Aeolian Environments

Some Salient Features

 Aeolian deposits – sediments transported by the wind

 The most important physiographies that encourage aeolian transport and

deposition are hot deserts, beaches, glacial outwash plains and cold deserts
 Hyperarid (<150 mm ppt/yr) and arid desert regions (150-250 mm ppt/yr) are
particularly important sites of aeolian activity
 Mechanical weathering supplies large quantities of sand grade material for
transport
 Hot desert regions are subject to strong winds capable of moving large quantities
of material
 Hot deserts cover 30% of present day land surface
 Significant Differences between aeolian and
aqueous depositional system
 About 800 times lesser density creates considerably lower shear stress for air
o very restricted grain-size range for transportation (essentially up to granule
grade)
o good sorting expected
 Lower buoyancy force (about 50 times lesser viscosity)
o allows collision force to dominate in interaction of bedload with the bed
 Lower lift-up force
o causes low angle of impact
 Vigorous and energetic collision
o ensures greater abrasion and rounding of grains
 Vertical variation in boundary-layer density is rapid owing to heating and
cooling (as well as evaporation)
o bedforms undergo rapid changes
 The atmospheric boundary layer (102-104m) is thick compared to even the
deepest river or tidal shelf
o bedform scale can be quite large
 Processes of transportation for aeolian system are different
 Processes mainly are:
o Suspension- grains held above substrate - clay and silt (often called loess)
o Saltation- grains bounce off each other – typically fine and medium sand
o Surface creep- short steps - coarse sand and granules, which can not be
lifted by air
 Creep component of grains that are nudged along by successive saltating
grain impacts – a mode of transport termed raptation- is important
 In air, fine sand grains move by saltation, and upon impact their kinetic energy
is such that they are capable of nudging coarser grains along (up to six times
their diameter) by intermittent rolling or sliding
 The residual sediment left after wind action are known as reg deposit
o reg deposit is often bimodal in grain size distribution
o the bimodality is attributable to limited capability of wind to deflate sand
from source sediment
o regs are of very restricted thickness, measurable in millimeters
 Aeolian Sediments

 Aeolian sediments are characteristically well sorted and well rounded

 Only sand-sized materials are mostly carried as bedload
 Aeolian sand grains often bear red ferruginous coating, called red cutans
 Aeolian sand grains in modern
environments often bear very
minute v-shaped grooves that
are recognizable under SEM;
although such minute markings
get overprinted more and more
through diagenesis and are thus
not recognizable in rock record
 Under SEM aeolian grains also
show frosting because of
development of numerous minute
pits under sand blasting
 Development of facets over larger-sized clasts due to abrasion by aeolian sands
are also common
 Aeolian Bedforms

 Common aeolian bedform includes ripples, dunes and draa

 Bedform scale and type depend upon both the availability of sand and the nature
of the wind regime

