Interaction between aeolian, fluvial and playa environments in the Permian Upper Rotliegend Group, UK southern North Sea

The Permian Upper Rotliegend Group in offshore UK Quadrants 42, 43, 47 and 48 comprises a sequence of mixed aeolian/fluvial/playa deposits. These deposits are up to 300 m thick and contain a record of the interaction between desert fluvial systems and adjacent aeolian and playa environments. The relative dominance of water vs. wind transport and deposition in this stratigraphic package was a function of fluctuations in the discharge of ephemeral fluvial systems and changes in water table/playa level driven by a combination of climatic change and syndepositional tectonics. The Rotliegend sedimentary record is punctuated by numerous surfaces recording erosion by wind and water. The origin of these surfaces is mostly climatic, with periods of increased runoff resulting in fluvial incision, especially near active faults. During periods of reduced runoff, wind erosion of fluvial deposits occurred, with fluvially derived sand being reworked into expanding aeolian dune fields. Wind erosion also occurred as a rising water table isolated dunes from their sediment supply, resulting in deflation of dunes down to the water table. These surfaces formed in a basin that was subsiding. Thus, even in a background of overall increasing accommodation space, climatically driven falls in the water table allowed for periods of erosion. The occurrence of significant erosion, especially near syndepositional fault zones, resulted in a sedimentary record that shows pronounced lateral as well as vertical facies variations.     

An analysis of soil crust strength in relation to potential abrasion by saltating particles

Wind erosion depends on the ease with which particles can be detached from the soil surface, but suitable tests to characterize this property are not available. Two possible methods to determine surface soil strength in the field were therefore compared on a range of artificially ‘crusted’ surfaces. These were made by spraying or tension wetting aggregates (10–2, 2–0.5 and <0.5 mm) from a structurally unstable sandy loam, followed by drying. Each test involved measuring the force exerted on a probe driven at a steady rate into the surface, using either a flat-tipped 0.6 mm diameter penetrometer or a flat-ended cylindrical punch with inner and outer diameters of 5 and 6 mm, respectively. Both probes showed that crusts could be produced reproducibly. Depending on the probe and aggregate size, penetration mainly occurred either as a result of aggregates being deflected out of the pathway of the probe or by genuine rupture of aggregates or of the crusted surface. The penetrometer, because it was comparable to the size of sand grains, gave results that can be used to characterize surface erodibility to saltating particles. The punch gave results that would be unsuitable for this purpose, as would other strength tests that are on too large a scale. Penetrometer results were analyzed to calculate the energy required for penetration. It was thus possible to demonstrate that only the spray-wetted fine aggregates had a surface that could undergo large-scale rupture by saltating sand grains. For all other surfaces, saltating particles would be unable to supply sufficient energy to rupture aggregates or the crusted surface. Erosion could only occur by a slower process of abrasion in which smaller particles or aggregates are chipped away from the surface. However, it is shown that saltating particles could rupture the interaggregate bonding in the 2–0.5 mm aggregate surfaces, thus permitting creep. An alternative and potentially simpler way of characterizing surface erodibility by using a surface modulus of elasticity is also discussed. Our results demonstrate that the small diameter penetrometer is a promising technique for characterizing erodibility of aggregated and crusted surfaces. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characteristics of aeolian grain transport over a fluvio-glacial lacustrine braid delta,Lake Tekapo,New Zealand

