GY 213/GM 213 LECTURE 10

GEOLOGICAL ACTION OF WIND

Sedimentation processes in deserts

The wind is an important geological agent, especially where the weathering products
are not protected by grass or forests, or are not held together by moisture.

Its effects may have been more widespread in the early times, before evolution of land
plants.

The geological processes connected with wind are also destructive, leading to
denudation, and constructive, leading to deposition.

The degree of wind activity is subject to a climatic control and is greatest in arid
(desert) or semi-arid regions.

Deserts

Deserts: Typically, have <25 cm annual precipitation(rainfall); may support:

➢ moderate plant life (20-25 cm/year),

➢ little plant life (15-20 cm/year)

➢ or essentially no plant life (<15 cm/year).

Nearly 25% of land area outside poles is desert.

How are deserts formed?

Four main causes of deserts:

1. Overall Earth’s atmospheric circulation patterns: At equator, sun's rays

are nearly directly overhead and so solar energy (heat provided) is high.
Therefore the air at the equator is heated and begins to rise. As the air rises, it
cools and moisture condenses, forming rain. Rising air forms a low pressure
system and usually means rain.

• At the equator, there is a global low pressure system. Air that has risen at the
equator spreads out to the north and south and travels to about 30 N and 30 S
where it begins to sink back down to the surface. As it descends, this cool air

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 becomes warm. Since warm air can hold more moisture (resulting in low
precipitation), there are large deserts around 30N and 30 S.

Earth’s air circulation patterns:

The equatorial region is tropical and ± 30 degrees is desert.

2) Rain shadow effect

• Hot rising air cools as it approaches a mountain.

• In rising, the air cools and can hold less water and moisture precipitates on the
west face of the ranges. By the time the air gets over the mountain, it is much
drier; so deserts form on the other side of the mountain range.

• In addition, as the air moves down the east side of the mountain, it warms,
enabling it to hold more moisture. Thus, a desert results.

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3) Distance from the ocean.

• Some land is so far from oceans (where air absorbs most of its water) that
deserts form

4) Near cold ocean currents (along the western edge of continents).

• Along the coast, a south-directed water current (e g California current) brings

cool water in from further north. This cool water cools the air over it. When the
cool air encounters warmer air onshore, the cooler air heats up and can
therefore hold considerably more moisture. Thus, a desert results (low
precipitation)

Sedimentation processes in deserts

Wind Erosion in the Desert

Water is the main mechanism of erosion in the desert, often due to episodic storms.

However Wind is a very important agent of erosion in deserts because:

1) wind is continuous and

2) wind is not restricted to channels.

• Only the smallest particles can be transported by winds. Silt and clay can become
airborne whereas sand can move by a series of small jumps called saltation.

• Deposits resulting from wind action are referred to as eolian deposits.

The wind will transport pieces of silt and sand and act as a `sandblaster' which
quickly erodes solid rock and can shape cobbles and large pebbles into strangely-
shaped ventifacts.

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 Antarctica ventifacts resulting from wind erosion

Because wind can only carry fine sand and silt-sized particles, larger clasts (pebbles,
cobbles, and boulders) are left behind, forming a thin layer of densely packed larger
clasts at the surface. This is called a "desert pavement" or “deflation surface”.
Two theories of pavement formation have been proposed:
1) Origin as a lag deposit,
2) Formation by swelling of the ground and the upward movement of pebbles.

Saltation = the means by which sand particles are bounced along the ground by the
wind. (They are too heavy to be carried in suspension, but are light enough to be
picked up by the wind for short distances.) Larger grains or boulders may move by
surface-creep induced by saltation (results in deflation surface).

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Streams in the Desert
In Desert, streams are present but are intermittent (often only flow after a storm). So
most streams in deserts do not flow constantly and are called ephemeral streams
(intermittent streams).
1. These dry streams are called arroyos or dry washes and will flow only for
short periods of time in flash floods. They often form dendritic patterns due to
the large amount of gravels in deserts.

Desert rains often come all at once, resulting in flooding. Many deserts are internally-
drained (their drainage does not reach the sea. They have a local base level.

2. Because there is not much vegetation in deserts, much sediment is carried

in flash floods. Sometimes, there is so much sediment, that a debris flow
results. DEBRIS FLOW ( or MUDSLIDE ) = is a moving mass of loose mud,
sand, soil, rock, water and air that travels down a slope under the influence of
gravity.

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 Mudslides are very deadly Mummy exposed by landslides

Sedimentation processes in deserts

3. Because most streams are intermittent but carry large sediment loads,
alluvial fans are common in deserts. Often results from storms in the
mountains

Alluvial fans may coalesce (join up) to form bajadas.

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 4. Because they do not flow year round, their sediment loads are often not
carried far, and basins between mountain ranges tend to fill up with
sediment.

Storms in the mountains often result in alluvial fans which transition into dry lakes
called playas at the centers of valleys. So an intermittent (ephemeral) lake is called
a playa lake. Sometimes salts are deposited in playa lake beds which may be
economic to mine (e.g. Death Valley mines in the US).

Blowout- Wind deflation of soil can result in the removal of silt and clay, producing a
deflated bowl called a blowout

Desert varnish- Many rocks become coated by a dark surface layer called desert
varnish (Mn may play a role)

Wind Deposition in the Desert: Sand Dunes

Dunes are large accumulations of wind-blown sand. Wind-generated sand dune

deposits can consist of quartz, quartz mixed with feldspar, or carbonates. The sand
grains tend to be well-rounded and well-sorted (wind is very efficient at sorting).

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Wind-generated dunes have shallow face and a steep face (slip face). Dunes are not
stationery . Migration is in the direction of the slip face or downwind over time giving
them their shape. The angle of repose for loose sand is 34 degrees.

The shape of a dune depends on several factors:

1) Wind speed/direction (constant vs. non-constant).

2) The amount of sand available.

3) The amount of vegetation (which can stabilize dunes).

Dunes of all types are built of a series of layers lying at an angle. A strong wind or the
ordinary process of dune migration, intermittently removes some of the upper part of
the accumulation and new layers are often deposited at an angle to the first set. This
arrangement results in cross bedding.

4 main types (shapes) of dunes:

Crescented Barchan, transverse, parabolic, and longitudinal (seifs) dunes are

four main types. Smaller ridges and hollows develop into sand ripples.

1.Barchan dunes

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-Crescent dunes with slip face on the concave side.

-Horns point downwind.

-Form when the sand supply is limited

2. Transverse dunes

• Straight dunes running perpendicular to the wind.

• Form when more sand is available.

3. Parabolic dunes

• These are the reverse of barchan dunes: the horns point upwind.

• Form around blowouts.

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Parabolic dune

4. Longitudinal dunes

• Long ridges of sand that form parallel to the prevailing wind.

• Their formation is not entirely understood, but may involve circular wind
patterns.

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SUMMARY DUNES

Loess is wind-blown glacial flour. It is commonly quite fertile and arable. E.g. in China
there is a very important dust-deposit formed, geologically speaking, “yesterday”. The
LOESS deposit of china is a brownish fine-grained loam soil made up of small angular
particles of quartz, feldspar and calcite etc. as a product of mechanical weathering.

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