火星风沙地貌研究进展

作为最活跃的地貌塑造外营力,风力作用在火星表面塑造了各种各样的地貌形态。对火星风沙活动及风沙地貌的认识是随着观测和探测技术的进步而逐渐明确的。火星沙丘在北极地区连绵成带状分布,在其他地区分布比较零散,且主要与撞击坑、河谷和山谷相伴分布。火星风沙地貌与地球上相应的地貌类型形态相似而规模更大,表明两个星球上塑造风沙地貌的动力系统具有一定的相似性。火星沙丘主要由玄武岩质（北极部分沙丘为石膏质）颗粒堆积而成,沉积物粒度比地球粗,主要是由中沙和粗纱组成。随着获取影像时空分辨率的提高和着陆器在火星近表面的观测,发现火星上部分区域的沙丘和沙波纹比较活跃。同地球一样,火星风沙地貌也可指示火星气候的变化。     

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.     

Controls on the height and spacing of eolian ripples and transverse dunes: A numerical modeling investigation

Ripples and transverse dunes in areas of abundant sand supply increase in height and spacing as a function of time, grain size, and excess shear velocity. How and why each of these factors influence ripple and transverse dune size, however, is not precisely known. In this paper, the controls on the height and spacing of ripples and transverse dunes in areas of abundant sand supply are investigated using a numerical model for the formation of eolian bedforms from an initially flat surface. This bedform evolution model combines the basic elements of Werner's [Werner, B.T., 1995. Eolian dunes: Computer simulations and attractor interpretation. Geology 23, 1107–1110.] cellular automaton model of dune formation with a model for boundary layer flow over complex topography. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between bed shear stress and slope on the windward (stoss) side of evolving bedforms. Nonlinear boundary layer model results indicate that bed shear stresses on stoss slopes increase with increasing slope angle up to approximately 20°, then decrease with increasing slope angle as backpressure effects become limiting. In the bedform evolution model, the linear boundary layer flow model of Jackson and Hunt [Jackson, P.S., Hunt, J.C.R., 1975. Turbulent wind flow over a low hill. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 101, 929–955.], generalized to 3D, is modified to include the nonlinear relationship between bed shear stress and slope. Bed shear stresses predicted by the modified Jackson and Hunt flow model are then used to predict rates of erosion and deposition iteratively through time within a mass-conservative framework similar to Werner [Werner, B.T., 1995. Eolian dunes: Computer simulations and attractor interpretation. Geology 23, 1107–1110.]. Beginning with a flat bed, the model forms ripples that grow in height and spacing until a dynamic steady-state condition is achieved in which bedforms migrate downwind without further growth. The steady-state ripple spacing predicted by this model is approximately 3000 times greater than the aerodynamic roughness length of the initially flat surface, which is a function of grain size and excess shear velocity. Once steady-state ripples form, they become the dominant roughness element of the surface. The increase in roughness associated with ripple formation triggers the same bedform instability that created ripples, causing dunes to form at a larger scale. In this way, the numerical model of this paper suggests that ripples and dunes are genetically linked. Transverse dunes in this model have a steady-state height and spacing that is controlled by the effective roughness length of the rippled surface, which is shown to be on the order of 500 times greater than the original roughness length, but varies significantly with the details of ripple morphology. The model predictions for ripple and dune spacing and their controlling variables are consistent with field measurements from the published literature. The model of this paper provides a preliminary process-based understanding of the granulometric control of ripples and dunes in areas of abundant sand supply and unidirectional prevailing winds, and it argues for a genetic linkage between ripples and dunes via a scaling relationship between eolian bedform size and the aerodynamic roughness length.     