This paper presents results from one of the few scientific studies to examine the physical characteristics of aeolian sediment transport in an alpine area, where topographically reinforced foehn winds initiate dust storm events. The major objective of this study is to improve knowledge of aeolian processes in mid-latitude alpine regions experiencing extreme wind speeds. Of particular interest is the role of surface characteristics in contributing to the unusually deep saltation layer which is seen to form over fluvio-glacial deposits in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. Sediment was collected at several heights (0ċ5, 1, 2 and 4 m) and locations over a large alpine braided river delta, and standard laboratory techniques used to examine grain size characteristics. An image processing technique was also used to evaluate grain roundness. Grains filtered from the airstream at 0ċ5 m and 1 m above such surfaces were found to display a mean grain size of approximately 300 to 435 μm, resembling grain size characteristics of saltation clouds previously observed in high latitude, cold climate locations, in contrast to desert and prairie environments. Samples collected at 2 and 4 m above the surface were found to consist of 60 to 65 per cent sand-sized material, with some grains exceeding 1–1ċ5 mm in diameter. Grain shape analysis conducted on silt- and clay-sized grains filtered from the airstream above mixed sand and gravel surfaces showed such grains to display an increase in grain roundness with height. This characteristic is thought to reflect the airstream's shape-sorting ability and has important implications with respect to the often observed increase in grain roundness in aeolian deposits with increasing distance from source areas. Namely, if more rounded grains are preferentially carried higher into the airstream and therefore into regions of higher wind speed, they should theoretically be transported further from the entrainment zone before being deposited. The high wind speeds observed, often exceeding 30 m s⁻¹, are seen to transport significantly larger sediment than reported in the literature for desert and prairie environments. In addition, the mixture of grain sizes, and especially the pebble- and cobble-sized clasts that dominate the fluvio-glacial deposits associated with the braided rivers in this mountain region, also appear to increase significantly the trajectory height of saltating sand grains. As a result of these two factors, the depth of the saltation cloud often exceeds 1 m. Observations made in this study therefore highlight the need for field and laboratory aeolian process studies to be extended to examine grain transport over coarse-grained beds during much higher wind velocities than typically reported in the literature. Such studies would provide a valuable insight into aeolian processes in high latitude/altitude environments, such as loess genesis. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

毛乌素沙地西南缘灌丛沙丘沉积物的粒度和元素特征

对毛乌素沙地白刺(Nitraria tangutorum)灌丛沙丘沉积物粒度和元素特征进行了采样分析.结果表明:灌丛沙丘沉积物来源单一,几乎全部由丘间地物质组成,其粒度和元素特征与丘间地物质极其相似;相对而言,灌丛沙丘沉积物比丘间地物质含有更多粗颗粒物,主要因丘间地可做跃移运动的中沙和细沙更易被灌丛阻挡而堆积;灌丛沙丘沉积物中大部分元素含量比丘间地物质低,主要因这些元素易被淋溶迁移到丘间地富集;灌丛沙丘发育以来,虽然其沉积环境存在波动,但相对稳定,未发生过显著变化.     

The response of saltation to wind speed fluctuations

The response time of saltation to spatial or temporal wind speed fluctuations constitutes an important control parameter for aeolian sediment transport and deposition. In this paper, we present direct measurements of the response time obtained from several field experiments. The sand transport was studied using six small microphones arranged in a vertical profile and collocated with a sonic anemometer, a webcam and a cup anemometer tower. The webcam was coupled with the sonic anemometer via a personal computer and provides information on creeping and saltating grains with a sampling rate of 10 Hz. Sediment transport measurements were obtained over four periods. The Wiener filter, a signal processing technique, is used to obtain a discrete transfer function that relates the horizontal wind speed and the non‐intermittent sand transport. The transfer function can be established using an exponential function with a time constant or characteristic response time τ without time shift. The response time fluctuated between zero and 1·5 seconds depending on the turbulence intensity, the saltation activity, the measuring height and sampling rates. The Wiener filter coefficients suggest that the response of saltation to wind speed alterations is determined by more than one process. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Meteorological causes of Harmattan dust in West Africa

We investigated the temporal dynamics of dust entrainment in the Bodélé Depression, Central Sahara, to better understand the intra-annual variability of aerosol emission in the world's largest dust source. The linkages between dust entrainment and large-scale meteorological factors were examined by correlating several meteorological variables in the Mediterranean and Africa north of the equator with the aerosol concentrations in the Bodélé Depression separately for winter and summer. The methodological tools applied are NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data and the aerosol index of the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS-AI), available for 15 years from 1978 to 1993. We found that dust mobilisation during the Harmattan season is highly dependent on air pressure variability in the Mediterranean area. High pressure to the north of the Bodélé intensifies the NE trade winds, leading to an increased entrainment of dust in the Bodélé Depression. In summer, dust mobilization cannot be explained by the large scale meteorological conditions. This highlights the importance of local to regional wind systems linked to the northernmost position of the intertropical convection zone (ITCZ) during this time.     

