volume of electrodeposited sand into an equivalent cylinder, the cemented soil volume ( \({V}_{e}\) ) was calculated without taking in account the volume of the used electrode.

XRD analyses were employed to quantitatively assess the composition of the crystal structure and phase composition of electrodeposited minerals, allowing for an accurate detection of polymorphs (Fig.  2e and Supplementary Fig.  5 ). XRD was performed on samples of electrodeposited sand collected near the cathode for all combinations of voltage levels, relative densities, and test durations. XRD analyses on samples indicated a mineral content ranging from 8.6% up to 96.5%. Powder XRD patterns were collected at room temperature on a STOE-STADI-P powder diffractometer equipped with an asymmetrically curved Germanium monochromator (CuKα1 radiation, λ = 1.54056 Å) and one-dimensional silicon strip detector (MYTHEN2 1 K from DECTRIS) to identify the crystalline phases of the deposits. The line-focused Cu X-ray tube was operated at 40 kV and 40 mA. The fine powder deposits were packed in an 8 mm metallic mask and sandwiched between two polyimide layers of tape. Intensity data from diffraction angles of 15° to 75° (2θ) were collected for 1 h per sample. The instrument was calibrated against a NIST Silicon standard (640d) before the measurement. Phase identification was made by Rietveld refinements using the Profex analysis software 46 . All the reference spectra were used from the Crystallography Open Database (COD). Specifically, COD 9016706, COD9000229, COD 9015898, COD 9002348, and COD 9007620 spectra were used, corresponding to calcite, aragonite, vaterite, brucite, and hydromagnesite, respectively. The spectrum for quartz was also gathered from The American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database (AMCSD) and plotted for reference with the label AMCSD 0012866.

TGA was performed to quantitatively assess the mass and composition of electrodeposited minerals (Supplementary Fig.  6 ). For these experiments, the samples were first grinded into a fine powder (i.e., \( < 4\) \(\mu {{{\rm{m}}}}\) ) using a mortar and pestle and eventually subjected to the analyses. These analyses used a Netzsch STA 449 F3 Jupiter Simultaneous Thermal Analysis instrument purging nitrogen at 50 mL/min. 50 mg of the electrodeposits were placed in a 0.35 ml crucible made of \(A{l}_{2}{O}_{3}\) with a weight of 200 mg. TGA results were calculated based on the mass loss at different stages of heating. A heating rate of 10 °C/min was used over a temperature range of 40–1000 °C. The weight loss between 200–500 °C was associated with the destruction of \(O{H}^{-}\) bonds, which are associated with magnesium hydroxide. The weight loss between 500–900 °C was associated with the release of \(C{O}_{2}\) , which is associated with calcium carbonate. The weights at 200 °C ( \({M}_{200}\) ) and 500 °C ( \({M}_{500}\) ) were determined from the TGA curves. The difference between the weights in the 200–500 °C range ( \({\Delta M}_{200-500^{\circ}{{{\rm{C}}}}}={M}_{500}-{M}_{200}\) ) gave the weight of the generated water gas. A conversion factor between the atomic weight of magnesium hydroxide (58.32 g/mol) and that of water (18.02 g/mol) needs to be applied and leads to the calculation of mass of magnesium hydroxide as follows:

Similarly, the weights at 500 °C ( \({M}_{500}\) ) and 900 °C ( \({M}_{900}\) ) were determined from the TGA curves. The difference between the weights in the 500–900 °C range ( \({\Delta M}_{500-900^{\circ}{{{\rm{C}}}}}={M}_{900}-{M}_{500}\) ) gave the weight of the generated carbon dioxide gas. A conversion factor between the atomic weight of carbon dioxide (44.01 g/mol) and that of calcium carbonate (100.09 g/mol) needs to be applied and leads to the calculation of mass of calcium carbonate as follows:

The evaluation of mineral mass content was performed through acid washing tests 47 . These tests involved a \(5\pm 0.1\)  g of sample mixed with 20 mL of a 1 M solution of hydrochloric acid ( \({HCl}\) ) to dissolve electrodeposits. The remaining solution and insoluble solid was washed with Type 1 ultrapure distilled water on a Fisherbrand P4 grade filter paper for 10 min. The mass cement content was calculated as follows:

where \({M}_{w}\) is the mass of the sample post acid wash, \({M}_{i}\) is the original mass of the electrodeposited sand sample, and \({M}_{c}\) is the mass of the cementing calcareous electrodeposits. The TGA curves allow for the development of derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) curves, which represent the first derivative of the TGA curve. The DTG curves are particularly valuable to determine inflection points and key variations in weight for deeper interpretations during analyses.

Constant head permeability tests were performed to measure the hydraulic conductivity of the tested sand before and after electrical conditioning (Fig.  3a ). The experiments devoted to assessing the hydraulic conductivity of the tested loose and dense sands not subjected to any electrical conditioning were performed right after the preparation of such materials in the cell, without using such materials for any other purpose due to the possible structural disturbance of the sands subjected to a hydraulic gradient for these tests. The experiments devoted to assessing the hydraulic conductivity of the tested loose and dense sands were performed after the application of the electrical conditioning. In this case, reference was made to the long-term experiments because they yielded materials benefitting from a more substantial cementation, which facilitated the quantification of the considered parameter. These tests followed the procedure prescribed by ASTM D3424-19 48 .

Unconfined compressive strength tests were performed to quantify the strength of electrodeposited sands (Fig.  3b ). While other tests, such as flume tests, could be considered more relevant to characterize the erosion resistance of materials, the unconfined compressive strength provides direct and first-order information about the erosion resistance of marine sediments, especially when samples of limited size are available 49 , 50 , 51 . These tests were performed on cubic sand samples extracted from the cell after the long-term tests (again to cope at best with the available volume of cemented materials). The tested samples were carefully cut after extraction from the testing cell (i.e., clearly, these sand samples did not include the electrodes inside them but were collected around the electrodes) and had dimensions of 10 mm inside to comply the requirements of a Representative Elementary Volume 52 . In alignment with the requirements provided by ASTM D7012-04 53 , the dimension of these samples was determined in a way to be sufficiently larger than the average particle size of the cemented soils, thereby providing reliable results. Prior to testing, the electrodeposited sand samples were laid on a gypsum capping to avoid stress concentrations and interconnected ill-conditioning of the results. Unconfined compressive strength tests followed the procedure prescribed by ASTM D7012-04 53 and were performed with a MTS model C43.104 mechanical testing apparatus.

Data availability

The quantitative data shown in the figures are publicly available at Zenodo: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12741685 .

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Prof. Jean-François Gaillard, Dr. Nishu Devi, and Dr. Yeong-Man Kwon for their insightful comments on this work. Dr. Yeong-Man Kwon is particularly thanked for contributing to the XRD analyses performed as a part of this study. Dr. Raul Marrero is thanked for his help with the training on the sample preparation and mechanical testing procedures under unconfined conditions. This work made use of the EPIC facility of Northwestern University’s NUANCE Center, which has received support from the SHyNE Resource (NSF ECCS-2025633), the IIN, and Northwestern’s MRSEC program (NSF DMR-1720139), of the IMSERC Crystallography facility at Northwestern University, which has received support from the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF ECCS-2025633), and Northwestern University, and the Jerome B.Cohen X-Ray Diffraction Facility supported by the MRSEC program of the National Science Foundation (DMR-1720139) at the Materials Research Center of Northwestern University and the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF ECCS-1542205.). The seed funding provided by the Center for Engineering Sustainability and Resilience of Northwestern University in support of early developments behind this work is appreciated. This study is part of a broader research program funded by the Army Research Office (Grant No. W911NF2210291), whose financial support is greatly acknowledged.

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A.F.R.L. conceived the study idea and with A.L.M. designed the experimental apparatus and procedures. A.L.M. carried out the experiments and data acquisition during cementation. A.L.M., S.D.J., and A.F.R.L. conducted sample characterizations and data reduction. All authors contributed equally to interpreting the data and writing the manuscript.

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Landivar Macias, A., Jacobsen, S.D. & Rotta Loria, A.F. Electrodeposition of calcareous cement from seawater in marine silica sands. Commun Earth Environ 5 , 442 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01604-3

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Stream Table Erosion Lab

I love teaching weathering and erosion! One of the best ways to learn about weathering and erosion is to SEE it in action. There are a few ways to do this:

• Have students go on a hunt outside and look for evidence of weathering or erosion. Have them take a picture, predict what caused the weathering or erosion, and upload to your LMS. (This is a great homework assignment if you don’t want to do it around campus).
• Have them explore cool landforms around the world that have been formed by weathering or erosion on Google maps. (If you want a premade lesson on this, check out this interactive diagram on TpT or on my website ).
• Have them play with stream tables!

