Presence, Absence, Transience: The Spatiotemporalities of Sand

Sand grains are ubiquitous in the Earth’s system, and found different environmental settings globally, but sand itself as a physical object has multiple conflicting meanings with respect to both its agglomeration into landforms such dunes beaches, how dynamics have cultural significance meaning. This study takes transdisciplinary approach towards examining of sand, focusing on spatiotemporal pheneomenon that exists contexts within Earth system. The nature spatiotemporalities framed this through concepts presence, absence transience, which key interpretive approaches lie at interface phenomenological worlds interact each other. is new innovative understanding people–environment relationships. These then discussed using examples values ascribed desert dune sandy beach landscapes, drawn from locations globally. show dynamic geomorphic changes taking place landscapes (sandscapes) by erosion deposition (determining presence landscapes) pose challenges for ways people make sense of, locate, value these landscapes. uncertainty arises constant change (the transience sandscapes) highlights sandscapes can hold, represents comforting yet also unsettling vivid symbol human–Earth