Geomorphological hierarchies for complex mega-dunes and their implications for mega-dune evolution in the Badain Jaran Desert

The evolution of mega-dunes is sometimes attributed to factors other than the wind but evidence for this is lacking. It is assumed that the dominance of wind in maintaining the evolution of mega-dunes should be characterized by regular height–spacing relationships that have been found for simple dunes or wind ripples which are dominantly formed by the wind. In this context, we studied the height–spacing relationship for the complex reversing mega-dunes in the Badain Jaran Desert, which features the tallest mega-dunes in the world. The complex mega-dunes were divided into three hierarchical orders according to the cumulative probability plots of dune height and spacing measurements, and the coefficients of variability of dune heights and spacings were in accordance with values reported for other deserts. The relationship between dune spacing and height for all the three orders of dunes could be expressed reasonably well by a uniform linear function that was also applied to the height–wavelength relationship for wind ripples in other deserts. This relationship was found to be similar to those for several other deserts and subaqueous bedforms. This implies that there should be few unique factors in maintaining the evolution of complex mega-dunes in the Badain Jaran Desert compared with the superimposed simple dunes and dunes in other deserts, dune fields and subaqueous bedforms, and that the tallest mega-dunes on the earth can be maintained by the wind.     

风沙物理学中两个焦点问题研究现状与未来研究思路刍议

风沙物理学经过数十年的发展与完善,可以说基本上自成体系。但由于学科的起步较晚,加之现象的复杂性,目前仍有很多重要的理论问题没能彻底解决,至少还未达成共识,成为学术界长期以来争论的焦点,从而影响了学科的继续发展。对“沙粒起动机制”和“风成沙纹的形成机理”两个焦点问题在进行研究现状剖析的基础上,浅析未来研究思路。提出沙粒起动主要驱动力是驻点升力的观点,以空气动力学理论为基础的沙粒起动机制研究将是未来该领域的发展趋势;关于沙纹的形成,认为沙粒粒径的不均匀性以及所导致的非平衡运动是前提和基础,风沙流运动过程中类似左右沙丘运动的蚀积转换规律是使沙纹能够维持其稳定形态的必要条件,而沙纹有规律、整齐划一的分布与排列可能与背风面气流小尺度的涡流有关。     

A comparison of methods used to estimate the height of sand dunes on Mars

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.     

沙波纹生成的耦合映射格子模型

应用耦合映射格子模型模拟了三维、不对称、带有Y形连结的沙波纹的形成与演化过程。模拟显示了在风力作用下,平坦床面上的沙粒通过自组织形成沙波纹,其波长通过合并逐渐增长,而成熟后的沙波纹具有长而缓的迎风坡和短而陡的背风坡,并以确定的速度向下风方向迁移,这些特征很接近自然界中的沙波纹。此外,还模拟了双风向下沙波纹形态的变化,结果与Rubin等人关于横向、斜向床面形态形成条件的论断相符合。     

基于遥感的中国北方风沙地貌类型分析

风沙地貌在我国有广泛的分布,特别在北方,对区域生态安全、社会经济发展有重大影响。为了了解我国风沙地貌最新状况,通过解译2000~2002年的Landsat7 ETM影像,建立了我国风沙地貌类型数据库。对北方风沙地貌的分析表明:1.我国北方风沙地貌主要分布在新疆、内蒙古、青海、宁夏、甘肃、陕西、吉林、黑龙江8省区,其中以新疆、内蒙古的面积最广、地貌类型最丰富;2.类型多样性上,干旱区沙漠的地貌类型远比半干旱区的沙地丰富,其中有些类型分布普遍,还有些类型仅仅局限于特定区域,是在特定的风力、风向、植被等作用下形成的;3.沙丘动态上,沙漠除古尔班通古特与乌兰布和沙漠以固定、半固定为主外其他都以流动为主,沙地沙丘则以固定、半固定状态占优势。本文从沙丘形态类型角度分析了我国风沙地貌的最新特征,具有定位、定量特点,所建数据库不仅能用于风沙地貌的定期遥感监测,还能对沙丘形态演化进行定位监测研究。     

