新月形沙丘与线形沙丘共生现象探讨——以撒哈拉沙漠为例

沙丘共生问题是风沙地貌研究的热点,目前尚缺乏较为深入的探讨。以共生沙丘分布最为广泛的撒哈拉沙漠为例,基于Google Earth高清卫星影像对新月形沙丘和简单线形沙丘共生区域进行参数识别,并对其区域风况特征和形成发育环境进行分析,以探讨共生沙丘形成的可能原因。结果表明：撒哈拉沙漠共有17处典型的共生沙丘区域,是世界上最大的共生沙丘分布区。区域及单个共生沙丘形态参数之间均存在一定相关性,但并不具有理论上应具有的良好相关性,表明影响沙丘共生的因素较为复杂。共生沙丘在低、中、高风能环境以及不同风向变率下均可发育,但主要在低风能环境、中等风向变率,锐双峰风况下形成。单一的起沙风风向是共生沙丘形成的重要条件,合成输沙势方向与沙丘走向基本一致。除风况外,障碍物如山脉、河流等因素同样对沙丘共生发挥了重要作用。     

萨拉乌苏河流域萨拉乌苏组砂丘砂沉积特征

The Salawusu Formation of Milanggouwan section in Salawusu River Valley includes 7 layers of paleo-mobile dune sands, and 4 layers of paleo-fixed and semi-fixed dune sands. Their structures have been observed and their grain size, surface textural features and several main chemical elements have been analyzed. The results showed that： 1） Some of the aeolian structural characteristics of these dune sands are similar to that of the recent dune sands. 2） They are also similar to the recent dune sands in grain size components, and parameters of Mz,σ, Sk and Kg, as well as in several main chemical components. 3） The scattergrams of Mz-σ and SiO2-Al2O3＋TOFE and the probability curves of grain size showed that these paleo-dune sands are different from paleosols and fluvio-lacustrine facies, but are consistency with recent dune sands. 4） Quartz sands have well roundness and surface textural features such as dish-shaped pits, crescent-shaped pits, pockmarked pits, upturned cleavage plates, siliceous precipitates and siliceous crevasses, indicating that they had been carried for a long time by the wind. As the 11 layers of paleo-dune sands possess the aeolian characteristics in structure, grain size, surface textural features and chemical elements, the origin of their formation should be attributed to eolation.     

Environmental controls on coastal dune formation; Skallingen Spit,Denmark

Many coastal dune systems in Western Europe were emplaced during the Little Ice Age (LIA). The formation of such dune fields has generally been ascribed to a combination of low sea level and strong winds during that time period, providing a supply of sand from the exposed shoreface and sufficient wind energy to transport this sand landward. However, little information exists on the processes that controlled sediment supply to the beach and why this onshore supply was initiated at all. In this contribution, we consider the origin and development of older dune fields on a barrier spit complex (Skallingen) located in the northern part of the Danish Wadden Sea. Maps and new data on dune litho- and chrono-stratigraphy, the latter based on OSL-dating, allow a precise estimate of the initiation and termination of dune emplacement. Dune formation at Skallingen started at a relatively late stage of the LIA and it can be temporally correlated with a phase of relative sea level rise in North Western Europe and with a high frequency of storm surges along the Danish west coast. These are the conditions during which nearshore bars currently migrate onshore across the shoreface off Skallingen. The bars eventually merge with the beach and constitute a source of sand for modern foredune accretion. It is probable that the onshore bar migration occurred under similar conditions in the past and the migration was triggered, or enhanced, by the sea level recovery from the mid-LIA low-stand and the associated frequent storm surge activity. Consequently, at Skallingen onshore sand supply was caused by marine, rather than aeolian, agents; this supply provided the basis for subsequent dune formation. Indications are, however, that the sediment supply to the beach/dunes was a factor of 2–3 larger in the past. Dune aggradation eventually ceased around 1900AD because of dyke construction. Hence, the association between dune formation and sea level/surge variation at Skallingen is somewhat contrary to other statements of coastal dune development during the LIA in North Western Europe.     

