Overview

• The peer-reviewed results were published on August 26, 2025, in Nature Communications.
• A simultaneous three-directional X-ray setup, paired with bespoke tracking algorithms, produced the first real-time 3D maps of internal grain velocities.
• Laboratory experiments pushed glass beads on a conveyor against a wall, exposing vortices beneath surface bumps and dips.
• The confirmed subsurface swirls could influence the acceleration of avalanches and landslides, with potential applications in construction, silo operations, and planetary soil studies.
• DynamiX was developed over about five years and is described by the team as likely unique, with follow-up research set to determine what drives the flows and to develop quantitative models.