风成沙波纹数学模型综述

风成沙波纹是风力作用下地表形成的最基本的地貌类型。近年来,随着计算机技术的迅猛发展,风成沙波纹数值模拟研究越来越引起重视。本文简要介绍了风成沙波纹数学建模的理论基础,并将已有的风成沙波纹数学模型划分为3类,着重介绍了几个经典的风成沙波纹数学模型,详细列举了这些模型的假设条件和数学表达,分析了他们的优缺点。目前,风成沙波纹数学建模的两个基本理论依据为:一个是地表坡度变化导致的蠕移沙通量的变化;另一个是跃移长度随沙床面高度变化的规律,但目前关于此理论的研究并不多。最后,总结和展望了这一领域的研究方向和前景。     

Municipal initiatives for managing dunes in coastal residential areas: a case study of Avalon, New Jersey, USA

The characteristics of foredunes created in a municipal management program on a developed barrier island are evaluated to identify how landforms used as protection structures can be natural in appearance and function yet compatible with human values. Shoreline management zones include a naturally evolving, undeveloped segment; a noneroding, developed segment; eroding and noneroding segments of an “improved beach” where dunes have been built by artificial nourishment; and a privately built, artificially nourished dune on the shoreline of an inlet.A disastrous storm in 1962 resulted in an aggressive program for building dunes using sand fences, vegetation plantings, purchase of undeveloped lots, and sediment backpassing to maintain beach widths and dune elevations. The present nourished and shaped foredune in the improved beach is higher, wider, and closer to the berm crest than the natural dune. Restricted inputs of aeolian sand keep the surface flat and poorly vegetated. A stable section of this engineered shore has a wider beach, and sand fences have created a higher foredune with greater topographic diversity. The cross shore zonation of vegetation here is more typical of natural dunes, but the environmental gradient is much narrower. The privately built dune is low, narrow, and located where it could not be created naturally. Foreshore and aeolian sediments in the undeveloped segment and the improved beach are similar in mean grain size (0.16–0.21 mm) and sorting (0.31–0.39φ), but sediment on the surface of the nourished dune is coarser (28.1% gravel) with a more poorly sorted sand fraction (1.30φ) representing lag elements on the deflation surface.Willingness to enhance beaches and dunes for protection has reduced insurance premiums and allowed the municipality to qualify for funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to replace lost sediment, thus placing an economic value on dunes. Success of the management program is attributed to: (i) timing property-purchase and dune-building programs to periods immediately after storms (causing residents to accept high dunes that restrict access or views); (ii) instituting a vigorous education program (reminding residents of hazards during nonstorm periods); (iii) maintaining control over local sediment supplies (to keep pace with erosion and create new shoreline environments); (iv) investing private and municipal economic resources in landforms (qualifying them for external funds for replacement); and (v) maintaining, augmenting, or simply tolerating biodiversity and natural processes (retaining a natural heritage).     

基于DEM的地球与火星格状沙丘对比分析

沙丘是柴达木盆地可类比火星的重要地貌类型,沙丘形态是类火星风沙地貌研究的重要内容。基于数字地形分析（DTA）的方法,采用高程、坡度、坡向及地表复杂程度4个地形计量学指标对火星（北极地区）和地球（柴达木盆地）格状沙丘的地貌形态特征进行定量对比分析。结果表明：（1）两个研究区的高程剖面、坡度、坡向的地理学空间分布格局具有较大相似性;（2）高程、高程梯度、坡度和坡向的直方图相似度指数均大于0.7;（3）不同尺度上的分形维数近似相等,即地表复杂程度相似。用数字地形分析与直方图相似度指数结合的方法,定量或半定量地分析两个研究区沙丘地貌形态的相似性,这对类火星风沙地貌研究中科学选择试验点是一种新的尝试,以期为反演火星风沙地貌的形成与演化提供科学依据。     

