A comparison of methods used to estimate the height of sand dunes on Mars   总被引：1，自引：2，他引：1  

M.C. Bourke  M. Balme  R.A. Beyer  K.K. Williams  J. Zimbelman   《Geomorphology》2006,81(3-4):440-452

The collection of morphometric data on small-scale landforms from other planetary bodies is difficult. We assess four methods that can be used to estimate the height of aeolian dunes on Mars. These are (1) stereography, (2) slip face length, (3) profiling photoclinometry, and (4) Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA). Results show that there is good agreement among the methods when conditions are ideal. However, limitations inherent to each method inhibited their accurate application to all sites. Collectively, these techniques provide data on a range of morphometric parameters, some of which were not previously available for dunes on Mars. They include dune height, width, length, surface area, volume, and longitudinal and transverse profiles. The utilization of these methods will facilitate a more accurate analysis of aeolian dunes on Mars and enable comparison with dunes on other planetary surfaces.  相似文献   

The equilibrium gravel coverage of the deflated gobi above the Mogao Grottoes of Dunhuang, China     

Wanfu Wang  Zhibao Dong  Tao Wang  Guobin Zhang 《Environmental Geology》2006,50(7):1077-1083

Blown sand has caused considerable damage to the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes of China. Controlling the blown sand requires a clear understanding of the processes that govern its production and movement. Experiments were conducted in a wind tunnel and in the field to define the relationships between sand production and gravel coverage in the gobi above the Mogao Grottoes. The gravel that covers the gobi’s surface controls wind erosion, irrespective of its shape and size. The equilibrium coverage by gravel over which no further sand is emitted due to wind erosion increases and the equilibration time that is taken to form the equilibrium gravel coverage decreases with increasing wind velocity. Gravel coverage has reached an equilibrium state in the portion of the gobi directly above the grottoes, but decreases towards the Mingsha Mountains. Drifting sand from these mountains is the main source of sand damage at the Mogao Grottoes. If no additional sand from the mountains were supplied to the gobi, gravel pavements would reach an equilibrium level of coverage and prevent further production of blowing sand. Sand blown from the gobi represents secondary reactivation of sediments originally produced in the Mingsha Mountains. Therefore, to control the blowing sand above the Mogao Grottoes, emphasis should be placed on controlling erosion from the Mingsha Mountains rather than local erosion of sand in the gobi.  相似文献   

The upper pleistocene loess of southern Tunisia: A statement     

Genevive Coud-Gaussen  Pierre Rognon 《地球表面变化过程与地形》1988,13(2):137-151

On the Matmata Plateau, the sedimentological characteristics of the peri-desert loess and the interbedded palaeosols (particle-size distribution; chemical and mineralogical composition of major components; trace elements; clay mineral assemblage; heavy mineral assemblage; SEM-examined surficial textures of the quartz and palygorskite grains) show notable homogeneity: they also indicate its allochthonous origins (the main sedimentary source being the Great Eastern Erg), its transport as an aeolian suspension sediment prior to deposition, and moderate pedogenesis acting during deposition. The emplacement of the loess was synchronous with a ‘pluvial’ steppe palaeoenvironment moister than at present, as shown by ¹⁸O and ¹³C data. The palaeosols point to a weak pedogenesis and colluvial and alluvial reworking that were contemporary with the aeolian deposition. ¹⁴C radiometric dating suggests a main period of pluvial dust-fall/loess deposition in the Upper Pleistocene (until 10 000 yr BP) and a shorter one in the Middle Holocene.  相似文献   

Using quartz grain size and shape analysis to distinguish between aeolian and fluvial deposits in the Dallol Bosso of Niger (West Africa)     

E. N. Bui  J. M. Mazzullo  L. P. Wilding 《地球表面变化过程与地形》1989,14(2):157-166

Size and Fourier-shape characteristics of quartz sand grains were determined by computerized image analysis in order to distinguish between aeolian and fluvial soil parent materials in the Dallol Bosso in Niger. Factor analysis of grain-size distributions gave four sand end-members that can be related to fluvial transport dynamics operating when the sediments were initially deposited. The medium to fine (and more angular shaped) sand fractions are being reworked by wind. Aeolian deposits were well sorted whereas fluvial deposits were poorly sorted in both size and shape. Although gross-shape characteristics (lower harmonics of Fourier series expansion) indicated a common source rock for all sands, the aeolian sands were well rounded whereas the fluvial sands tended to be more angular (upper harmonics of Fourier series).  相似文献   

Estimating wind transport of sand on vegetated surfaces   总被引：5，自引：0，他引：5  

R. J. Wasson  P. M. Nanninga 《地球表面变化过程与地形》1986,11(5):505-514

Vegetation significantly reduces the transport of sand by wind. We report a generalization of Bagnold's transport equation by finding empirical mathematical expressions to describe the relationships between projected vegetation cover, wind speed outside the area of vegetation, and transport rates. Examples of the use of the equations are given, illustrating the effect of vegetation cover on sand transport, dune encroachment and soil nutrient loss during individual wind storms and over periods of many years.  相似文献   