Large stream tables are expensive, and a pain to store from year to year. You can easily make your own (for a lot less money!) by using small paint roller pans. I’ve done this lab multiple times over the years and worked out the kinks for you. Here are my best tips!

How to build your own stream table

(If you are more of a video kinda person and would like to SEE this lab instead of read about it, check out this youtube tutorial instead).

First, you’re going to need to head to Lowes or Home Depot. You have a few options when purchasing paint roller pans: there are metal and plastic. You’re going to want to purchase plastic paint roller pans that stand up at an angle themselves, not the really flexible insert pans. You can see in the picture below, the bottom has raised ridges that help it sit at an angle. They cost roughly $2 each, so I spent $16 on 8 of them (don’t worry, they will last you multiple years).

Next, you need to drill holes along the bottom of the tray for drainage. I drilled 5 per tray, and that was more than adequate. If you don’t want lakes to form at the bottom of the tray, drill the holes towards the bottom. If you are fine with water pooling, drill them about halfway up the pan.

The last step is to fill them with sand. If you have sand around your campus or neighborhood you can use for free, have at it! You can also purchase sand at Home Depot for about $5 a bag. One bag was enough for me to fill all 8 trays.

The day before the lab, you will need to also prep 2 more things:

• Get one plastic cup per group. Drill or poke a hole in the bottom of the cup. Students will be filling these with water and allowing the water to drain out onto their mini stream table.
• Get an ice cube tray or two, fill the bottom with some small gravel, and top off with water. Freeze overnight. These will be used to represent glaciers.

Stream table experiment TIPS

These stream tables are obviously much shorter than the typical ones you can order from science suppliers. That limits the amount of erosion that can take place. Here are some tips to help them work the best:

• Start with wet sand, and pack it down tight . If the sand is dry, it will all run down without creating a clear channel. It also helps to form a small, narrow channel with your hand before running any water down. Since the tables are so short, this helps the stream form faster.
• I’ve done this lab both indoors (when I had a lab space with lots of sinks and rubber hoses) and outside (when I had no sinks). I definitely recommend doing this outdoors to avoid messes and sand going down your drains. You will need a couple 5 gallon buckets- just fill them up and place outside. Multiple groups can share water from 1 bucket.
• Alright, lets talk water. If you simply pour water from a cup or beaker, the water tends to spread out too fast and channels don’t form. Solution: poke a hole in the bottom of a plastic cup . Have students cover the hole with their finger while they fill the cup, and then uncover the hole once they are ready for water to flow down the pan. A smaller, more direct water source helps the channel form more easily.
• Between trials, students need to dump out any excess water, flatten out the dirt, and re-form that shallow channel.
• In the past I’ve tried to have students blow through straws and see wind erosion, but it doesn’t work well with wet sand. If you would like to try this, I would have one tray that has very dry sand, and have groups rotate over to it.

Stream Table Variables

What can you have students test? What variables impact the rate of erosion?

• You can change the slope of the pan by holding it up at a steeper angle.
• You can have students change the water discharge by providing a second cup with a larger hole.
• You can have students place rocks or small plants down into the sand and see what impact it has on erosion. Does the water go around the rocks? Over the rocks?
• Have students gently push an ice cube glacier down the table. Does any sand below the glacier erode? What happens to the bottom of the ice cube by the time it reaches the bottom of the tray?
• Have students start their channel with meanders instead of a straight channel. Do meanders make the river erode faster or slower? On what part of the curve is erosion taking place?

While overall this is a very qualitative lab and there isn’t much data to record, it is fun for students to get outside and visualize stream formation. You can find a lab write-up on TpT or on my website .

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Erosion Science Experiment With Grass

It’s one thing to talk about scientific concepts and ideas in the classroom, but another to actually see them at work. If you’re looking for a way to give students a firsthand look at erosion, this is a great experiment to do so. In this science experiment, students will answer the question Does Grass Help Prevent the Erosion From Water?

Want to see more spring activities and resources for other subject areas?

Erosion Science Experiment Materials Needed:

• A foil baking pan
• Dirt with grass mixed in
• A pitcher or cup to pour water from
• Free passage and comprehension questions download (at the end of this post)

Erosion Science Experiment Directions

1. Place tightly packed clumps of sand, dirt, and grass/dirt into the foil pan.

2. Add water to a measuring cup. Make your predictions. Which pile – sand, dirt, or grass/dirt – will stand up to erosion the best?

3. Gently and slowly pour water over each of the piles.

4. You can tell from this photo that grass does help to prevent erosion from water. The clump of dirt with grass on top pretty much stayed in tack, with minor mudflow.

The Science Behind the Erosion Experiment

One element that contributes greatly to erosion is rain. Whether it’s a steady drizzle or a major downpour, rain can do a lot of damage. So, what helps slow the forces of soil erosion?

One of the things that binds together all different kinds of land is root systems. That’s why planted grasses are so helpful for erosion prevention. Grasses have soft stems and are better for binding than woody stems. They also have fibrous roots that spread out in all directions.

So, planted grass is excellent for erosion prevention because it helps bind the soil.

After the Experiment Reading Activity

I like to incorporate reading and writing into every science experiment, activity, or demonstration that we do and this is no exception.

For this activity, the students will read a short text that describes the science behind it (similar to what is explained above for the teacher’s reference). Then the students will use the details they learned in the text to explain what happened during the science experiment. They will also answer three comprehension questions using details from the text.

The questions your students will answer include:

• What are some things that contribute to erosion?
• How do fibrous roots help with soil erosion?
• If you wanted to keep soil in place, what are some things you could do to prevent soil erosion?

After reading the passage and answering the questions, you can invite your students to share their responses and have a classroom discussion about erosion.

How Can I Get the Free Printable?

Click here or on the image below to get the freebie that accompanies this erosion science experiment .

What are your favorite spring science activities or STEM activities? Let me know in the comments! I am always looking for new science experiments that my students will love.

If you want more resources and even freebies for spring , check out my recommended activities, such as math worksheets, egg hunt activities, review game ideas, printables for read alouds, engineering with jelly beans, science experiments involving flowers and seeds, and more.

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I’m Jennifer Findley: a teacher, mother, and avid reader. I believe that with the right resources, mindset, and strategies, all students can achieve at high levels and learn to love learning. My goal is to provide resources and strategies to inspire you and help make this belief a reality for your students.

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Fighting Coastal Erosion with Electricity

Bioinspired process makes marine sand more durable, resistant to erosion.

The Problem

With climate change and rising sea levels, coastal erosion is an increasing threat.

A new process that uses electricity to form a natural cement between grains of sand, transforming it into solid, immoveable rock.

Why It Matters

This strategy could offer a lasting, inexpensive, and sustainable solution for strengthening global coastlines.

Professor Alessandro Rotta Loria; Andony Landivar Macias, former PhD candidate in Rotta Loria’s laboratory; Steven Jacobsen, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences professor

New research from Northwestern University has systematically proven that a mild zap of electricity can strengthen a marine coastline for generations — greatly reducing the threat of erosion in the face of climate change and rising sea levels.

In the new study, researchers took inspiration from clams, mussels and other shell-dwelling sea life, which use dissolved minerals in seawater to build their shells.

Similarly, the researchers leveraged the same naturally occurring, dissolved minerals to form a natural cement between sea-soaked grains of sand. But, instead of using metabolic energy like mollusks do, the researchers used electrical energy to spur the chemical reaction.

In laboratory experiments, a mild electrical current instantaneously changed the structure of marine sand, transforming it into a rock-like, immoveable solid. The researchers are hopeful this strategy could offer a lasting, inexpensive and sustainable solution for strengthening global coastlines. 

The study was published Aug. 22 in the journal Communications Earth and the Environment , a journal published by Nature Portfolio.

“Over 40 percent of the world’s population lives in coastal areas,” said Northwestern Engineering’s Alessandro Rotta Loria , who led the study. “Because of climate change and sea-level rise, erosion is an enormous threat to these communities. Through the disintegration of infrastructure and loss of land, erosion causes billions of dollars in damage per year worldwide. Current approaches to mitigate erosion involve building protection structures or injecting external binders into the subsurface. 

