The Colourful Sands of Sussex

This week, among many other things, the staff at our East Grinstead laboratory have been conducting testing on sand samples for several clients including an English Geological Survey and a local quarry in the Horsham Stone. Samples have been subjected to a number of tests including PSD (Particle Size Distribution), and Particle Shape (Angularity & Sphericity) & Colour.

These relatively simple but fundamental tests can provide a surprising amount of information. Combined with field observations, such testing can provide geologists and engineers armed with a knowledge of sedimentology insights into the conditions under which the sediment was deposited. Weather a beach, braided river, glacial moraine or a delta, understanding the palaeo-environment is often key to characterising the geology of a site, enabling geoenvironmental and geotechnical problems to be solved.

The photographs of some of the samples below display very effectively the beautiful variety of colour exhibited by sands from the geology of Sussex and other counties across southern England.