海岸风沙流中不同粒径组沙粒的垂向分布模式

通过对河北昌黎黄金海岸沙丘风沙流的野外实地观测与室内风洞模拟实验数据的数值模拟,探讨了我国典型海岸沙丘风沙流中不同粒径组沙粒输沙量的垂向分布模式。结果表明,河北昌黎黄金海岸沙丘表面风沙流中不同粒径组沙粒输沙量的垂向分布特征并不一致,其中细沙和中沙符合典型的指数递减分布规律,但粗沙则为负幂函数分布。究其原因,主要与不同粒径组沙粒输沙量的分布高度及运动方式差异有关。在实际非均匀沙床面上,粗沙主要集中分布于沙丘表面4cm高度内湍流发育的近地表层,运动方式以蠕移为主,沙丘表面湍流的主导作用使其输沙量随高度的变化满足负幂律关系,但中沙和细沙则以跃移运动为主,跃移沙粒输沙量的垂向分布呈现指数递减特征。     

中纬度荒漠区河西走廊沙丘地貌的演化特征及其环境指示

北半球中纬度地区的沙丘地貌变化和粉尘活动历史是探索全球环境变化与景观响应问题的良好档案。本文从风沙地貌学、粒度沉积学、地球化学和气候学等方面综合分析了中纬度典型荒漠区河西走廊的典型沙丘动态变化、物质来源、粉尘活动历史及其影响因素等。结果表明,20世纪60年代以来研究区典型新月形沙丘和新月形沙丘链等发生了较大的移动或摆动,平均移动速度介于0.8~6.2 m/a之间。沙丘的动态变化主要受年降水量、年平均风速和年大风日数的影响,表明气候是沙丘地貌变化的首要影响因素。沙丘沙（三段式）与戈壁沉积物的两段式粒度曲线模式明显不同,揭示了后者在沉积学上的“不成熟性”而前者经历了高效的风成分异作用且非局地起源。古地理、沉积学和地球化学综合证据揭示沙丘沙的母源物质主要是冲洪积物和古河流沉积物等,包括南北山麓剥蚀带的碎屑沉积等。地表细颗粒物质的比例、表层盐结皮的覆盖率和可蚀性砂质物质含量等指标指示了西部戈壁区不是中东部风尘的主要来源区。沙丘移动方向与区域性主导风向在空间分布上具有相似性,表明河西走廊东、西部间之间在沙丘地貌动态演化上的差异应受控于区域尺度的环流风系,即受控于动力机制而不是物质来源上的差异。区域气候的暖湿化是对全球增温和亚洲夏季风增强的同步响应,也是研究区沙尘暴减少的主要原因,同期河西走廊潜在的逆沙漠化过程亦受控于气候变化;但绿洲区沙漠化过程还是起因于人类活动影响的地下水波动。     

Distribution of ephemeral plants and their significance in dune stabilization in Gurbantunggut Desert

Based on systematically monitoring plants on dune ridges in the southern part of the Gurbantunggut Desert in 2002, this paper, from the angle of dune stabilization by vegetation, describes the temporal and spatial distribution patterns of ephemeral plants on isolated sand dunes, analyses the natural invasion processes of ephemeral plants on human-disturbed sand surface and expounds the importance of ephemeral plants in stabilizing sand dune surface. A total of 45 plant species were identified in the study area, 29 of which are ephemeral plants. Ephemeral plants sprouted in early April and completed their life-circle within about two months. Just as aeolian sand activities came to the strongest stage from April to June in desert regions of northern Xinjiang, the total coverage of trees, shrubs and herbs of long vegetational period on most dune ridges was less than 10%, while the mean coverage of ephemeral plants reached 13.9% in April, 40.2% in May and 14.1% in June. Therefore ephemeral plants acted as the major contributor to dune surface stabilization in the Gurbantunggut Desert. Investigations of vegetation restoration on engineering-disturbed dune surface show that ephemeral plants first recolonized the disturbed dune surface.     