AEOLIAN BLOWOUT DYNAMICS IN SUBARCTIC LAPLAND BASED ON DECADAL LEVELLING INVESTIGATIONS

Aeolian processes in the subarctic ecocline were investigated by measuring present‐day erosion and deposition rates over a decade in blowouts scoured into stabilized Early to Mid‐Holocene dunes. Four localities from different vegetation zones in Finnish Lapland were surveyed using precision levelling (infrared tachymeter) along eight transects at 1‐m intervals. During an 11‐year observation period, a total of 1439 observation points were monitored in three measurement campaigns, in 1993, 1994 and 2004. Together with dating results reported elsewhere, the results demonstrate the relative quiescence of these subarctic blowouts compared to many coastal dunes. On average, the deflation rate of the studied basins was 8.8 mm a^‐1, which corresponds well with the age and depth of the blowouts. Net deposition had taken place at 30% of the observation points, and one of the eight studied transects showed net deposition as the transect average. Symmetrical, smooth basins showed more consistent changes than basins with a complex form, indicating that internal factors are important in blowout formation under the Lapland climatic range. The deepest part of a blowout was generally found in the upwind end. The erosion/deposition patterns of the transects over a one‐year monitoring period were interpreted with Fourier analysis revealing along‐transect cyclicity, possibly reflecting the movement of small migrating bedforms in the blowouts. Generally, deflation rates at the latitudinal pine forest line were smaller than at those well outside the pine forest suggesting that the coniferous forest at the subarctic ecocline affects the intensity of present‐day aeolian activity in Fennoscandia.     

雅鲁藏布江河谷风沙地貌分类与发育问题

雅鲁藏布江河谷风沙地分类体系则４级２１个类型组成，其中风积地貌划分为谷底与谷坡风积地貌２个亚类。河谷风沙地貌面积１９２９．９４６ｋｍ＾２，可称为“雅鲁藏布江河谷沙地”。河谷区具有沙源，风动力和堆积场地等风沙地貌形成的基本条件。     

70年来中国风沙地貌学的发展

风是除流水之外塑造地球景观的第二大流体,以其为外营力形成的风沙地貌在全球干旱区广泛分布,超过40%的全球陆地面积受风沙地貌过程的影响,与人类生存环境存在着密切的关系,19世纪末以来受到国际学术界的持续关注。中国干旱半干旱地区广泛发育风沙地貌,但风沙地貌研究比国际研究晚半个多世纪,始于20世纪50年代后期。本文总结了新中国成立70年来中国风沙地貌学发展的3个阶段：初创阶段（1949—1977年）、充实发展阶段（1978—1999年）和国际化研究阶段（2000年至今）。现在中国风沙地貌研究的水平整体与国际并行,部分领先。中国具有重要国际影响力的风沙地貌研究工作包括沙丘移动规律、风沙地貌区域综合研究、中国独特风沙地貌发育演变过程、戈壁地貌学研究、沙丘二次流以及地外星球的探索研究。中国风沙地貌学研究有在未来领跑国际研究的潜势,但风沙地貌学家必需有4个方面的战略思考,即综合集成、地球系统科学引领、全球视野和深空时代的发展。     

风成沙纹的研究进展

近半个多世纪以来国内外学者对沙纹各方面有了详尽的研究,使沙纹研究理论逐渐趋向系统化和完善化。在扼要回顾了风成沙纹的研究历史的同时,分别从沙纹形态、沙纹形成过程和沙纹形成中的颗粒分异机制等几方面阐述了沙纹研究的现状及主要进展。最后根据沙纹研究的现状和目前沙纹研究中存在的问题,对将来的研究趋势作了初步探讨。     

库鲁克沙漠风沙地貌与沙丘移动

库鲁克沙漠位于塔里木河下游以东,是塔克拉玛干沙漠的重要组成部分。利用风况资料和Google Earth卫星影像,对该沙漠的风沙地貌及其移动特征进行分析。结果表明:库鲁克沙漠风能环境属于低至中等;合成输沙势方向为西南至西南偏西方向;方向变率属于中等。具有风积和风蚀两种地貌类型,风积地貌类型主要包括平沙地、灌丛沙丘、新月形沙垄、新月形沙丘及沙丘链、复合新月形沙丘和复合型沙丘链,风蚀地貌类型主要为雅丹。沙漠西部新月形沙丘的移动方向为西南偏西方向,与当地合成风向大体一致。沙丘移动速率为9.5~37.8 m·a^-1,呈现明显的空间差异,主要取决于当地风况、沙丘高度和沙丘密度等因素,与沙丘高度和沙丘密度呈指数负相关关系。沙丘的形成发育及其移动是由多种因素相互作用的复杂过程,而这种复杂性塑造了丰富的风沙地貌类型及其区域差异性。     

