Sun-loving sand critters found on Melbourne beach could power future green energy

Michael Bourke with sand at Middle
Park beach. Each grain of sand
would host hundreds of micro-algae.

Next time you're lying on the beach soaking up the rays, spare a thought for the sun-loving algae hiding in the grains of sand beneath you.

By lying on the sand you are denying these critters sunlight, and to survive the microalgae have to hold their collective breath until they see the light again.

Sand is full of microalgae called diatoms. The algae can survive in harsh environments - ones in which it is continuously churned by the sea or covered by sunbathers. The algae are nothing if not adaptive: they can be at the top of the pile soaking up light one minute and buried in the dark the next.

Now Monash University researchers have found that the microscopic algae living in sand from Middle Park beach are an unlikely source of hydrogen gas, a key ingredient for those developing clean energy alternatives.

Read Bridie Smith’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Sun-loving sand critters found on Melbourne beach could power future green energy.”