基于GPR图像的河北昌黎海岸横向沙脊北段沉积构造及其成因

运用探地雷达对河北昌黎海岸带横向沙脊的沉积构造进行探测,通过对探地雷达探测影像进行处理与解译,获得海岸沙丘约20 m深度范围内的海岸横向沙脊沉积构造图像,包括沉积层理的倾向、倾角与平面展布信息等。研究发现,昌黎海岸横向沙脊北段的沉积构造主要由高角度交错层理和波状交错层理组成,两者之间界面应为古海滩沿岸沙坝的顶面。界面以上发育稳定的向SWW倾斜的高角度交错层理,倾角约为30°~32°,为向岸风作用形成的前积层理;横向沙脊的丘顶可见槽状交错层理,可能是沙丘脊顶部沉积作用对风向季节性变化的响应。界面以下波状交错层理发育,为波浪作用形成的海滩沉积构造。结合前人对探测区地层调查以及全新世晚期以来海岸线变迁研究成果综合分析,认为海岸横向沙脊是大约2000 aBP以来,以澙湖海滩沿岸沙坝为基础经长期风力吹扬作用持续增长而发育的风成沙丘。     

线形沙丘研究进展评述与展望

线形沙丘不仅是地球上沙漠地区分布最广的沙丘类型之一,在火星、土卫六和金星等外星球也存在或可能存在。因此,线形沙丘可能是具有大气层的类地行星上分布广泛的一种风沙地貌。线形沙丘分布广泛、形态多样,某一理论不能合理解释其所有特征及其形态动力学机理,使其成为争议最大的一类沙丘。近年来随着新技术和新方法在风沙地貌研究中的应用,线形沙丘研究取得了诸多重要进展。以不同的研究主题为线索,对线形沙丘界定及分类、分布、物质组成、内部沉积构造、侧向移动、形成年代和形成假说等7个方面的研究进展进行了总结与综述,并对线形沙丘未来的研究前景进行了展望,认为在未来研究中应注重野外观测与室内实验分析相结合、与外星球线形沙丘的类比研究和新技术的应用等。     

古尔班通古特沙漠短命植物分布及其沙面稳定意义

Based on systematically monitoring plants on dune ridges in the southern part of the Gurbantunggut Desert in 2002, this paper, from the angle of dune stabilization by vegetation,describes the temporal and spatial distribution patterns of ephemeral plants on isolated sand dunes,analyses the natural invasion processes of ephemeral plants on human-disturbed sand surface and expounds the importance of ephemeral plants in stabilizing sand dune surface. A total of 45 plant species were identified in the study area, 29 of which are ephemeral plants. Ephemeral plants sprouted in early April and completed their life-circle within about two months. Just as aeolian sand activities came to the strongest stage from April to June in desert regions of northern Xinjiang, the total coverage of trees, shrubs and herbs of long vegetational period on most dune ridges was less than 10%, while the mean coverage of ephemeral plants reached 13.9% in April, 40.2% in May and 14.1% in June. Therefore ephemeral plants acted as the major contributor to dune surface stabilization in the Gurbantunggut Desert.Investigations of vegetation restoration on engineering-disturbed dune surface show that ephemeral plants first recolonized the disturbed dune surface.     

Spectral properties, iron oxide content and provenance of Namib dune sands

This paper applies multispectral remote sensing techniques to map the Fe-oxide content over the entire Namib sand sea. Spectrometric analysis is applied to field samples to identify the reflectance properties of the dune sands which enable remotely sensed Fe-oxide mapping. The results indicate that the pattern of dune colour in the Namib sand sea arises from the mixing of at least two distinct sources of sand; a red component of high Fe-oxide content (present as a coating on the sand grains) which derives from the inland regions, particularly from major embayments into the Southern African escarpment; and a yellow coastal component of low Fe-oxide content which is brought into the area by northward-moving aeolian transport processes. These major provenances are separated by a mixing zone between 20 km and 90 km from the coast throughout the entire length of the sand sea. Previous workers have also recognised a third, fluvial, provenance, but the methodology applied here is not able to map this source as a distinct spectral component.     

