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Scientist Figures Out How Those Big-Ass 'Sailing Stones' Move Themselves Across Death Valley
You base your arguments on the point that all stones move at the same time, therefore they should have tracks going in the same direction if wind is the reason. It's probably not that common for the stones to freeze and float away, so some stones may freeze and move, making tracks as they go, while others are at rest. At a later point, they may also freeze, but the winds is blowing in a different direction.
I wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with the thawing characteristics of ice underneath the rock as the rock is heated by the morning sun. Still hard to believe it would cause this phenomenon, but a lot more reasonable imo.
Give it a minute, you'll get it.
Seems like the mystery remains...
http://www.desertusa.com/dv/du_dvpmap.html
and of course there's one major problem with that whole idea of the wind moving the rocks while they are floating or sitting or otherwise. wind only blows one way at a time. the rocks are moving in all different directions. if the wind was in play, and strong enough to move a 700lb "race rock" then all the smaller rocks would have been moved in the same direction over different distances. but they are not, they all move random directions. to make it more so, smaller rocks have been documented with shorter race trails than larger ones in the same area, meaning that either the wind is selective in that area or there are just no laws of the universe on that playa...
this cats got a good hypothesis, there are more holes in it than a block of swiss cheese, but its a good hypothesis...