Evaluation of paleohydrologic models for terrestrial inverted channels: Implications for application to martian sinuous ridges

Fluvial systems can be preserved in inverted relief on both Earth and Mars. Few studies have evaluated the applicability of various paleohydrological models to inverted fluvial systems. The first phase of this investigation focused on an extensive (spanning  12 km) inverted paleochannel system that consists of four sandstone-capped, carbonate-cemented, sinuous ridges within the Early Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation located southwest of Green River, Utah. Morphologic and sedimentologic observations of the exhumed paleochannels were used to evaluate multiple numerical models for reconstructing paleofluvial hydrological parameters. Another objective of the study was to determine whether aerial or orbital observations yield model results that are consistent with those constrained by field data. The models yield an envelope of plausible dominant discharge values (100–500 m³/s), reflecting the limitations of the approach, and no single model can be used to reliably estimate paleodischarge. On Mars, landforms with attributes consistent with inverted channels have been identified. In spite of differences in the formation history between these martian landforms and the terrestrial analog described here, including potential differences in cement composition and the erosional agent that was responsible for relief inversion, these numerical models can be applied (with modification) to the martian landforms and yield an envelope of plausible values for dominant discharge.     

科尔沁沙地大型沙波纹的初步研究

通过实地考察、观测和采样,利用Google Earth遥感影像和激光粒度分析仪,研究了科尔沁沙地大型沙波纹（large-scale ripples, LSR）的空间分布、单体和群体的基本形态和粒度特征,探讨了LSR粗颗粒的来源、它同普通沙波纹和普通风成沙在颗粒组成、形态特征和内部沉积结构方面的区别。结果表明：（1）科尔沁沙地的LSR主要分布于翁牛特旗中部和北部地区。（2）LSR空间单元的空间形态具有片状、斑块状和条带状3种类型,分别发育于宽阔的丘间地、沙丘中上部、槽形低地3类地形部位。（3）LSR平均长度为6.32 m,总体走向为东北—西南,平均波长为1.68 m,空间分异较为明显;单体LSR的前后坡不对称。（4）LSR的颗粒为中砂-粗砂粒级,其中粗颗粒主要来自旧河道的河流冲积层、下伏Q3河湖相地层、剥蚀残山的风化壳和山麓洪积物。（5）LSR同普通沙波纹在外观、物质组成、几何形态和内部沉积结构方面有明显差异。该项研究将有助于促进风沙地貌学的理论发展和实践。     

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。     

Drowned shelf-edge deltas, barrier islands and related features along the outer continental shelf north of the head of De Soto Canyon, NE Gulf of Mexico

Four drowned shelf-edge delta complexes, two drowned shelf deltas, three drowned barrier islands, large areas of “hardground”, and fields of bedforms on the mid and outer continental shelf and uppermost slope north of the head of De Soto Canyon, NE Gulf of Mexico were mapped with high-resolution multibeam echosounder. Deltas formed not during the last eustatic low stand, but during one or more interstadials when eustatic sea levels were only 60 to 80 m below present sea level. The barrier islands and deltas must have been cemented prior to rapid falls of eustatic sea level that occurred during global glaciations. Cementation is necessary to have preserved the barrier islands from erosion and subsequent destruction by the rapid sea-level rise during the last deglaciation. The preservation of the relict bathymetry is so good that features that superficially resemble trough blowouts are found in association with one of the relict barrier islands. Asymmetric bedforms on the midshelf in water depths of 50 to 60 m indicate transport directions to the SW but asymmetric bedforms in water depths of the upper slope between 100 and 120 m on the S and SE flanks of the drowned shelf-edge deltas indicate a different current direction, a separate flow that is a continuation of a SW-flowing current that was previously found on the upper slope off NW Florida.