小冰期福建海岸沙丘的沉积环境

选取福建东南沿海典型海岸沙丘——东海沙丘,运用GPR（Ground Penetrating Radar）技术探测海岸沙丘内部构造,辅助天然剖面和人工探槽观测,进行系统的年代采样与OSL（Optically Stimulated Luminescence）测年,并选择物理意义明确的粒度参数作为主要环境代用指标,获得了亚热带季风区砂质海岸带典型海岸沙丘的沉积年代和沉积结构。结果表明：（1）东海沙丘是由若干灌丛沙丘组成的横向沙丘,0～6 m主要是～0.45 ka BP以来形成的海岸风成沙丘,可以划分为～0.45 ka BP和0.22～0.12 ka BP两个阶段。（2）东海沙丘沉积过程是多因素共同作用的结果,冷干的气候环境是沙丘发育的适宜条件,入境台风频率增加可能加快了风沙的沉积过程。对比历史文献资料发现,气候异常期往往与社会动荡期、重要历史事件相对应。     

Sedimentary characteristics of paleo-aeolian dune sands of Salawusu Formation in the Salawusu River Valley

The Salawusu Formation of Milanggouwan section in Salawusu River Valley in-cludes 7 layers of paleo-mobile dune sands, and 4 layers of paleo-fixed and semi-fixed dune sands. Their structures have been observed and their grain size, surface textural features and several main chemical elements have been analyzed. The results showed that: 1) Some of the aeolian structural characteristics of these dune sands are similar to that of the recent dune sands. 2) They are also similar to the recent dune sands in grain size components, and parameters of Mz, σ, Sk and Kg, as well as in several main chemical components. 3) The scattergrams of Mz-σ and SiO2–Al2O3+TOFE and the probability curves of grain size showed that these paleo-dune sands are different from paleosols and fluvio-lacustrine facies, but are consistency with recent dune sands. 4) Quartz sands have well roundness and surface textural features such as dish-shaped pits, crescent-shaped pits, pockmarked pits, upturned cleavage plates, siliceous precipitates and siliceous crevasses, indicating that they had been carried for a long time by the wind. As the 11 layers of paleo-dune sands possess the aeolian characteristics in structure, grain size, surface textural features and chemical elements, the origin of their formation should be attributed to eolation.     

波浪海滩沙丘相互作用模式研究述评

波浪-海滩-沙丘相互作用模式是对海岸沙丘形成与演化机理的宏观解析,是了解和认识海岸沙丘形态、类型与规模等的区域差异的基本途径,与海岸沙丘表面风沙流过程研究一样是研究海岸风沙问题不可或缺的重要方面。在对20世纪80年代以来国内外关于波浪-海滩-沙丘间相互作用模式研究历程回顾的基础上,重点总结和概述了国外所提出的波浪-海滩-沙丘间相互作用模式,包括小尺度的波浪-海滩-沙丘相互作用模式、中尺度的波浪-海滩-沙丘相互作用模式等,并展望了未来我国波浪-海滩-沙丘相互作用模式研究的基本方向与主要内容。     

Crescentic dune migration and stabilization: Implications for interpreting paleo-dune deposits as paleoenvironmental records

