Annual to decadal morphodynamics of the foredune system at Greenwich Dunes,Prince Edward Island,Canada

The purpose of this study was to quantify relationships between season, sediment availability, sediment transport pathways, and beach/foredune morphology at Greenwich Dunes, PEI. This was done for periods ranging from a few days to multiple decades using erosion pins, bedframe measurements, annual surveys, and digital photogrammetry using historical aerial photographs. The relative significance of seasonal/annual processes versus response of the foredune system to broader geomorphic controls (e.g. relative sea level rise, storms, etc.) was also assessed. The data show that there are clear seasonal differences in the patterns of sand supply from the beach to the foredune at Greenwich and that there are differences in sediment supply to the foredune between the east and west reaches of the study area, resulting in ongoing differences in foredune morphology. They also demonstrate that models that incorporate wind climate alone, or even models that include other factors like beach moisture, would not be able to predict the amount of sediment movement from the beach to the foredune in this environment unless there were some way to parameterize system morphology, especially the presence or absence of a dune ramp. Finally, the data suggest that the foredune can migrate landward while maintaining its form via transfers of sediment from the stoss slope, over the crest, and onto the lee slope. Although the rate of foredune development or recovery after disturbance changes over time due to morphological feedback, the overall decadal evolution of the foredune system at Greenwich is consistent with, and supports, the Davidson‐Arnott (2005) conceptual model of dune transgression under rising sea level. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A stratigraphic model to account for complexity in aeolian dune and interdune successions

Wet aeolian systems, in which the water table or its capillary fringe are in contact with the accumulation surface, such that moisture influences sedimentation, are well‐known from modern aeolian systems and several ancient preserved successions are recognized from outcrop. One common mechanism by which accumulation of wet aeolian system deposits occurs is via a progressive rise in the relative water‐table level that is coincident with ongoing dune and interdune migration, the angle of dune climb being determined by the ratio between the rate of relative water‐table rise and the rate of downwind migration of the bedforms. Accumulations of wet aeolian system deposits tend to be characterized by units of climbing dune strata separated by units of damp or wet interdune strata. For simple geometric configurations, where the size of the dune and interdune units, the rate of bedform migration and the rate of aggradation all remain constant over space and time, the resulting accumulation has a simple architecture characterized by sets of uniform thickness inclined at a constant angle. However, the dynamic nature of most aeolian dune systems means that such simple configurations are unlikely in nature. The complexity inherent in these systems is accounted for here by a numerical model in which key controlling parameters, including dune and interdune wavelength and spacing, migration rate and aggradation rate, are allowed to vary systematically both spatially (from a dune‐field centre to its margin) and temporally (in response to changes in sediment availability or water‐table level). The range of synthetic stratigraphic architectures generated by the model accounts for all the best‐known examples of aeolian dune and interdune stratigraphic configurations documented from the stratigraphic record. Modelling results have enabled the erection of a scheme for the classification of dune system type whereby the many elaborate stratal architectures known to exist in nature can effectively be accounted for by only four parameters that are allowed to vary over space and time: dune and interdune wavelength and spacing, rate of bedform migration and rate of accumulation. Results have applied implications, including the modelling of reservoir heterogeneity and the prediction of fluid flow pathways of hydrocarbons, water, CO₂ and contaminants in subsurface reservoirs and aquifers, in which low permeability interdune units might act as baffles or barriers.     

库布齐沙漠南缘抛物线形沙丘表面粒度特征

对库布齐沙漠南缘抛物线形沙丘特征断面上下层（0~5cm、5~10cm）沉积物采样分析结果表明,沙丘粒径与分选参数及其分布随沙丘形态、发育程度和植被生长状况发生变化。抛物线形沙丘丘体迎风坡下凹背风坡上凸,丘顶始终处于侵蚀亚环境。在顺风向断面,平均粒径从迎风坡脚到丘顶变粗,从丘顶到背风坡脚又变细,且这种变化在高大沙丘上更为明显;分选性在迎风坡为中等和较好,丘顶较差,顺风向到背风坡脚逐渐由中等变为较好;粒径频率曲线在丘顶双峰正偏,除迎风坡脚单峰正偏外,其余部位均单峰近对称。在垂直于风向的两翼断面,平均粒径在成熟沙丘由翼顶向两侧坡脚趋于变细,而在欠成熟沙丘无明显的变化趋势。翼间平地沉积物受植被等影响,平均粒径偏细但分选性差,偏度为正偏和极正偏,峰度为尖锐和非常尖锐。受不同时期风况的影响,成熟抛物线形沙丘上下层粒度参数在沙丘断面的分布较欠成熟沙丘一致。     

