10. The Microscopic Marvels of Star Sand Beach, Iriomote Island, Japan
On the far-off and verdant Iriomote Island at the southernmost points of Japan's Okinawa Prefecture, there appears to be stardust sprinkled over a beach. Renowned for its unusual sand composition—which includes innumerable small star-shaped particles that have enthralled both visitors and researchers for decades—Star Sand Beach, often known as Hoshizuna-no-Hama, is Usually measuring between 0.5 to 1.5 millimetres in diameter and hardly visible to the unaided eye, these small stars are the fossilised remains of microscopic marine life that lived in the nearby seas millions of years ago rather than the result of some cosmic event. Actually the exoskeletons of Foraminifera, a type of single-celled protist that has lived in Earth's waters for hundreds of millions of years, the star-shaped particles that give Star Sand Beach its name and appeal. Specifically, a species known as Baculogypsina sphaerulata creates complex, star-shaped shells to guard its soft body, hence forming the stars. Their delicate calcium carbonate shells drop to the ocean floor where they gather over long stretches of time after these creatures pass death. These microscopic fossils have arrived on the coast of Iriomote Island through the slow processes of sedimentation and uplift, mingling with more conventional sand particles to produce a somewhat distinctive beach habitat. These star-shaped fossils, so plentiful, provide a physical link to the prehistoric past and indicate the great biodiversity of the ancient oceans that formerly covered this area. Many times, visitors to Star Sand Beach spend hours sifting the sand under magnifying lenses in quest of ideal specimens of these small stars. Finding these little wonders fosters a strong link to the great spans of geological time and the complex processes of life that have moulded our planet over millions of years.