Paleo-dune deposits have been widely used as a proxy indicator of past dune activity, which is further used to reconstruct paleoclimates. However, recent studies have critically examined the reproducibility of dune chronologies and the complexity of paleo-dune deposits as paleoenvironmental records. This paper addresses questions on the paleoenvironmental implications of dune chronostratigraphies that have been raised by those reviews, in the specific case of crescentic dunes, using a case study from the Mu Us dune field, north-central China. The processes of turn-over and stabilization of relatively small crescentic dunes are first investigated by observational evidence. In combination with the analysis of a simplified sand preservation model and stratigraphic records, the effect of dune morphodynamics on sand preservation is demonstrated. It is especially evident that thick, nearly instantaneously deposited sand units record dune stabilization near the very end of a dune activity episode, while thin sand units may signal the preservation of sand deposited earlier in episodes of activity. Interpreting the distribution of luminescence ages that indicate sand deposition over time is not as simple as assumed in some previous work. Low frequency of sand ages could indicate an interval of either dune field stabilization or extensive dune activity but poor sand preservation. A peak of sand age frequency likely represents a shift in dune field activity towards stabilization, not a peak of active dune extent, especially if it partially overlaps with an independently identified interval of stabilization (e.g. one recorded by paleosols). The nature and magnitude of these biases in the distribution of sand ages over time are strongly affected by the magnitude of net sand accumulation, which is in turn related to sand supply, transport capacity and sand availability, and ultimately climate change. Relatively short dune stabilization and turn-over time (10¹ to 10² yrs) indicate that dune geomorphic processes can quickly respond to short-term disturbance, but the chronology of that response must be interpreted in light of how those processes influence age distributions.     

Dynamics of nebkhas superimposed on a parabolic dune and their effect on the dune dynamics

We report here on a bare barchan dune in Israel that converted over the last 60 years to a shrub-covered parabolic dune due to changes in land use. Thirty nebkhas (sand mounds) that were formed by sand trapped around shrubs growing on the dune were monitored during winter of 2004–2005. The rates of erosion or deposition were measured at five points in the nebkhas by erosion pins. All nebkhas were shown to undergo erosion or deposition activity. Nebkhas on the windward slope of the dune experienced primarily erosion. Those on the lee slope grew slowly by the light accumulation of sand. The largest nebkhas were found on the dune crest; they built up through the accumulation of sand that was eroded from the windward slope. There were no significant differences between the rates of erosion/deposition of the five study points placed in each nebkha. However, there were significant differences between the rates of erosion/deposition of the nebkhas on the three dynamic segments of the dunes (windward, crest and lee). A change in dune dynamics was observed by the emergence of shrubs on the crest. These shrubs trapped sand and increased the crest height. The sand trapped on the crest was not deposited on the lee side. In that case, the dune becomes narrower, higher, with a concave shape (of the windward slope), during the transformation from a barchan to a parabolic dune.     

Variation between bee communities on a sand dune complex in the Great Basin Desert,North America: Implications for sand dune conservation

Sand dunes across the Mojave and Great Basin Deserts house rich bee communities. The pollination services these bees provide can be vital in maintaining the diverse, and often endemic, dune flora. These dune environments, however, are threatened by intense off-highway vehicle (OHV) use. Conservation efforts adopted by land managers often consist of setting aside a portion of a dune system that is off-limits to OHV use, but little work has been done showing the extent to which this protects native bee communities. A two-year study of bee communities on a Great Basin sand dune complex in Dugway Proving Ground located in northwestern Utah revealed low similarity index values between closely situated collecting plots (1–40 km apart). Similarity values ranged from 0.13 to 0.70 for species composition, and from 0.07 to 0.57 when similarity was weighted by abundance. Distance between plots had no significant relationship to similarity when richness and abundance were considered. Bee similarity between plots was significantly correlated with floral similarity. These results indicate that dune conservation strategies that preserve “representative” portions of dune systems may be insufficient to protect bees and the pollination services they provide.     