“My aim was to develop an approach capable of changing the status quo in coastal protection — one that didn’t require the construction of protection structures and could cement marine substrates without using actual cement. By applying a mild electric stimulation to marine soils, we systematically and mechanistically proved that it is possible to cement them by turning naturally dissolved minerals in seawater into solid mineral binders — a natural cement.”

Rotta Loria is the Louis Berger Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering. Andony Landivar Macias, a former PhD candidate in Rotta Loria’s laboratory , is the paper’s first author. Steven Jacobsen , a mineralogist and professor of Earth and planetary sciences in Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences , also co-authored the study.

Sea walls, too, erode

From intensifying rainstorms to rising sea levels, climate change has created conditions that are gradually eroding coastlines. According to a 2020 study by the European commission’s Joint Research Centre, nearly 26 percent of the Earth’s beaches will be washed away by the end of this century.

To mitigate this issue, communities have implemented two main approaches: building protection structures and barriers, such as sea walls, or injecting cement into the ground to strengthen marine substrates, widely consisting of sand. But multiple problems accompany these strategies. Not only are these conventional methods extremely expensive, they also do not last.

By applying a mild electric stimulation to marine soils, we systematically and mechanistically proved that it is possible to cement them by turning naturally dissolved minerals in seawater into solid mineral binders — a natural cement.

Alessandro Rotta Loria Louis Berger Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

“Sea walls, too, suffer from erosion,” Rotta Loria said. “So, over time, the sand beneath these walls erodes, and the walls can eventually collapse. Oftentimes, protection structures are made of big stones, which cost millions of dollars per mile. However, the sand beneath them can essentially liquify because of a number of environmental stressors, and these big rocks are swallowed by the ground beneath them.

“Injecting cement and other binders into the ground has a number of irreversible environmental drawbacks. It also typically requires high pressures and significant interconnected amounts of energy.”

Turning ions into glue

To bypass these issues, Rotta Loria and his team developed a simpler technique, inspired by coral and mollusks. Seawater naturally contains a myriad of ions and dissolved minerals. When a mild electrical current (2 to 3 volts) is applied to the water, it triggers chemical reactions. This converts some of these constituents into solid calcium carbonate — the same mineral mollusks use to build their shells. Likewise, with a slightly higher voltage (4 volts), these constituents can be predominantly converted into magnesium hydroxide and hydromagnesite, a ubiquitous mineral found in various stones.

When these minerals coalesce in the presence of sand, they act like a glue, binding the sand particles together. In the laboratory, the process also worked with all types of sands — from common silica and calcareous sands to iron sands, which are often found near volcanoes.

“After being treated, the sand looks like a rock,” Rotta Loria said. “It is still and solid, instead of granular and incohesive. The minerals themselves are much stronger than concrete, so the resulting sand could become as strong and solid as a sea wall.”

While the minerals form instantaneously after the current is applied, longer electric stimulations garner more substantial results. “We have noticed remarkable outcomes from just a few days of stimulations,” Rotta Loria said. “Then, the treated sand should stay in place, without needing further interventions.”

Read more about Alessandro Rotta Loria

Simple New Process Stores CO2 in Concrete without Compromising Strength

Carbonated concrete developed by Rotta Loria offers the potential to offset emissions from cement manufacturing.

The Ground Is Deforming, and Buildings Aren’t Ready

A study from Rotta Loria, for the first time, linked underground climate change to the shifting ground beneath urban areas.

Opportunities Underground

Rotta Loria’s research explores opportunities and innovations in the subsurface.

Ecofriendly and reversible

Rotta Loria predicts the treated sand should keep its durability, protecting coastlines and property for decades.

Rotta Loria also says there is no need to worry negative effects on sea life. The voltages used in the process are too mild to feel. Other researchers have used similar processes to strengthen undersea structures or even restore coral reefs. In those scenarios, no sea critters were harmed.

And, if communities decide they no longer want the solidified sand, Rotta Loria has a solution for that, too, as the process is completely reversible. When the battery’s anode and cathode electrodes are switched, the electricity dissolves the minerals — effectively undoing the process.

“The minerals form because we are locally raising the pH of the seawater around cathodic interfaces,” Rotta Loria said. “If you switch the anode with the cathode, then localized reductions in pH are involved, which dissolve the previously precipitated minerals.” 

Competitive cost, countless applications

The process offers an inexpensive alternative to conventional methods. After crunching the numbers, Rotta Loria’s team estimates that his process costs just $3 to $6 per cubic meter of electrically cemented ground. More established, comparable methods, which use binders to adhere and strengthen sand, cost up to $70 for the same unit volume.

The applications of this approach are countless. Alessandro Rotta Loria

Research in Rotta Loria’s lab shows this approach also can heal cracked structures made of reinforced concrete. Much of the existing shoreside infrastructure is made of reinforced concrete, which disintegrates due to complex effects caused by sea-level rise, erosion and extreme weather. And if these structures crack, the new approach bypasses the need to fully rebuild the infrastructure. Instead, one pulse of electricity can heal potentially destructive cracks.

“The applications of this approach are countless,” Rotta Loria said. “We can use it to strengthen the seabed beneath sea walls or stabilize sand dunes and retain unstable soil slopes. We could also use it to strengthen protection structures, marine foundations and so many other things. There are many ways to apply this to protect coastal areas.”

Next, Rotta Loria’s team plans to test the technique outside of the laboratory and on the beach.

The study was supported by Northwestern’s Center for Engineering Sustainability and Resilience .

