Desert sands (6)
I believe the answer is:
strand
I believe this clue is a double definition.
'desert' is the first definition.
(I know that strand is a more specific form of the action desert)
'sands' is the second definition.
(thesaurus)
(Other definitions for strand that I've seen before include "Beach - fibre" , "string" , "Single piece of hair, rope etc" , "Drive (ship) aground" , "Beach; London road" .)