雅鲁藏布江米林宽谷段爬升沙丘粒度分异特征研究

雅鲁藏布江米林宽谷段爬升沙丘分布广泛。选择卧龙镇西侧雅鲁藏布江右岸典型爬升沙丘,根据沙丘爬升高度和叠置沙丘地貌部位对其表面沉积物进行了系统采样。作为河谷风沙地貌的重要组成部分,相应采集了河漫滩、阶地沙丘沙样品。粒度分析表明,爬升沙丘对河漫滩沙丘、阶地沙丘在物源和形成过程方面具有继承性,其表面沉积物以细沙和极细沙为主(2.07～3.71Φ),分选中等或较好(0.20～1.41Φ),细偏,多峰。由坡脚向丘顶的沉积物粒径变细,分选变好,偏度和峰度降低。爬升沙丘表面叠置沙丘的粒度向丘顶变粗、分选变好。细沙、极细沙等粒级组分与高度相关,反映颗粒爬升能力不同。叠置条带状沙丘脊部和槽部的粒度存在分异。     

Constraining Holocene lake levels and coastal dune activity in the Lake Michigan basin

Sediment cores collected from embayed lakes along the east-central coast of Lake Michigan are used to construct aeolian sand records of past coastal dune mobility, and to constrain former lake levels in the Lake Michigan basin. Time series analysis of sand cycles based on the weight-percent aeolian sand within lacustrine sediment, reveals statistically significant spectral peaks that coincide with established lake level cycles in Lake Michigan and the Gleissberg sunspot cycle of minima. Longer cycles of ~ 800 and ~ 2200 years were also identified that correspond to solar cycles. Shorter cycles between 80 and 220 years suggest a link between coastal dune mobility, climate, and lake levels in the Lake Michigan basin. Radiocarbon-dated sedimentary contacts of lacustrine sediment overlying wetland sediment record the Nipissing transgression in the Lake Michigan basin. Lake level rise closely mimics the predicted uplift of the North Bay outlet, with lake level rise slowing when outflow was transferred to the Port Huron/Sarnia outlet. The Nipissing highstand was reached after 5000 cal (4.4 ka) BP.     

Complex systems in aeolian geomorphology

Aeolian geomorphology provides a rich ground for investigating Earth surface processes and landforms as complex systems. Sand transport by wind is a classic dissipative process with non-linear dynamics, while dune field evolution is a prototypical self-organisation phenomenon. Both of these broad areas of aeolian geomorphology are discussed and analysed in the context of complexity and a systems approach. A feedback loop analysis of the aeolian boundary-layer-flow/sediment-transport/bedform interactions, based on contemporary physical models, reveals that the system is fundamentally unstable (or at most meta-stable) and likely to exhibit chaotic behaviour. Recent field-experimental research on aeolian streamers and spatio-temporal transport patterns, however, indicates that sand transport by wind may be wholly controlled by a self-similar turbulence cascade in the boundary layer flow, and that key aspects of transport event time-series can be fully reproduced from a combination of (self-organised) 1/f forcing, motion threshold, and saltation inertia. The evolution of various types of bare-sand dunes and dune field patterns have been simulated successfully with self-organising cellular automata that incorporate only simplified physically-based interactions (rules). Because of their undefined physical scale, however, it not clear whether they in fact simulate ripples (bedforms) or dunes (landforms), raising fundamental cross-cutting questions regarding the difference between aeolian dunes, impact ripples, and subaqueous (current) ripples and dunes. An extended cellular automaton (CA) model, currently under development, incorporates the effects of vegetation in the aeolian environment and is capable of simulating the development of nebkhas, blow-outs, and parabolic coastal dunes. Preliminary results indicate the potential for establishing phase diagrams and attractor trajectories for vegetated aeolian dunescapes. Progress is limited, however, by a serious lack of appropriate concepts for quantifying meaningful state variables at the landscape scale. State variables currently used in the bare-sand models are far from capturing the rich 3D topography and patterns and are not sufficiently discriminative to distinguish different attractors. The vegetation component in the extended model, and indeed ecogeomorphic systems in general, pose even graver challenges to establishing appropriate state variables. A re-examination of older concepts, such as landscape entropy, perhaps complemented by recent developments in information theory, may be a potentially fruitful avenue for research, although the outlines of such an implementation are still rather vague.