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s Science Experiments ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] is the displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock, and other particles) by the agents of wind, water and ice movement in response to gravity, or living organisms (bioerosion). (or simply erosion) is the washing or blowing away (by the wind) of the top layer of soil (dirt). This is a serious problem for people who want to grow crops. Crops are the foods that farmers grow. If the soil has eroded, the crops will not grow very well. Erosion also leaves large holes in the earth, which can weaken buildings and even cause them to collapse. Another type of erosion is called Decomposition and is when waves wash away sand and other material from cliffs or beaches. Soil erosion can be several ways. is a gravity driven process that moves solids (sediment, soil, rock and other particles) in the natural environment or their source and deposits them elsewhere. It usually occurs due to transport by wind, water, or ice; by down-slope creep of soil and other material under the force of gravity; or by living organisms, such as burrowing animals, in the case of bioerosion. , but it has been increased dramatically by human land use, especially industrial agriculture, deforestation, and urban sprawl. Land that is used for industrial agriculture generally experiences a significant greater rate of erosion than that of land under natural vegetation, or land used for sustainable agricultural practices. This is particularly true if tillage is used, which reduces vegetation cover on the surface of the soil and disturbs both soil structure and plant roots that would otherwise hold the soil in place. However, improved land use practices can limit erosion, using techniques such as terrace-building, conservation tillage practices, and tree planting. A certain amount of erosion is natural and, in fact, . For example, gravels continuously move downstream in watercourses. Excessive erosion, however, causes serious problems, such as receiving water sedimentation, ecosystem damage and outright loss of soil. , which is the process of chemical or physical breakdown of the minerals in the rocks, although the two processes may occur concurrently. The depends on many factors. Climatic factors include the amount and intensity of precipitation, the average temperature, as well as the typical temperature range, and seasonality, the wind speed, storm frequency. The geologic factors include the sediment or rock type, its porosity and permeability, the slope (gradient) of the land, and whether the rocks are tilted, faulted, folded, or weathered. The biological factors include ground cover from vegetation or lack thereof, the type of organisms inhabiting the area, and the land use. In general, given similar vegetation and ecosystems, areas with high-intensity precipitation, more frequent rainfall, more wind, or more storms are expected to have more erosion. Sediment with high sand or silt contents and areas with steep slopes erode more easily, as do areas with highly fractured or weathered rock. Porosity and permeability of the sediment or rock affect the speed with which the water can percolate into the ground. If the water moves underground, less runoff is generated, reducing the amount of surface erosion. Sediments containing more clay tend to erode less than those with sand or silt. Here, however, the impact of atmospheric sodium on erodibility of clay should be considered. The factor that is most subject to change is the amount and type of . In an undisturbed forest, the mineral soil is protected by a litter layer and an organic layer. These two layers protect the soil by absorbing the impact of rain drops. These layers and the underlying soil in a forest are porous and highly permeable to rainfall. Typically, only the most severe rainfall and large hailstorm events will lead to overland flow in a forest. If the trees are removed by fire or logging, infiltration rates become high and erosion low to the degree the forest floor remains intact. Severe fires can lead to significantly increased erosion if followed by heavy rainfall. In the case of construction or road building, when the litter layer is removed or compacted, the susceptibility of the soil to erosion is greatly increased. are especially likely to cause increased rates of erosion because, in addition to removing ground cover, they can significantly change drainage patterns, especially if an embankment has been made to support the road. A road that has a lot of rock and one that is "hydrologically invisible" (that gets the water off the road as quickly as possible, mimicking natural drainage patterns) has the best chance of not causing increased erosion. Many remove vegetation from an area, making the soil easily eroded. Logging can cause increased erosion rates due to soil compaction, exposure of mineral soil, for example roads and landings. However it is the removal of or compromise to the forest floor not the removal of the canopy that can lead to erosion. This is because rain drops striking tree leaves coalesce with other rain drops creating larger drops. When these larger drops fall (called throughfall) they again may reach terminal velocity and strike the ground with more energy then had they fallen in the open. Terminal velocity of rain drops is reached in about 8 meters. Because forest canopies are usually higher than this, leaf drop can regain terminal velocity. However, the intact forest floor, with its layers of leaf litter and organic matter, absorbs the impact of the rainfall. Heavy can reduce vegetation enough to increase erosion. Changes in the kind of vegetation in an area can also affect erosion rates. Different kinds of vegetation lead to different infiltration rates of rain into the soil. Forested areas have higher infiltration rates, so precipitation will result in less surface runoff, which erodes. Instead much of the water will go in subsurface flows, which are generally less erosive. Leaf litter and low shrubs are an important part of the high infiltration rates of forested systems, the removal of which can increase erosion rates. Leaf litter also shelters the soil from the impact of falling raindrops, which is a significant agent of erosion. Vegetation can also change the speed of surface runoff flows, so grasses and shrubs can also be instrumental in this aspect. One of the main causes of erosive soil loss in the year 2006 is the result of slash and burn treatment of tropical forest. When the total ground surface is stripped of vegetation and then seared of all living organisms, the upper soils are vulnerable to both wind and water erosion. In a number of regions of the earth, entire sectors of a country have been rendered unproductive. For example, on the Madagascar high central plateau, comprising approximately ten percent of that country's land area, virtually the entire landscape is sterile of vegetation, with gully erosive furrows typically in excess of 50 meters deep and one kilometer wide. Shifting cultivation is a farming system which sometimes incorporates the slash and burn method in some regions of the world. This degrades the soil and causes the soil to become less and less fertile. Approximately 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded. According to the UN, an area of fertile soil the size of Ukraine is lost every year because of drought, deforestation and climate change. In Africa, if current trends of soil degradation continue, the continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025, according to UNU's Ghana-based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa. When land is overused by animal activities (including humans), there can be mechanical erosion and also removal of vegetation leading to erosion. In the case of the animal kingdom, this effect would become material primarily with very large animal herds stampeding such as the Blue Wildebeest on the Serengeti plain. Even in this case there are broader material benefits to the ecosystem, such as continuing the survival of grasslands, that are indigenous to this region. This effect may be viewed as anomalous or a problem only when there is a significant imbalance or overpopulation of one species In the case of human use, the effects are also generally linked to overpopulation. When large number of hikers use trails or extensive off road vehicle use occurs, erosive effects often follow, arising from vegetation removal and furrowing of foot traffic and off road vehicle tires. These effects can also accumulate from a variety of outdoor human activities, again simply arising from too many people using a finite land resource. One of the most serious and long-running water erosion problems worldwide is in the People's Republic of China, on the middle reaches of the Yellow River and the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. From the Yellow River, over 1.6 billion tons of sediment flows into the ocean each year. The sediment originates primarily from water erosion in the Loess Plateau region of the northwest. The warmer atmospheric temperatures observed over the past decades are expected to lead to a more vigorous hydrological cycle, including more extreme rainfall events. In 1998 Karl and Knight reported that from 1910 to 1996 total precipitation over the contiguous U.S. increased, and that 53% of the increase came from the upper 10% of precipitation events (the most intense precipitation). The percent of precipitation coming from days of precipitation in excess of 50 mm has also increased significantly. Studies on soil erosion suggest that increased rainfall amounts and intensities will lead to greater rates of erosion. Thus, if rainfall amounts and intensities increase in many parts of the world as expected, erosion will also increase, unless amelioration measures are taken. Soil erosion rates are expected to change in response to changes in climate for a variety of reasons. The most direct is the change in the erosive power of rainfall. Other reasons include: a) changes in plant canopy caused by shifts in plant biomass production associated with moisture regime; b) changes in litter cover on the ground caused by changes in both plant residue decomposition rates driven by temperature and moisture dependent soil microbial activity as well as plant biomass production rates; c) changes in soil moisture due to shifting precipitation regimes and evapo-transpiration rates, which changes infiltration and runoff ratios; d) soil erodibility changes due to decrease in soil organic matter concentrations in soils that lead to a soil structure that is more susceptible to erosion and increased runoff due to increased soil surface sealing and crusting; e) a shift of winter precipitation from non-erosive snow to erosive rainfall due to increasing winter temperatures; f) melting of permafrost, which induces an erodible soil state from a previously non-erodible one; and g) shifts in land use made necessary to accommodate new climatic regimes. Studies by Pruski and Nearing indicated that, other factors such as land use not considered, we can expect approximately a 1.7% change in soil erosion for each 1% change in total precipitation under climate change. River eroding volcanic ash flow Alaska Southwest, Valley of Ten Thousand SmokesThe removal by erosion of large amounts of rock from a particular region, and its deposition elsewhere, can result in a lightening of the load on the lower crust and mantle. This can cause tectonic or isostatic uplift in the region. Research undertaken since the early 1990s suggests that the spatial distribution of erosion at the surface of an orogen can exert a key influence on its growth and its final internal structure. Source: (All text is available under the terms of the and .)                