Modified after Wilson, 1972

 Ripples – 1 cm to 1+ m wavelength - rapid migration (>1km/yr); occur on
sandsheets, on dune stoss slopes and on low angle lee slopes (<20o)
 Dunes - 10 to 100 m wavelength - moderate to slow migration (10-100 m/yr)
 Draa -500 m to 5 km wavelength - very slow migration (<10 m/yr)
 Additionally, aeolian processes may deposit plane beds, adhesion ripples, wavy
lamination, crinkly lamination etc.
Ripples
 Aeolian ripples are mainly known as the impact ripples as impact of
saltating grains are mainly responsible for formation of ripples in aeolian system
 Ballistic or impact ripples form a continuous series with wavelengths 0.02 -
2 m and heights from a few millimeters to 0.1 m
 Ripple indices generally fall between 8 and 50 with broadly sinuous crests
 Wind stress, being laterally variable, produces lateral variability in rate of ripple
migration; hence, merging and forking of ripples are common
 Yet then, wind ripples can be distinguished from wave ripples by strong
asymmetry in profile in conjunction with concentration of distinctly coarser
creep (grain) component along crests of the ripples
 Wavelength increases linearly with increasing grain size or with
decreased sorting since saltation jump length of fine particles increases
markedly
 High energy impact of saltating grains eject out smaller grains preferentially
 With given grain size and sorting wavelength increases with wind strength
 Aeolian ripples also assume cuspate geometry where either the grain-size is finer
or wind velocity was higher to ensure comparatively higher grain lift
 These aeolian ripples are comparable to aqueous ripples in form (but the ripple
index remain higher) and are called aerodynamic ripples
 Granule-sized grains can be moved by wind only to a very limited extent and the
process can generate granule ripples
 Granule ripples are generally found within broad shallow scours and are
characterized by very poor grain sorting and crude low angle laminae
 Aeolian ripples also assume cuspate geometry where either the grain-size is finer
or wind velocity was higher to ensure comparatively higher grain lift
 These aeolian ripples are comparable to aqueous ripples in form (but the ripple
index remain higher) and are called aerodynamic ripples
Dunes / Draa
 Apart from being larger in both height and wavelength than ripples, dunes (or
draa) occupy a completely different position in flow regime diagram
 Aeolian dunes show more diverse morphologies than their subaqueous
counterparts
Types of Dune / Draa
 Transverse Dunes
o One slip face, crest perpendicular to wind (transport) direction
o Can be straight, crescent-shaped or sinuous crested
o Straight-crested ones occur where the sand transport is unidirectional since
all bedforms tend to have their axes normal to the current direction
o Crescentic (barchan)
• one concave slip face, crest crescentic, ‘wings’ extends downwind
• wings form because higher sand transport rates on the margins
• isolated Barchan dunes are rare in deserts as well as in rock record
• occur in areas of reduced sand supply
o Barchans and other transverse forms occur because, after sand is collected in
an initial patch, continued vertical and downwind growth of the patch leads to
a convex, mound-like form, a morphology that causes flow separation to occur
and produces the slip face
o Sinuous-crested transverse dunes, known as akle dunes, are more common
in areas of plentiful sand supply
o Parabolic dunes
• have geometry just opposite to that of barchans
• preferred vegetation growth on dune margins may induce greater sand
transport rate in the central part of the dunes and thus results downcurrent
closure in plan
 Large-scale cross-strata and numerous reactivation surfaces attributable to
frequent changes in flow conditions are typical internal structures of the dunes
 Linear or Longitudinal (seif) Dunes
o Two opposing slip faces, crest sharp and parallel to wind direction
o Requires high wind velocity
o May transforms wings of barchan
o In areas with winds from two directions at acute angle to each other
coalescence of linear dunes often produce Y-shaped junctions, which mostly
fork upwind
o Such dunes has its long axis oriented parallel to the resultant of two wind
azimuths
o Some seif dunes show a sinuous platform or have periodic humps
o Internally, seif dunes show a bimodal pattern of large-scale cross-stratification
produced by avalanching on alternate sides of the dune with high angles of
incidence with local crest direction

 Star Dune
o Three or more slip faces
o Have central peaks about which curved crests radiate
o May be isolated or present in rows
o Requires high sediment supply and changeable wind direction
o Flow pattern responsible for their origin is particularly complex and their
internal structures are poorly known

 Other - zibar, dome, blowout, coppice.

 Star Draa

Linear Dune
 Draa bedforms
o Composite, usually transverse or star-shaped, with wavelengths up to 4000m
and heights up to 400m
o Made up of superimposed dunes of all kinds and take a long time to form,
requiring appreciable original sand cover
o Show giant slip faces up to 50m high, but many have small dunes both on
upcurrent and down current flanks
o Various orders of upwind and downwind dipping erosional and depositional
surfaces characterize draa deposits
 Superimposed bedforms
o Very much common in aeolian regime
o Simple - no superimposed bedforms
o Compound - small dunes migrate over large dunes of same type
o Complex - small dunes migrate over large dunes of different type
 Relative Sediment Size

Crescentic
Barchans Crescentic Ridges Compound
Crescentic Dunes
Wind Regime Linear (Seif)
Complexity
(Dry substrate with Simple Compound Linear Complex Linear
no vegetation) - straight Dunes Dunes
- sinuous
Reversing
Star Dunes
Sand Sheets Zibars Parabolic Dunes
Vegetation Anchored
Nebkhas
(Coarse Sand)

Bordering Lunnets Falling Dunes Climbing Dunes

Topographic
Influence
 Aeolian Stratifications

 In aeolian regime, deposition mainly takes

place by three processes
o Tractional deposition
• ripples and rarely planar laminae
o Grainfall deposition
• settling out of suspension on the lee
slope of an aeolian bedform
o Grainflow deposition
• avalanching on lee slope of dune

