Nicole Sharp<p><strong>A Sandy Spine</strong></p><p>Where sea and sand meet, Gaia’s spine rises. Photographer Satheesh Nair captured this striking image in western Australia, where wind and wave action have dragged a dune into vertebrae-like cusps. Notice how the size and shape of the curves differs between the under- and above-water sections. Those differences reflect the differing forces that shape them — just water for one set, water and air for the other. (Image credit: <a href="https://internationalaerialphotographer.com/index.php/archive/2025-awards-book?43" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">S. Nair/IAPOTY</a>; via <a href="https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2025/07/international-aerial-photo-contest/?__readwiseLocation=" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Colossal</a>)</p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/beach-cusps/" target="_blank">#beachCusps</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluid-dynamics/" target="_blank">#fluidDynamics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluids-as-art/" target="_blank">#fluidsAsArt</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/ocean-waves/" target="_blank">#oceanWaves</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/physics/" target="_blank">#physics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/science/" target="_blank">#science</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/sediment-transport/" target="_blank">#sedimentTransport</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/sedimentation/" target="_blank">#sedimentation</a></p>