Comparison of particle size characteristics of the Tertiary 'red clay' and Pleistocene loess in the Chinese Loess Plateau: implications for origin and sources of the 'red clay'   总被引：7，自引：0，他引：7  

S. L. Yang  Z. L. Ding 《Sedimentology》2004,51(1):77-93

The origin of the Tertiary ‘red clay’ underlying the Pleistocene loess in the Chinese Loess Plateau remains controversial, although several lines of evidence have suggested a wind‐blown origin. This study examines the particle‐size parameters of the late Miocene and Pliocene ‘red clay’ by comparing it with those of the late Pleistocene loess. The particle‐size distribution of a total of 15 339 loess and 6394 ‘red clay’ samples taken from 12 loess sections along a north–south transect and two ‘red clay’ sequences at Lingtai and Jingchuan was systematically analysed. The median grain size, skewness and kurtosis of the late Pleistocene loess all show a systematic southward change and are principally influenced by distance from source region. The spatial and temporal differentiation of dust deposits is expressed in a skewness–kurtosis–median grain size ternary diagram, from which the distance to the source region can be inferred. The particle‐size characteristics of the Tertiary ‘red clay’ sediments are very similar to those of the palaeosols within the late Pleistocene loess deposits, suggesting an aeolian origin for the ‘red clay’. Based on the comparison of ‘red clay’ and loess in the ternary diagrams, it is inferred that the source–sink distance was greater in the Neogene than in the last and penultimate interglacials, and that the dust source region in north‐western China underwent a progressive expansion during the period from at least 7·0 Ma to the present.  相似文献   

Field measurement and numerical modelling of aeolian mass flux distributions on a sandy beach   总被引：6，自引：0，他引：6  

Steven L. Namikas 《Sedimentology》2003,50(2):303-326

ABSTRACT The vertical and horizontal distributions of aeolian mass flux were measured at Oceano Dunes, California, and these data were used to evaluate a numerical model of saltation. Grain‐size analyses showed that the distributions of the modal sediment size class corresponded closely to those of the total sediment population, and modelling thus focused on replicating the distributions of the mean grain size. Although much previous work has assumed that the mean launch speed of saltating particles varies in proportion to shear velocity, simulations using a constant mean launch speed were found to yield the closest approximations to the mass flux distributions observed in the field. Both exponential and gamma distributions of launch velocity produced realistic simulations, although the latter approach required the inclusion of an additional reptation component to achieve good results. A range of mean launch angles and an equivalent sphere correction were also found to generate comparable results, providing the other input parameters could be varied freely. All the modelling approaches overestimated the proportion of mass flux occurring at the bottom of the vertical distributions, and underestimated the proportion occurring at the upwind end of the horizontal distributions. No theoretical shortcoming that would account for these small, but systematic, discrepancies could be identified, and experimental error thus represents a more plausible explanation. The conclusion that mean grain launch speeds are essentially constant and independent of shear velocity suggests that the additional kinetic energy extracted by grains under more energetic wind conditions is largely transferred to the bed, and that increases in the transport rate are therefore driven primarily by the ejection of additional grains. It is suggested that the kinetic energy of rebounding grains is constrained by the ability of the bed to resist deformation, equivalent to a plastic limit. Hence, grains of larger mass (diameter) rebound from the bed at lower speeds, and follow shorter, lower trajectories, as has been widely observed previously.  相似文献   

Stratigraphic evolution and preservation of aeolian dune and damp/wet interdune strata: an example from the Triassic Helsby Sandstone Formation, Cheshire Basin, UK   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Nigel P. Mountney  David B. Thompson 《Sedimentology》2002,49(4):805-833