Skip to primary navigation Skip to main content Skip to primary sidebar Teaching Expertise Classroom Ideas Teacher’s Life Deals & Shopping Privacy Policy 20 Weathering and Erosion Activities for Kids February 10, 2023 //  by  Randi Smith If you’re coming up to your next Earth Science unit and struggling to find resources, we’ve got a treat for you! Teaching concepts like weathering and erosion in the classroom can be challenging as geological processes are topics that cannot be understood simply by reading. Erosion and weathering are perfect topics for engaging your students in hands-on learning. To help you start your planning, we’ve gathered 20 of the best weathering and erosion activities you can try in your classroom! 1. Weathering and Erosion Vocabulary Cards Beginning a new unit is the perfect time to pre-teach new vocabulary. Word walls are great tools for building vocabulary. A weathering and erosion word wall is a great way to encourage the use of academic vocabulary. Learn More: Teach Starter 2. Physical Weathering Lab This weathering station activity demonstrates physical weathering by having students observe how “rocks” (sugar cubes) become weathered by water and the shifting of other rocks (fish tank gravel). All you need is sugar cubes and a cup or bowl with rocks. Learn More: The First Grade Roundup 3. Erosion in Action with Video Labs Sometimes, materials and lab space are unavailable, so watching digital versions of demonstrations is a good option. This video shows how runoff and deposition change the area around water sources. It’s the perfect resource for demonstrating the effects of erosion. Learn More: The Good and the Beautiful Homeschool Science 4. Draw a Diagram of an Erosion Mountain This activity is a hit with students who are visual learners or budding artists. A great way for students to summarize their learning is to have them draw and label mountainous landforms, along with different examples of erosion.  Learn More: Young Naturalist’s Club 5. Create an Agents of Erosion Comic Book Engage your writers and artists with a fun combination of science, writing, and art. This fun storyboard comic strip was created using Storyboard That! We love the idea of turning geologic processes into stories. Learn More: Storyboard That! 6. Cookie Rocks- A Yummy Earth Science Station This tasty science activity helps students see the effects of different kinds of erosion. Students discover how wind erosion, water, ice, and other destructive forces change landforms using a cookie as a natural landform. This would be a sweet way for students to see how the rate. Source: E is for Explore 7. How is Soil Made?  Looking for lesson plans? Slide decks like these hold loads of information, digital science activities, and opportunities for discussion, so students learn how all of the soil on Earth is created from weathering! 8. Take a Crash Course on Erosion Vs Weathering This fun Crash Course video teaches students the differences between erosion and weathering. This video compares erosion vs weathering and shows real-world examples of erosion by water and other elements. Learn More: Crash Course Kids 9. Deposition for Kids Lesson Lab This experiment of erosion and deposition activity has students use simple materials such as soil, paint trays, and water to identify how the slope of land affects the erosion rate. Students experimented and observed how erosion differed when they changed the angle of their trays.  Learn More: Westdale Heights 10. Try a “Sweet” Rock Cycle Lab Activity While going through weathering and erosion, your students have learned that all that weathered material moves into the rock cycle. This lab activity helps students understand the rock cycle by likening three sweet treats to rock types. Learn More: Our Journey Westward 11. Starburst Rock Cycle Activity Here’s another fun activity to help your students understand how erosion and weathering feed into the rock cycle. Students use starburst candy, heat, and pressure to form three rock types. Look at that example of sedimentary rock formation! Those are some fun rock layers. Learn More: Little Bins for Little Hands 12. Beach Erosion- Landform Model A tray of sand, water, and some pebbles is all you need to build a working model of coastal erosion. With this experiment, students can see exactly how the smallest movements of water cause significant erosion. 13. Try a Chemical Weathering Experiment This experiment has students discovering how chemical weathering can affect copper using pennies and vinegar. Like the Statue of Liberty, copper pennies turn green when exposed to harsh elements. Learn More: STEAMsational 14. Virtual Field Trip  Field trips are favorites for regular and homeschooled students. See the effects of erosion and weathering in the real world by taking a virtual field trip (or a real one) to a cave system. Students can see the true effects of erosion on the landscape by seeing the landforms carved by elements.  Learn More: National Parks Service 15. Teach Students About Weathering with Salt Blocks While this video demonstrates the effects of chemical weathering on a large scale, a similar experiment could easily be implemented in the classroom with a smaller salt block. Here, students observed how a water drip caused erosion in a salt block over a day. What a great simulation of weathering! Learn More: Cobrrdrr 16. Glacial Erosion Classroom Presentation A block of ice, a stack of books, and a tray of sand are all you need to build a glacial erosion model to observe changes to the landscape. This experiment is a three-in-one demonstration of erosion, runoff, and deposition. What a great way to capture all of those NGSS science standards. Learn More: Michigan Science Center 17. Beach Erosion STEM  This fun STEM activity was built for 4th-grade students. Over a day, students are required to plan, design, build, test, and retest their design for a tool or product that prevents erosion of a sand beach.  Learn More: Anchoring Down in Second Grade 18. Blend 4th Grade Science and Cursive  This is an easy way to blend science into other subject areas. Print a set of weathering, erosion, rock cycle, and deposition worksheets to review science concepts and practice cursive writing. Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers 19. Mechanical Weathering Experiment Soil, seeds, plaster, and time are all you need to show your students the mechanical weathering process. Seeds are soaked in water, then partially embedded in a thin layer of plaster. Over time, the seeds will sprout, causing the plaster around them to crack.  Learn More: Science Matters Blog 20. Explore Windbreaks to Combat Wind Erosion This STEM activity aims to teach students about one way of preventing wind erosion–the windbreak. Using Lego bricks, students build a windbreak to help prevent their soil (tufts of yarn) from blowing away in the wind.  Learn More: Andrea Knight Sciencing_Icons_Science SCIENCE Sciencing_icons_biology biology, sciencing_icons_cells cells, sciencing_icons_molecular molecular, sciencing_icons_microorganisms microorganisms, sciencing_icons_genetics genetics, sciencing_icons_human body human body, sciencing_icons_ecology ecology, sciencing_icons_chemistry chemistry, sciencing_icons_atomic & molecular structure atomic & molecular structure, sciencing_icons_bonds bonds, sciencing_icons_reactions reactions, sciencing_icons_stoichiometry stoichiometry, sciencing_icons_solutions solutions, sciencing_icons_acids & bases acids & bases, sciencing_icons_thermodynamics thermodynamics, sciencing_icons_organic chemistry organic chemistry, sciencing_icons_physics physics, sciencing_icons_fundamentals-physics fundamentals, sciencing_icons_electronics electronics, sciencing_icons_waves waves, sciencing_icons_energy energy, sciencing_icons_fluid fluid, sciencing_icons_astronomy astronomy, sciencing_icons_geology geology, sciencing_icons_fundamentals-geology fundamentals, sciencing_icons_minerals & rocks minerals & rocks, sciencing_icons_earth scructure earth structure, sciencing_icons_fossils fossils, sciencing_icons_natural disasters natural disasters, sciencing_icons_nature nature, sciencing_icons_ecosystems ecosystems, sciencing_icons_environment environment, sciencing_icons_insects insects, sciencing_icons_plants & mushrooms plants & mushrooms, sciencing_icons_animals animals, sciencing_icons_math math, sciencing_icons_arithmetic arithmetic, sciencing_icons_addition & subtraction addition & subtraction, sciencing_icons_multiplication & division multiplication & division, sciencing_icons_decimals decimals, sciencing_icons_fractions fractions, sciencing_icons_conversions conversions, sciencing_icons_algebra algebra, sciencing_icons_working with units working with units, sciencing_icons_equations & expressions equations & expressions, sciencing_icons_ratios & proportions ratios & proportions, sciencing_icons_inequalities inequalities, sciencing_icons_exponents & logarithms exponents & logarithms, sciencing_icons_factorization factorization, sciencing_icons_functions functions, sciencing_icons_linear equations linear equations, sciencing_icons_graphs graphs, sciencing_icons_quadratics quadratics, sciencing_icons_polynomials polynomials, sciencing_icons_geometry geometry, sciencing_icons_fundamentals-geometry fundamentals, sciencing_icons_cartesian cartesian, sciencing_icons_circles circles, sciencing_icons_solids solids, sciencing_icons_trigonometry trigonometry, sciencing_icons_probability-statistics probability & statistics, sciencing_icons_mean-median-mode mean/median/mode, sciencing_icons_independent-dependent variables independent/dependent variables, sciencing_icons_deviation deviation, sciencing_icons_correlation correlation, sciencing_icons_sampling sampling, sciencing_icons_distributions distributions, sciencing_icons_probability probability, sciencing_icons_calculus calculus, sciencing_icons_differentiation-integration differentiation/integration, sciencing_icons_application application, sciencing_icons_projects projects, sciencing_icons_news news. Share Tweet Email Print Home ⋅ Science Fair Project Ideas for Kids, Middle & High School Students ⋅ Erosion Experiments for Elementary Kids What Is Soil Erosion? Erosion is one of the slowest, yet most powerful forces in nature. The immensity of the Grand Canyon is an extreme example of the effects erosion can have on its surroundings. Over millions of years, the Colorado River wore away inch after inch of the Arizona desert, producing one of the natural wonders of the world. Help elementary school students appreciate the dramatic effects that water can have on the earth through a variety of easy, yet fun classroom experiments. Wind Erosion To demonstrate wind erosion, the Oracle ThinkQuest website recommends filling a box with sand and blowing across the top. This experiment quickly shows the