Abstract
By examining the initial stages of the impact of a granular jet on a flat horizontal solid surface we evidenced the existence of oscillatory sand fronts. These oscillations give rise to a novel mechanism for the formation of ripples on sand surfaces. We here show that as the front advances, its slope changes periodically in time, leaving behind a succession of surface elevations and depressions. A key feature of these oscillations is the interplay between the deposition of mobile sand and the avalanching of the static parts giving rise to a remarkable self-regulating system. These features come out naturally from a simplified version of recently proposed models for the dynamics of sand piles.