Magnitude and frequency of grain flows on a desert sand dune

Preliminary studies of the magnitude and frequency of lee side avalanches (grain flows) on a Namib crescentic dune show that the frequency of grain flows for a given segment of the lee face is dependent on the wind speed and sand transport rate for the period preceding their initiation; and the magnitude of the flows as described by their area is inversely proportional to the interval between flows and thus wind speed and sand transport rates. These studies indicate the potential of using a simple digital video camera technique to document the magnitude, frequency and geometry of grain flows on desert sand dunes.     

Grain size and transport characteristics of non-uniform sand in aeolian saltation

Size frequency distributions of sediment particles in a wind tunnel containing a bed of non-uniform sand are investigated by re-interpreting existing experimental data using particle-size analysis. Each particle sample is classified into one of eight groups according to its size grading. The analysis reveals that the modal shape of the particle-size frequency distributions of the saltating sand at different elevations or longitudinal distances is similar to that of the mixed sand in the bed once the boundary layer is fully developed. The standard deviation of the grain-size frequency distribution increases with increasing elevation above the bed then stays constant, whereas its skewness decreases. The mean grain size decays exponentially with elevation. The aeolian sand mass flux is determined for each size grading at different vertical and horizontal measurement locations. The vertical profile of aeolian horizontal mass flux depends on the size grading. The distribution of the sand transport rate according to the mean grain size in each grading fits the normal distribution. A parameter w_i is defined to reflect the likelihood of saltation for sand particles of the i-th size grading, and the mean sand size corresponding to the maximum value of w_i is found to be 0.2 mm. In addition, wind velocity strongly influences the magnitudes of the particle-size distribution and the sand mass flux distribution in both vertical and longitudinal directions.     

Diurnal patterns of blowing sand

The diurnal pattern of blowing sand results from a complex process that involves an interaction between solar heating, thermal instability, atmospheric turbulence, wind strength, and surface threshold conditions. During the day, solar heating produces thermal instability, which enhances the convective mixing of high momentum winds from the upper levels of the atmosphere to the surface layer. The sun also dries the sand surface so that the critical threshold is as low as possible. Thus, in the afternoon, the combination of strong turbulent winds and a low surface threshold increases the likelihood that winds may intermittently exceed the critical threshold of the surface to produce bursts of blowing sand. Here an attempt has been made to explore this dynamic aeolian process using a new method for monitoring the diurnal pattern of blowing sand. This technique involves detecting blowing sand with a piezoelectric saltation sensor to determine the relative proportion of time that blowing sand is detected for a given ‘time of day’. Measurements taken over a seven‐month period on the high plains of the Llano Estacado of West Texas and eastern New Mexico suggest that sand movement tends to occur more frequently during daylight hours with a peak in aeolian activity occurring in the afternoon between 14:00 and 15:00 Local Standard Time (LST). Published in 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of the saltation process of bed materials by video imaging under altered bed roughness

The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of particle saltation and movement over the beds of fixed roughness from flume experiments. A series of experiments are carried out to study the saltation of individual sand particles of different sizes over rough beds under different flow conditions. A 3‐D acoustic Doppler velocimeter is used to record the fluid velocity components; subsequently, under different flow conditions, the images of released sand particles are recorded using high‐speed video imaging technique. Systematic analysis is made with regard to the forces acting on the grains and the variation of their magnitudes along the saltation trajectories of the grains. Relations between the saltation parameters, flow intensity and bed roughness are developed. The distributions of the angle of orientations during a single saltation follows almost a Gaussian distribution. The shape of the Gaussian distribution depends on the particle size and bed roughness. Particle collisions with rough beds and the resulting coefficients of restitution are also discussed. A theoretical framework is developed to compute the mean particle velocity considering the spin in the energy balance equation. Results of the detailed analysis using the imaging technique are much better than in previously reported studies. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.