devastating effects of the wind on an unprotected substance. As you blow, the sand will swiftly move away from your breath, just as it would during a sandstorm. Water Erosion (Simple) If you put sand in the same box as before and then pour water on it from a bottle, you will notice the water moving the sand aside to form trenches. In nature, rain can permanently change the shape of areas that are unprotected by grass or rock. As a variation, punch holes in the bottom of your collection tray and let the water drain through the holes as you pour. Water Erosion With Ground Covering Clint Akarmann’s entry in the 2006 California State Science Fair tested the effectiveness of a variety of ground covers in protecting against water erosion. The coverings included grass, a mixture of grass and sticks, furrows against the slope, wood chips, water barriers, pine needles, rocks at the bottom, rocks spread evenly around the slope, and plain soil. He filled nine containers with soil, covered each container with one of the coverings, and then drilled holes in one end of each container. All of the containers rested on a 15-degree hill and were weighed at the same time day. The same volume of water was added twice a day. The container with just soil lost the most weight to erosion. The trays with coverings of grass, grass and sticks, wood chips, pine needles, and even rocks lost no soil to erosion during the nine-day test. Beach Formation Another experiment is to place sand in a slope at one side of a pan, and then add enough water to cover about half of it. Using a ruler, create waves that move steadily against the sand. Over time, you will see sand move from the dry part and end up under water. This will demonstrates how sandbars gradually appear. Related Articles A flood experiment to do for children, how to make sand dunes for a school project, fourth-grade weathering and erosion activities, what factors cause mechanical weathering, difference between weathering & erosion for kids, ways to stop coastal erosion, how to polish river rocks, what are the three landform regions of the middle atlantic..., four types of physical weathering, what forces cause weathering & erosion, factors affecting landforms, how to use an nsi rock tumbler, what natural activities work to break down rock, natural disasters caused by earthquakes, types of stone to control erosion, how does erosion affect landforms, are weathering & erosion harmful, why is erosion an important natural process, what are four major landforms. University of Southern California: 2006 State Science Fair Projects Scholastic: Erosion About the Author This article was written by the CareerTrend team, copy edited and fact checked through a multi-point auditing system, in efforts to ensure our readers only receive the best information. To submit your questions or ideas, or to simply learn more about CareerTrend, contact us [here](http://careertrend.com/about-us). Photo Credits Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images Find Your Next Great Science Fair Project! GO An official website of the United States government Here's how you know Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock Locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Soil Erosion Experiments About the experiment. Soil is a living and life-giving natural resource that promotes plant growth, makes a habitat for living things, and stores water.  Soil is mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organism, working together to support life. The process of weathering is the transformation of rock into soil through physical, chemical, or biological processes. Erosion is the next step in the process where soil is displaced to another location through movement caused by water, wind, and/or ice. Some of the greatest natural wonders of the U.S. including the Grand Canyon, Natural Bridges National Monument, and Devil's Tower were carved and transformed in part by erosion and deposition of soil over time. Let's Find Out How With This Project   What You'll Need Soil or Dirt of various colors and types such as sand, silt, and/or clay Trays or containers with four sections (aluminum or lined cardboard box) Clean spray bottle or water bottle Clear cup or measuring cup Pen ad Paper / Journal Let's Do This! Soil Experiment #1 Gather up a handful of four different types of soil. This can be dirt, sand, clay, silt, chalk, etc. Place the soil types in different sections of your tray.  Soil can be dry or add a little bit of water to build a landform. Draw a picture of your soils and describe the texture, color, and shape of each. Use a spray or water bottle to dribble drops of water on each soil to represent a light rain.  Record your observations, what is happening to the soil, how is it changing, if at all? Now, pour a cup of water into each soil tray to represent a heavy rain.  Record your observations, what is happening to the soil, how is it changing, if at all? Leave the tray in a secure location outside for three days, preferably when there is no rain expected. Observe the soils the same time each day and record your daily observations as it relates to erosion by wind. Soil Experiment #2 Fill one cup with water. Collect dirt clumps from two different soil types (see above). Draw a picture of the dirt clumps and write a description of each that may include but not limited to diameter, color, texture, etc. Drop one clump of dirt in the cup of water and record your observations at it relates to how the water erodes the dirt. Repeat step 4 with the other dirt clump and cup of water and record your observations. Reflection Questions How did the different soils react to the light rain, the heavy rain, and the wind? What happened to their composition? Did their color change? How did the soils maintain the water over the course of three days? How did the soils look and feel compared to the first day? Which soil(s) do you think is best to handle heavy rains or high winds? If the soils… they withstood weathering and erosion well. By comparison, if the soils…they were more vulnerable to soil and erosion. An official website of the United States government Here's how you know Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.   Facebook   Twitter   Linkedin   Digg   Reddit   Pinterest   Email Latest Earthquakes |    Chat Share Social Media   Shifting Sands: The Role of Coral Reefs in Coastal Erosion In a recently published study, researchers from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and USGS investigate how coral reefs affect shoreline erosion in the Hawaiian Islands. By analyzing decades of coastal data, the study finds that coral reefs play a crucial and complex role in coastal dynamics, offering significant protection during storm events while reducing long-term erosion in most cases. Reefs Protect Shorelines During Storms The study highlights the vital protective role that coral reefs play in safeguarding tropical beaches from erosion during storm events. Beaches shielded by coral reefs experienced 97% less beach volume loss compared to those without such protection. This finding underscores the importance of healthy coral reefs in mitigating both the destructive effects of storms—which are becoming increasingly frequent and intense due to climate change—and long-term coastal erosion. Long-Term Erosion: A Complex Picture While reefs offer short-term shoreline protection during storms, the study's long-term analyses present a more nuanced view. By examining more than 80 years of data on coastal erosion rates, bathymetry, habitat, and wave energy across Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, and Maui, researchers found that coral reef structure and wave energy significantly influence long-term shoreline erosion. Specifically, beaches protected by reefs with shallow reef crests, wide reef flats, and calm offshore conditions tend to erode more slowly over time. However, an unexpected pattern emerged when comparing historical erosion rates: coral reef-protected beaches sometimes erode up to twice as fast as their unprotected counterparts. The researchers suggest that this finding may be linked to the degradation of coral reef structures and rising sea levels, which are altering the natural equilibrium of these coastal environments. Implications for Coastal Management Coral reefs’ role in coastal erosion is complex and may require more nuanced management approaches. The researchers suggest that future studies should expand to other regions, employ advanced sediment transport models, and conduct field experiments to better understand the interplay between coral reefs and tropical shoreline dynamics.   Read the study, Shifting sands: The influence of coral reefs on shoreline erosion from short-term storm protection to long-term disequilibrium , in Nature-Based Solutions . Related content. Coral Reef Project Get our news. These items are in the RSS feed format (Really Simple Syndication) based on categories such as topics, locations, and more. You can install and RSS reader browser extension, software, or use a third-party service to receive immediate news updates depending on the feed that you have added. If you click the feed links below, they may look strange because they are simply XML code. An RSS reader can easily read this code and push out a notification to you when something new is posted to our site. Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program News Natural Hazards Mission Area News Natural Hazards News Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center News Erosion Experiment The theme for this week’s Storybook Science posts is Earth and Space Science. We read In the Canyon and were inspired to learn more about erosion. This simple erosion experiment is a fun way to explore water, wind, and glacial erosion. Do you know which one formed the Grand Canyon?   Affiliate links are included in this post. Clicking on the book titles or covers will take you to Amazon. In the Canyon This experiment looks at 3 types of erosion: water, wind, and glacial. Erosion occurs when the Earth’s surface is worn away. The Grand Canyon was formed by water erosion. Can wind and glacial erosion make a big impact, too? Materials Needed: 3 containers of soil (shoe box size works well) Spray bottle of water Pile soil onto one side of each of the containers to make a slope (or hill). Simulate water erosion by using a spray bottle of water. Spray the water onto the top of the soil in one container. What happens to the water? What happens to the soil? The picture below shows what happened for us. The water ran down the hill and pushed some of the soil out of the way. It carved a channel in the dirt. Simulate wind erosion by using a straw. Blow air through the straw onto the top of the hill. What happens to the soil? Does it move? The picture below shows our results. The wind moved the soil down the hill. You can try this experiment without the hill, too. What happens if you have flat soil? Will the soil still be moved by the wind? What happens if you add trees or other structures? Do you get the same amount of erosion? Simulate glacial erosion using ice cubes. Place a few ice cubes at the top of the hill. What will happen when you push them down the hill? The picture below shows our results. The ice moved quite a bit of soil down the hill – more than our water or wind. What would happen if the soil were flat here? Would the ice still be able to move it as much? This simple erosion experiment lets kids see the effects of water, wind, and ice on the soil. Storybook Science Series This post is also a part of the Storybook Science series . Every day in March, bloggers will be sharing science activities inspired by a book. Be sure to follow along! Subscribe to the Inspiration Laboratories weekly newsletter. Each issue has exclusive hands-on science explorations for children, a recap of our latest activities, and special resources selected just for you! Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. © 2024 Inspiration Laboratories Science Center: Home Experiments For Kids Explore soil erosion and how plants purify our water. Parental Note : This experiment is geared towards ages 8 and up . Additional Note : This experiment will take roughly one hour to set up the project and make observations. Adult assistance is required to cut soda bottles, collect soil, mulch, leaves and grass (with roots attached). This experiment can be done inside our outside, but it recommended to perform outside since water and dirt may spill in the process. Experiment Overview: Waves, wind, water, and glaciers shape and reshape Earth’s surface by gradually wearing away ( eroding ) the rocks and soil. Through these processes, the material that makes up Earth’s crust is moved from one place to another. When it rains, water that is not used by plants or dried up by the sun slowly flows through the topsoil downhill into nearby water basins (lakes, rivers, streams, aquifers, etc.). When the flow of water is slow, land changes and erosion occur very slowly over time. If the flow of water in the topsoil is rapid, then changes to the landscape may occur rapidly as well. One example of this rapid movement of topsoil is a landslide . Soil is rich in nutrients, detritus (dead organic matter such as wood chips and leaves) and sometimes may even contain harmful pesticides (man-made chemicals to control weeds and insects). All of these things contained in soil can be carried by land runoff and eventually pollute our waterways that we rely on drinking water. In areas where the land is poorly managed, too much soil erosion can occur which leads to poor water quality. In this activity you will explore how water runoff affects the transport of topsoil and water quality under different land conditions. You will compare the following conditions: 1) soil with rooted grass, 2) loose soil only, and 3) soil with detritus. Before beginning, think about the following questions and write down your predictions: When you pour clean water into each of the three soda bottles, what do you think will happen to the water after it passes through the bottle with only loose soil? How about the bottle with soil and detritus? And the bottle with soil and rooted grass? Experiment Materials: 3 soda bottles 3 clear plastic cups 2 Ziplock bags Small garden shovel A 5 inch x 3 inch rectangle of grass (with roots and soil in tact) Stool or rectangular container that can fit all 3 bottles side-by-side and lift them 3-5 inches off ground Experiment Process: Collect loose soil and detritus (leaves, wood chips, twigs, etc.) and place in separate ziplock bags or containers. With assistance from an adult, use a small garden shovel or other sharp tool to cut out a 5 inch x 3 inch rectangle of grass with roots and soil attached and place in a bag or container. With assistance from an adult, use scissors to cut a large rectangle out of the side of each soda bottle. Place the bottles on their sides on a stool or upside-down container to lift them a few inches off of the ground. Place a clear plastic cup under the neck of each bottle. If the cup is too tall for water to pour into it from the soda bottle, then use scissors to trim the plastic cup and make it shorter. Make sure you don’t cut the cups too short – they need to have enough room to hold the water you will pour into the soda bottles. Fill one soda bottle with loose soil, one with a thin layer of soil and a top layer of detritus, and another with a thin layer of soil and a top layer of grass with roots. Press down on the grass and detritus so they are packed firmly into their containers. Leave the soil loose in the soda bottle that contains only soil in order to represent the type of soil found on deforested land. Pour water very slowly from a pitcher into each soda bottle and watch as the water passes through the soil and flows into the water reservoir (plastic cup). Try to cover the entire surface rather than just pouring the water in one spot. Observe how much soil erodes from each container and flows into the plastic cups. Share Your Results: Which soil condition had the least amount of runoff? Which had the most? Why? Conclusions: Erosion occurs more slowly when soil contains both living plants and detritus. This is because plants slow down water as it flows over the land, allowing much of the rain to soak into the ground. The branches and leaves of living plants also soften the fall of rain drops so that they do not hit the ground too hard and break apart the soil. The roots of plants also hold soil together and make it harder to erode. Detritus can protect soil from increased erosion by covering and protecting the soil beneath it. Similar to the leaves on living trees, the dead leaves on the ground on top of soil can soften the fall of rain drops so they cannot easily loosen up and carry away the soil. As detritus falls in many layers on top of the soil, it weighs down on the soil and makes it more compact (dense or compressed). Compaction makes it harder for runoff to carry the soil away with it. Loose soil, such as soil found in deforested areas, can be moved much more easily. Human activities such as cutting down trees/removing vegetation or disturbing the ground (e.g. mining), are activities that may increase erosion. As you saw in your experiment with the soda bottles, when we remove too many plants from an ecosystem, there can be negative side effects such as reduced water quality. When the water flowed into the plastic cups, you may have noticed a difference in the color of the water coming out of the soda bottles. The soda bottle that had the plants should have produced the clearest water in the plastic cup because the shoots of grass protected the soil below from the water falling from above, and also because the upper layer of soil is held together by the roots of the plants. You May Also Like Looking Ahead: 4 Predictions About the Future of Renewable Energy An Overview of Conscious Consumerism & Why it’s an Important Movement Challenges of Sustainable Living (And How to Overcome Them) Want to learn more about community solar. Our solar specialists can provide a free consultation. Most Popular Posts Additional Resources Community Solar 101 Solar Glossary Bright Ideas Blog Experimental study on shear behavior of marine sands subjected to acidic conditions Original Paper Published: 27 August 2024 Volume 83 , article number  368 , ( 2024 ) Cite this article Jie Tan 1 , Feifan Ren 2 , 3 & Yuan Gao 4   98 Accesses Explore all metrics Acidic contaminants are one of the major pollutants that penetrate the soil through various pathways, such as breaking pipes, factory effluents, and chemical leakages. In this study, systematic static and cyclic simple shear tests were performed to explore the behavior of marine sands subjected to acidic conditions, considering the influences of the different cyclic stress ratios and acid erosion durations. The peak shear strength, pore pressure, deformation, stiffness degradation, damping ratio, and liquefaction resistance were investigated. Test results show that increasing the acid erosion duration causes an increase in the monotonic peak shear strength, a decrease in the rate of pore pressure build-up, and enhances the liquefaction resistance of marine sands. The liquefaction resistance of tested marine sands subjected to acid erosion is about 1-1.2 times greater than that of sands without acid erosion. On this basis, a modified model was established to predict the pore pressure generation of marine sands, and an assessment method of the liquefaction resistance suitable for marine sands that is independent of the acid erosion duration was obtained, providing an effective means for early evaluation of soil liquefaction in engineering practice. Furthermore, by carrying out an energy-based assessment of liquefaction behavior, a unique correlation between various cyclic behaviors and dissipated energy was revealed, indicating the potential applicability of the energy-based method for evaluating the characteristics of marine sands even under acidic conditions. This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access. Access this article Subscribe and save. Get 10 units per month Download Article/Chapter or eBook 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter Cancel anytime Price includes VAT (Russian Federation) Instant access to the full article PDF. Rent this article via DeepDyve Institutional subscriptions Similar content being viewed by others Effective Stress Change and Cyclic Resistance of Saturated Sands Under Uniform and Irregular Cyclic Shears Pore-Pressure Generation of Sands Subjected to Cyclic Simple Shear Loading: An Energy Approach On the mechanical damage to tailings sands subjected to dry–wet cycles Explore related subjects. Geoengineering Data availability Data will be made available on request. Alibeiki Y, Hassanlourad M, Ghasemipanah A (2022) Effect of acidic and alkaline pore fluid on the mechanical properties of fine-grained soil. B Eng Geol Environ 81(12):1–22 Article   Google Scholar   Andrade JE, Ramos AM, Lizcano A (2013) Criterion for flow liquefaction instability. Acta Geotech 8(5):525–535 Asadi MS, Asadi MB, Orense RP, Pender MJ (2018) Undrained cyclic behavior of reconstituted natural pumiceous sands. 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Department of Geotechnical Engineering, College of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China Key Laboratory of Geotechnical and Underground Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Geotechnical Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China State Key Laboratory of Disaster Reduction in Civil Engineering, College of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China School of Automotive Studies & Clean Energy Automotive Engineering Centre, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar Corresponding author Correspondence to Feifan Ren . Ethics declarations Competing interest. The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Additional information Publisher’s note. Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Rights and permissions Reprints and permissions About this article Tan, J., Ren, F. & Gao, Y. Experimental study on shear behavior of marine sands subjected to acidic conditions. Bull Eng Geol Environ 83 , 368 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-024-03862-z Download citation Received : 24 April 2024 Accepted : 12 August 2024 Published : 27 August 2024 DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-024-03862-z Share this article Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative Marine sands Acidic conditions Liquefaction resistance Dissipated energy Simple shear tests Find a journal Publish with us Track your research 411 IMAGES Common Core and So Much More: Erosion and Landforms Science Activity Weathering and Erosion for 3rd grade! Check out this fun science video Sand Erosion Experiment Erosion Experiment ~ full lesson plans for a complete 2 day science Beach Erosion Project Erosion Experiments 2Nd Grade VIDEO GN 031 Blender Sand Pile E #sandpile #geometrynodes #erosion GN 031 Blender Sand Pile D #sandpile #geometrynodes #erosion Soil Erosion Experiment #scienceexperiment #science #soilerosion Sand erosion forces Train concert to move indoors Tsunami Sand Dam Breach Sand Erosion At Miramar Beach, Goa COMMENTS Beach Erosion Project How To Set Up A Beach Erosion Model. STEP 1: Add about 5 cups of sand to one side of your pan. You will want to build it up on a slope so that when water is added some of the sand is higher. STEP 2: Place some rocks or shells in the sand for a beach theme! STEP 3: Fill a small bottle with water, add a drop of blue food coloring, shake and pour ... Beaches and Sand Science Projects Using sugar cubes, students experiment to see how weathering and sand are related. 4. Building Beaches. In the Building Beaches activity, students model a beach using a small tray filled with sand and water and investigate erosion and how beach formations like headlands appear. Coastal Erosion Ocean Science Experiment Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land from processes such as waves and other actions that remove sand, sediment, and bedrock. This ocean experiment allows you to visualize coastal erosion. This experiment uses water to create erosion but wind is also another contributor to coastal erosion. Storms, currents, and even ice are other ... Erosion Experiment Let's find out in this erosion experiment. In some parts of the world, houses are still made from mud and sand, which makes them easier to knock down than homes made of brick and stone. To understand how these materials can (and should) be used to make homes, you'll need to explore how they stand up to the elements. Download Project. Shoreline Science: Exploring the Erosive Energy of Waves Continual erosion of the shoreline by waves also changes the beach over time. One change that erosion can cause is the appearance of a headland. This is land that juts out from the coastline and ... Science Experiment: Modeling Beach Erosion Beach erosion often occurs when storms bring great waves ashore to loosen the sandy soil of the coastline and wash it into the sea. Florida's beaches were stable for thousands of years. While storms may have taken some coastal materials seaward, the waves also brought sand ashore. Nature's balance of forces created and sustained our famous ... Soil Erosion Experiment Erosion occurs when water washes away dirt, rock, or sand. Erosion happens everyday during man-made events, rainfall, and in the ocean. You have probably seen how people try to defend against erosion by placing large rocks near the edge of a river, lake, or the ocean to try to stop water from washing away the land. Scientists Develop "Shockingly" Simple Solution To Combat Coastal Erosion An artistic impression of how electricity could be used to strengthen coastlines. Credit: Northwestern University. A new method developed by Northwestern University uses electrical currents to solidify marine sand, creating durable, rock-like structures that could replace costly traditional coastal defenses like sea walls.. Researchers from Northwestern University have demonstrated that a zap ... Building Beaches The erosion of rock formations in the water, coral reefs, and headlands create rock particles that the waves move onshore, offshore, and along the shore, creating the beach. Continual erosion of the shoreline by waves also changes the beach over time. When larger and stronger waves hit the shoreline, such as in a storm, more shoreline is eroded. Erosion in a Bottle Erosion in a Bottle Activity Source: Source: Soil Science Society of America. Adapted with permission. Soil erosion is the process of moving soil by water or wind — this happens naturally or through human interference. Preventing soil erosion is important because nutrients are lost, and sediment that accumulates in waterways impacts life there. Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition Experiment What is the difference between weathering and erosion? And what is deposition? Discover the definitions and impacts of all three of these important processes... Science Experiment Forces of nature like wind, rain, and ice can all cause soil erosion. In this experiment, you'll see how these natural patterns weather your soil landscape in different ways. Materials. Steps. In each container, pour soil up against one side, creating a sloped pile. In the first container, simulate water erosion by spraying water over the soil. How electrified beaches could save our shores from devastating erosion In their laboratory experiments, the team applied mild electrical currents (ranging from 2 to 4 volts) to seawater-saturated sand. The results, published in Communications Earth & Environment, were nothing short of miraculous.The electricity triggered chemical reactions that converted naturally occurring ions and minerals in the seawater into solid calcium carbonate—the same stuff seashells ... Water Erosion Science Experiment: Save the Lighthouse! Procedure: 1. Fill the top two-thirds of a paint pan liner with sand. The sand we used is for hermit crabs from the pet department at Walmart, however regular sand is ideal. 2. Press the sand to form a "shoreline". The sand should be about 2 or 3 inches deep. 3. Gently pour water into the pan filling the bottom half. Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition Sand Demo This Demonstration shows weathering, erosion, and deposition in action as you pour water over the sand in a simple yet effective classroom demonstration. Wat... Electrodeposition of calcareous cement from seawater in marine silica The erosion of marine sediments is a pressing issue for coastal areas worldwide. ... R. G. Beach Nourishment: ... Skafel, M. G. & Bishop, C. T. Flume experiments on the erosion of till shores by ... Stream Table Erosion Lab Stream table experiment TIPS. These stream tables are obviously much shorter than the typical ones you can order from science suppliers. That limits the amount of erosion that can take place. Here are some tips to help them work the best: Start with wet sand, and pack it down tight. If the sand is dry, it will all run down without creating a ... MIT Self-Assembly Lab and Invena are protecting coasts in the ... The organizations' second field experiment - in which biodegradable bladders filled with sand were submerged to accumulate sand - kicked off in the Maldives in October 2019. Erosion Science Experiment With Grass 1. Place tightly packed clumps of sand, dirt, and grass/dirt into the foil pan. 2. Add water to a measuring cup. Make your predictions. Which pile - sand, dirt, or grass/dirt - will stand up to erosion the best? 3. Gently and slowly pour water over each of the piles. 4. Fighting Coastal Erosion with Electricity In laboratory experiments, a mild electrical current instantaneously changed the structure of marine sand, transforming it into a rock-like, immoveable solid. The researchers are hopeful this strategy could offer a lasting, inexpensive and sustainable solution for strengthening global coastlines. Erosion Experiments for Lesson Plans & Science Fair Projects Erosion K-12 experiments & background information for lesson plans, class activities & science fair projects for elementary, middle and high school students. ... Another type of erosion is called Decomposition and is when waves wash away sand and other material from cliffs or beaches. Soil erosion can be prevented several ways. 20 Awesome Erosion Activities Sand Erosion. In this hands-on experiment, students will utilize sandpaper to imitate wind erosion on a soft rock like limestone, calcite, or a similar stone. They can compare the original to the new "sanded-down" version to complete the scientific analysis. Learn More: Berkley. 3. Weathering, Erosion, or Deposition Sorting Activity 20 Weathering and Erosion Activities for Kids A tray of sand, water, and some pebbles is all you need to build a working model of coastal erosion. With this experiment, students can see exactly how the smallest movements of water cause significant erosion. Learn More: Little Bins for Little Hands. 13. Try a Chemical Weathering Experiment. This experiment has students discovering how ... Erosion Experiments for Elementary Kids Erosion is one of the slowest, yet most powerful forces in nature. The immensity of the Grand Canyon is an extreme example of the effects erosion can have on its surroundings. ... Another experiment is to place sand in a slope at one side of a pan, and then add enough water to cover about half of it. Using a ruler, create waves that move ... Soil Erosion Experiments Soil Experiment #1. Gather up a handful of four different types of soil. This can be dirt, sand, clay, silt, chalk, etc. Place the soil types in different sections of your tray. Soil can be dry or add a little bit of water to build a landform. Draw a picture of your soils and describe the texture, color, and shape of each. Shifting Sands: The Role of Coral Reefs in Coastal Erosion In a recently published study, researchers from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and USGS investigate how coral reefs affect shoreline erosion in the Hawaiian Islands. By analyzing decades of coastal data, the study finds that coral reefs play a crucial and complex role in coastal dynamics, offering significant protection during storm events while reducing long-term erosion in most cases. Erosion Experiment Erosion Experiment. This experiment looks at 3 types of erosion: water, wind, and glacial. Erosion occurs when the Earth's surface is worn away. The Grand Canyon was formed by water erosion. Can wind and glacial erosion make a big impact, too? Materials Needed: 3 containers of soil (shoe box size works well) Spray bottle of water; Straw; Ice Soil Erosion Science Experiment With this science experiment, discover the effects of water runoff from different soil conditions. Soil erosion can be caused by waves, wind, water, & more. With this science experiment, discover the effects of water runoff from different soil conditions. Call Now to Join Your Solar Farm: 1-866-541-4177. Sand Erosion Experiments and Model Development for UNS ... Direct impact erosion experiments forUNS N06625 cladding and UNS S32750 were conducted using sand particles carriedby air at ambient temperature and pressure. The sand particle sizes ranged from27 µm to 619 µm, sand particle velocities from about 25 m/s to 160 m/s, andimpact angles from 15° to 90°. Experimental study on shear behavior of marine sands subjected to Acidic contaminants are one of the major pollutants that penetrate the soil through various pathways, such as breaking pipes, factory effluents, and chemical leakages. In this study, systematic static and cyclic simple shear tests were performed to explore the behavior of marine sands subjected to acidic conditions, considering the influences of the different cyclic stress ratios and acid ... essay homework paper phd project resume review speech study thesis