Growth by extension,and reworking,of a south‐western Kalahari linear dune

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating studies of linear (longitudinal) dunes have been used extensively to elucidate late Quaternary environments and climates in arid or formerly arid regions, yet understanding of the development of such dunes is incomplete. In particular, conflicting opinions have been presented regarding the propensity of linear dunes to migrate laterally, the degree to which they rework their own sediment during accumulation and whether they form primarily by extension, as opposed to lateral sand movement from adjacent interdunes. This study focuses on this last point, although the importance of the other controversies is discussed in context. A simple linear dune in the south‐western Kalahari, which has a prominent termination on a pan (playa) surface, provides an opportunity to directly test hypotheses of dune extension. Chronostratigraphy along a ~600 m transect along the crest of the dune, constrained by 42 OSL ages, reveals that the dune grew by extension on occasions in the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, but has also been subject to reworking along its length, which has continued until recent times. Dune development by extensional growth is suggested to operate under environmental conditions more conducive to net accumulation, whereas reworking is largely independent of conditions throughout the last ~18 ka, and may represent seasonal fluctuations in the position of the dune crest. The relative significance of these two modes of development is suggested to be a key control on the efficacy of linear dunes as archives of environmental and climatic change. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Terrestrial sensitivity to abrupt cooling recorded by aeolian activity in northwest Ohio, USA

Lower slopes of the Sandia Mountains are characterized by granitic corestone topography and weathering-limited slopes with thin grusy colluvium and weakly developed soils. In contrast, thick soils with illuvial clay and pedogenic carbonate have developed below aplite outcrops. Aplite is resistant to chemical decomposition, but physically weathers to blocky clasts that enhance surface roughness and erosional resistance of colluvium, promoting accumulation of eolian fines. Thick B horizons on aplite slopes indicate limited erosion and prolonged periods of stability and soil development. Accretion of eolian material limits runoff and prevents attainment of a steady-state balance between soil production and downslope transport.     

Modelling controls on aeolian dune‐field pattern evolution

A second‐generation, source‐to‐sink cellular automaton‐based model presented here captures and quantifies many of the factors controlling the evolution of aeolian dune‐field patterns by varying only a small number of parameters. The role of sediment supply, sediment availability and transport capacity (together defined as sediment state) in the development and evolution of an aeolian dune‐field pattern over long time scales is quantified from model simulations. Seven dune‐field patterns can be classified from simulation results varying the sediment supply and transport capacity that control the type and frequency of dune interactions, the sediment availability of the system and, ultimately, the development of dune‐field patterns. This model allows predictions to be made about the range of sediment supply and wind strengths required to produce the dune‐field patterns seen in the real world. A new clustered dune‐field pattern is identified from model results and used to propose an alternative mechanism for the formation of superimposed dunes. Bedforms are hypothesized to cluster together, simultaneously forming two spatial scales of bedforms without first developing a large basal dune with small superimposed dunes. Manipulation of boundary conditions produces evolving dune fields with different spatial configurations of sediment supply. Trends of spacing and crest length increase with decreasing variability as the dune field matures. This simple model is a valuable tool which can be used to elucidate the dominant control of aeolian sediment state on the construction and evolution of aeolian dune‐field patterns.     

