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ENV3110 Dryland Environments GY3091 Californian Drylands GY3102 Geomorphology of Desert Environments. Aeolian Geomorphology. Why are aeolian processes so important in drylands?. Windier? More sediment? Greater sediment availability?. Deflation and Abrasion.
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ENV3110Dryland EnvironmentsGY3091Californian DrylandsGY3102Geomorphology of Desert Environments Aeolian Geomorphology ENV 3110 ~ Aeolian Geomorphology
Why are aeolian processes so important in drylands? • Windier? • More sediment? • Greater sediment availability? ENV 3110 ~ Aeolian Geomorphology
Deflation and Abrasion • Deflation: the removal by the wind of loose clastic particles • Abrasion: erosion by the wind of cohesive materials as a consequence of bombardment by wind-tranported particles ENV 3110 ~ Aeolian Geomorphology
Landforms of wind erosion • Ventifact • Yardang • Pan • Stone pavement ENV 3110 ~ Aeolian Geomorphology
What are these? ENV 3110 ~ Aeolian Geomorphology
Yardang • A mound composed of generally cohesive sediment whose surface has been abraded (and perhaps deflated) by the wind into an aerodynamic shape ENV 3110 ~ Aeolian Geomorphology
What is this? ENV 3110 ~ Aeolian Geomorphology
Stone pavement • A pebbly covering of a finer soil, which may be formed partly in some circumstances by deflation of finer material ENV 3110 ~ Aeolian Geomorphology
Stone Pavement ENV 3110 ~ Aeolian Geomorphology
Classification of dunes ENV 3110 ~ Aeolian Geomorphology
Fundamental Desert Sand Dune Types Dune type Wind Regime Mode of Transport Transverse Linear Star Unimodal Bimodal Complex Migrating Extending Sedentary ENV 3110 ~ Aeolian Geomorphology
Complete the diagram ... (Wasson & Hyde 1983) ENV 3110 ~ Aeolian Geomorphology
Dust storms and dust haze ENV 3110 ~ Aeolian Geomorphology
Why so little work on dust until the 1980s? • Erosion of dust often leaves little clear evidence of occurrence. • Deposition of dust does not produce distinctive landforms. Often it leaves only thin, widespread mantles. ENV 3110 ~ Aeolian Geomorphology
Loess “A terrestrial windblown silt” (Pye, 1987, p.199) • commonly 50-75% quartz; • commonly buff colour, but also grey, red, brown, yellow; ENV 3110 ~ Aeolian Geomorphology
Loess • typically modal size around 20-40 μm (sand content >20% termed “sandy loess”) • Syn- and post-depositional reworking is common; • angular and sub-angular grains. ENV 3110 ~ Aeolian Geomorphology
Smalley & Krinsley (1978, p. 63) • “Glacial grinding is the only natural process which efficiently converts sand-sized quartz particles totally into a silt-sized product.” ENV 3110 ~ Aeolian Geomorphology
Chinese loess ENV 3110 ~ Aeolian Geomorphology
Mapping loess occurrence 1984 ENV 3110 ~ Aeolian Geomorphology
Mapping loess occurrence 1988 ENV 3110 ~ Aeolian Geomorphology
Peridesert loess: Matmata Plateau, Tunisia ENV 3110 ~ Aeolian Geomorphology