"Sand shortage"## Introduction
The phrase "there will be a shortage of sand" sounds quite incredible, because in our opinion, sand is a very common resource, and there is a lot of sand in beaches, deserts, river beaches, etc., so there is no shortage of sand, right?
But people ignore that river sand, as a commonly used building material, is far more scarce than we think.
"The shortage of river sand will even jeopardize the world's construction plans", this is the conclusion of a construction expert named Vikrom Viaji after a survey of river sand resources in 2019, so why is there a shortage of river sand and how can it be solved in the future?
1. The formation process of sand.
Sand tends to be a material with smaller particles and lighter texture, so sand is also the most common substance that people come into contact with, but the sources of sand are very diverse.
Generally speaking, sand is a material formed by natural weathering processes such as wind erosion and water erosion of mineral particles such as stones and ores, so the sources of sand are also very wide, which can be various types of rocks and various types of ores, etc., so the color, hardness and other characteristics of sand are very diverse, which is extremely suitable for use as a commonly used building material.
The process of sand formation is also extremely complex, and generally speaking, the formation process of sand is roughly divided into four stages: concentration, transport, sedimentation and diagenesis, and these four stages are characterized by the fact that the size of the mineral particles will increase from large to small and the hardness will also increase from large to small over time.
Next, we will take a closer look at the process of sand formation: Concentration: Mineral particles are condensed together to form clumps of mineral particles such as gravel, and this stage is generally due to the formation of a large number of mineral particles at the same time and attached together, so that a coarser gravel is formed.
However, the hardness of crushed stone is often high, which is not conducive to subsequent utilization, so we need to further process the crushed stone to make the size and hardness of the stone moderate.
Transport: After the mineral particles are condensed, they will be transported to other places, and this stage is generally due to the transportation of rivers, lakes, oceans and other places, so the mineral particles will be transported, resulting in uneven distribution of mineral particles.
Therefore, in this process, the particles of sand gradually become smaller, forming materials such as grit, which are suitable for use as building materials.
Sedimentation: Mineral particles will be gradually deposited after transport, this stage is generally due to the gradual decrease in the flow rate of rivers, lakes, oceans and other places, so it is impossible to continue to transport mineral particles, which will lead to the gradual deposition of mineral particles to the bottom of the water, forming the accumulation of mineral particles.
At this stage, the size of the mineral particles will continue to decrease, so that the sand can be used as a high-quality building material.
Diagenesis: Mineral particles will gradually form rocks after deposition, this stage is generally caused by crustal movement and other reasons, so the time of this stage is very long, but after the passage of time, mineral particles will gradually form rocks, and such rocks are more suitable for use as building materials.
2. Composition characteristics of sand from different sources.
Sand is formed from mineral particles from different sources, so the composition of sand also varies, but roughly speaking, the composition of sand is almost all silicate minerals, which are a mineral formed by silicon-oxygen clusters and metal ions such as lithium, aluminum, and sodium, which tend to be lighter in texture and less hard, making them ideal for use as a building material.
Therefore, in the process of modern construction, various types of sand can be used as building materials, but the hardness, toughness, color and other characteristics of sand from different sources will be different.
Generally speaking, materials such as sandstone and gravel are widely used in modern construction processes, and these two slag materials have relatively high hardness and toughness, but they are also more brittle, so they need to be used with extra care.
Moreover, the color of materials such as gravel will also be different due to the composition of minerals, and this material can completely retain the original color and texture in the construction process, so it is suitable for the use of decorative materials; Materials such as grit have smaller particles, making them suitable for use as building materials.
3. The importance of sand to human beings.
Sand is a very important resource because it can be used as a building material, so in the process of human industrialization, sand is widely used, but since the resources of sand are not endless.
Therefore, people often choose to use nearby resources in the process of using sand, so sand often does not become a scarce resource, but with the process of urbanization is getting faster and faster, people's demand for river sand is also increasing, so it leads to the scarcity of river sand, and even leads to the situation that sand will become a strategic resource.
In China, river sand has always been a very important resource, because river sand can be used as a building material, so in the process of urbanization in the mainland, sand and gravel and other materials are widely used, so the resources of sand and gravel are gradually scarce, and even lead to the situation that the price of sand and gravel rises.
With the increasing demand for river sand, people's exploitation of sand and gravel and other resources will become more and more rampant, which will lead to the scarcity of river sand more serious.
The scarcity of river sand can have a serious damaging effect on the environment, because river sand is an important riverbed particle in the river, which can maintain the stability of the river, and once the river sand in the riverbed is overexploited, it will cause the riverbed to become abnormally low-lying, which will cause the siltation of the river water, and also cause the sediment of the river to increase.
This will directly lead to the rise of the water level of the river, greatly increasing the frequency of floods, so the shortage of river sand caused by the damage to the river is very serious, so in order to avoid the shortage of river sand, we need to reduce the use of river sand from the source, and at the same time, we also need to regulate the mining behavior of river sand to avoid the destruction of the river bed.
epilogue
The problem of sand shortage has not been solved, but as the sand shortage in the river affects people more and more, we need to come up with a solution as soon as possible.
We need to gradually reduce the amount of river sand we need to use, and we also need to gradually find new materials to replace the sand.
In this way, we will be able to maintain the stability of the riverbed and avoid the crisis of sand shortage.