Field measurement and scaled-down wind-tunnel model measurement of airflow field over a barchan dune

Airflow is measured over a barchan dune in the field and over a scaled-down model in a wind tunnel. The change of the flow speed over the stoss side is represented by the change of speed-up ratio. According to the field measurement, the wind profiles within 0-3m above the stoss can be divided into two segments. The lower segment, about 0.66 m thick, is the inner-boundary layer, within which the friction velocities derived from the wind profiles increase from the upwind inter-dune region to the upper stoss, and then decrease near the dune top. This change, together with the changes of airflow field, speed-up ratio and sand flux, is related to the morphological change and contributes to the stable shape and height of a barchan dune. In the wind tunnel, airflow varies in a similar way as in the field, with the speed-up ratios constantly higher than 1.0 and increasing along the stoss slope. While the segmentation of wind profiles also occurs in the wind tunnel, friction velocities derived from the wind profiles decrease along the stoss, indicating a very thin inner-boundary layer above the wind tunnel model where the detailed wind-speed change becomes difficult to measure using the present instruments.     

Terrestrial photogrammetric techniques applied to the control of a parabolic dune in the Liencres dune system,Cantabria (Spain)

The spatial–temporal variations of a dune system can be determined by using diverse ‘geomatic’ methodologies: geodesy, global positioning system (GPS) and photogrammetry. In the case of the Liencres dune system, a study will be carried out using the ‘close‐range’ photogrammetry technique and the topography technique (total station and GPS). In order to determine the dynamic of the dune system it is necessary to repeat the process of study after a specific interval of time. For this reason, three dimensional data should be available in two different time periods, between which the displacement of the object of analysis (the front portion of the dune) will be significant enough to evaluate its magnitude. This work analyses the viability of photogrammetry for the determination of the spatial–temporal changes of a coastal parabolic dune. Two factors have been analysed: first, the comparison of the photogrammetric results with the results obtained from topographic methods (total station and GPS), and second, the quantification of the displacement of the dune system. The analysis of the correspondence between the movement of different parts of the dune and the influence of the intensity and direction of the prevailing wind in the area is also desired. The dune advanced 12·15 ± 0·06 m (an average of 8·5 m/yr), and the partial implications for the dynamic of human modified processes on the natural park have been established. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optically stimulated luminescence dating of aeolian sand in the Otindag dune field and Holocene climate change

The dune system in Otindag sand field of northern China is sensitive to climate change, where effective moisture and related vegetation cover play a controlling role for dune activity and stability. Therefore, aeolian deposits may be an archive of past environmental changes, possibly at the millennial scale, but previous studies on this topic have rarely been reported. In this study, thirty-five optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages of ten representative sand-paleosol profiles in Otindag sand field are ob-tained, and these ages provide a relatively complete and well-dated chronology for wet and dry varia-tions in Holocene. The results indicate that widespread dune mobilization occurred from 9.9 to 8.2 ka, suggesting a dry early Holocene climate. The dunes were mainly stabilized between 8.0 and 2.7 ka, implying a relatively wet climate, although there were short-term penetrations of dune activity during this wet period. After ~2.3 ka, the region became dry again, as inferred from widespread dune activity. The "8.2 ka" cold event and the Little Ice Age climatic deterioration are detected on the basis of the dune records and OSL ages. During the Medieval Warm Period and the Sui-Tang Warm Period (570-770 AD), climate in Otindag sand field was relatively humid and the vegetation was denser, and the sand dunes were stabilized again. These aeolian records may indicate climate changes at millennial time scale during Holocene, and these climatic changes may be the teleconnection to the climate changes elsewhere in the world.     

横向沙丘气流平均速度变化规律的风洞模拟

在沙丘动力系统中,存在沙丘形态、气流、沙粒运移三者之间复杂的相互作用。通过风洞实验的方法,针对不同形态的6组横向沙丘模型,采用粒子图像测速系统,测量了模型沙丘周围气流水平速度和垂直速度的变化规律。实验结果表明,横向沙丘迎风坡水平气流存在1.28～1.89之间的加速率,垂直气流存在上扬趋势,这二者均有随沙丘迎风坡坡度增大而增大的趋势。在横向沙丘背风坡,由于气流的分离,水平气流速度减小并出现反向,其大小约为自由风速的17％;垂直气流速度存在下沉趋势,其最大沉速出现在气流重附点附近;背风坡气流速度的变化受沙丘迎风坡坡度影响较小,受自由风速的影响较大。沙丘对气流速度的改变在近地层较为显著,随着高度的增加地形影响逐渐减小。