Grain surface features in environmental determination of late Quaternary deposits in New South Wales

Grain surfaces of quartz from the modern sands of the Newcastle-Port Stephens area were examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy. The beach sand grains are characterized primarily by mechanical features, and chemical action is minor. Comparison of surface textures of quartz grains from beach deposits of Pleistocene and Holocene age reveals that post-depositional changes in the areas not affected by podzolization are not significant to alter substantially the mechanical features inherited from the beach environment.