Abstract New and previously published models of wet aeolian system evolution form a spectrum of types that may be explained in terms of aeolian dune dynamics, rate of water table rise and/or periodicity of interdune flooding. This is illustrated with an example from the Mid‐Triassic (Anisian) Helsby Sandstone Formation, Cheshire, UK. Lenses of damp and wet interdune strata exhibit an intertonguing, transitional relationship with the toe‐sets of overlying aeolian dune units. This signifies dune migration that was contemporaneous with water table‐controlled accumulation in adjacent interdunes. Downwind changes in the geometry and facies of the interdune units indicate periodic expansion and contraction of the interdunes in response to changes in the elevation of the groundwater table and episodic flooding, during which accumulation of dune strata continued relatively uninterrupted. This contrasts with other models for accumulation in wet aeolian systems where interdune flooding is associated with a cessation in aeolian bedform climbing and the formation of a bypass or erosional supersurface. Architectural panels document the detailed stratigraphy in orientations both parallel and perpendicular to aeolian transport direction, enabling a quantitative three‐dimensional reconstruction of genetically related aeolian dune and interdune elements. Sets of aeolian dune strata are composed of grainflow and translatent wind‐ripple strata and are divided by a hierarchy of bounding surfaces originating from oblique migration of superimposed dunes over slipfaceless, sinuous‐crested parent bedforms, together with lee‐slope reactivation under non‐equilibrium flow conditions. Silty‐mudstone and sandstone interdune units are characterized by wind ripple‐, wavy‐ and subaqueous wave ripple‐laminae, desiccation cracks, mud flakes, raindrop imprints, load casts, flutes, intraformational rip‐up clasts and vertebrate and invertebrate footprint impressions and trackways. These units result from accumulation on a substrate that varied from dry‐ through damp‐ to wet‐surface conditions. Interdune ponds were flooded by either fluvial incursions or rises in groundwater table and were periodically subject to gradual desiccation and reflooding. Red silty‐mudstone beds of subaqueous origin pass laterally into horizontally laminated wind‐ripple beds indicating a progressive transition from wet‐ through damp‐ to dry‐surface conditions within a single interdune.  相似文献   

Preservation of aeolian genetic units by lava flows in the Lower Cretaceous of the Paraná Basin, southern Brazil     

Claiton M. S. Scherer 《Sedimentology》2002,49(1):97-116

The Lower Cretaceous geological record of the intracratonic Paraná Basin in southern Brazil comprises a thick succession of aeolian sandstones and volcanic rocks. The intercalation between aeolian sandstone and volcanic floods allowed the preservation of distinct aeolian genetic units. Each genetic unit represents an accumulation episode, bounded by supersurfaces, that coincides with the base of lava flood events. The entire package can be subdivided into a Lower Genetic Unit, which corresponds to aeolian sandstones preserved below the initial lava flows (Botucatu Formation), and an upper set of genetic units, which comprises interlayered aeolian deposits and lava floods (Serra Geral Formation). The Lower Genetic Unit is up to 100 m thick. Its base is composed of ephemeral stream and aeolian sand sheet deposits that are overlain by cross‐bedded sandstones whose origin is ascribed to simple, locally composite, crescentic and complex linear aeolian dunes. Aeolian accumulation of the lower unit was possible as a result of the existence of a wide topographic basin, which caused wind deceleration, and a large sand availability that promoted a positive net sediment flux. The Upper Genetic Units comprise isolated sand bodies that occur in two different styles: (1) thin lenses (<3 m thick) formed by aeolian sand sheets; and (2) thick sand lenses (3–15 m) comprising cross‐bedded cosets generated by migration and climbing of simple to locally composite crescentic aeolian dunes. Accumulation of the aeolian strata was associated with wind deceleration within depressions on the irregular upper surface of the lava floods. The interruption of sedimentation in the Lower and Upper Genetic Units, and related development of supersurfaces, occurred as a result of widespread effusions of basaltic lava. Preservation of both wind‐rippled topset deposits of the aeolian dunes and pahoehoe lava imprints indicates that lava floods covered active aeolian dunes and, hence, protected the aeolian deposits from erosion, thus preserving the genetic units.  相似文献   

Climatology of yellow sand (Asian sand, Asian dust or Kosa)in East Asia     

Masatoshi Yoshino 《中国科学D辑(英文版)》2002,45(Z1)

In order to study climatology of yellow sand (Asian sand, Asian dust or Kosa) in EastAsia, secular fluctuation in China, Korea and Japan in the recent 30 years was presented. Thenumber of days with sand-dust storm at five stations in China-Hotan, Zhangye, Minqin, Jurhand Beijing, decreases a lot at the former three stations, but changed little at the latter two stations.Suggesting that the recent global warming is more evident in Xinjiang and Gansu, where the fre-quency of cold air invasions from the higher latitudes is decreasing. But, the eastern parts ofMongolia, inner Mongolia, and North China encounter stronger cyclones in early spring as a resultof global warming. These cyclones bring cold air from higher latitudes, causing severe duststorms. Secular variation in the annual days with sand-dust storms in China and Kosa days in Ko-rea and Japan show a parallel change with higher frequency from 1975 to 1985. This may be re-lated to the higher frequency of La Nina years. However, different tendency was shown in theperiod from 1986 to 1996. Since 1996 or 1997, a sharp increase is clear, which may be caused bythe developed cyclones in East Asia as well as human activities, and stronger land degradationunder La Nina conditions. Anomalies of the total number of stations with Kosa days were dis-cussed in accordance with some synoptic meteorological conditions such as the differences be-tween Siberian anticyclone and Aleutian cyclone center at 500 hPa level during the previous winter.  相似文献