Tractional Stratifications
 For stratification to be preserved by tractional processes, bedforms need to be
‘climbing’
 Climbing occurs where net deposition occurs whilst bedforms are migrating
 Climbing results in climbing ripple stratification
 Downcurrent waning of flow is commonplace in aeolian regime and hence wind
ripples often climb
 As aeolian ripples are characterized by larger wavelengths and lower heights
(typical ratio 30:1), the climb planes have very low angle
 Very low angle climb gives rise to sub-horizontal laminae with or without
recognizable intervening cross-laminae
 In aeolian regime cross-laminae are very difficult to recognize because of general
good sorting of grains; the resulting stratification is known as translatent
strata
 However, translatent laminae are typically characterized by inverse grading
because of concentration of coarser grains (creep component) along ripple crests
 Very thin lamina-sets are called as ‘Pinstripe laminae’
 Although rare, rippleform laminae are also discernible
Classification of wind ripple stratification types according to angle of ripple
climb relative to the inclination of the stoss slope of the bedform and the
presence or absence of cross lamination. Modified after Hunter (1977)
Grainfall Stratifications
 Occurs in area leeward of dune crest
 ‘Calm zone’ results in loss of carrying capacity
 Deposition of fine to medium sand
 Grainfall laminae are usually thin and drape over windripple or grainflow
laminae.
 Grainfall laminae are ideally normally graded
 Such laminae thickens down the foreset slope
Grainflow Stratifications
 Avalanching on dune slipface due to slope oversteepning intervening continuous
grainfall
 Slope reaches angle in initial yield (30-34o) and fails under its own mass
 Can result in generation of inversely graded bed
 Thickens up the foreser slope
Other Stratifications
 This category include those features that form in presence wet surface or
sprinkling of water
 Dry sand grains in an aeolian environment coagulate into minute lumps on
sprinkling of water, such as during light rain and these lumps are called worts
 Presence of warts in a formation would suggest presence of primarily dry sand
that are likely to have been subjected to wind activity over damp surface
 Adhesion ripples form when deflated sand grains adhere to a wet surface
 Irregular adherence of sand grains give rise to crinkled lamina-like structure
 On a ripple surface the accreted sand give an appearance of climbing ripple and
is known as adhesion ripples
 Adhesion laminae forms through layer-by-layer accretion of such rippled
surfaces
 All these structures indicate wet aeolian system
 Bounding Surfaces in Aeolian Systems

 Erosive surfaces resulting from the

migration of bedforms that climb over one
another at various angles and in various
directions
 Bounding surfaces are a type of
stratification that results from the passage
of a migrating train of bedforms, or the
change in migration direction of a bedform

 Supersurface – The largest scale of aeolian bounding surface that results from
deflation of an entire erg or sand seas to a regional base level

 Supersurfaces may be erosive where the wind depletes the dune field (takes out
more sediment than it brings in)

 Supersurfaces may form bypass surfaces where net deposition ceases but no
overall deflation occurs
Modified after
Langford and
Chan (1988)
 Sand Seas or Ergs
Sand sea or erg development is facilitated in arid/semi arid zones along much
expanded trade wind belts, such as in North African Sahara and central Australia.
Unlike water drainage, there is little direct relation between sand flow and
topography since winds and sandy bedload may blow uphill. Mineral dust in the size
range 0.1-1m is a potent light-scattering aerosol and may have an important
cooling role to play in climate change. Aerosol deposition rate in oceanic setting can
thus be a good climate indicator. Smaller scale ergs not linked to a regional Trade
Wind System and hence considerably dependent on extra-erg sand supply, will be
much more prone to climatic or base-level induced interruptions to sedimentation
and production of stratigraphic bounding surfaces.
 Aeolian System Facies Model

 Aeolian facies models summarize the distribution of aeolian dune and interdune
facies and the relation to bounding surface types
 Different facies successions and models have been devised for different dune
types and different dune sizes (with respect to interdune areas)
 Within ergs, dune areas are typically characterized by grainflow and grainfall
facies associated with minor ripple stratifications and planar beddings

 Depending upon the characteristics of interdune areas aeolian systems can be

classified in two categories
o Dry aeolian system
o Wet aeolian system
Dry System

In dry aeolian
systems, the water
table lies well below
the level of the
Depositional
surface

Wet System

In wet aeolian
systems, the water
table lies in contact
with the
depositional
surface
 Interdune deposits within ergs are characteristically fine-grained and poorly
sorted
 They form important permeability barriers in both aquifers and hydrocarbon
reservoirs
 These deposits contrasts markedly with those of the main erg bedforms- dunes
and draas
 In many ergs, interdune or inter-draa deposit resemble closely the deposits of
the so-called sand sheets
 Sand sheets are the relatively thin sand accumulations at the margins of many
ergs
 These are sandy plains formed by wind that consist mainly of flat to low angle
eolian stratification
 They form in association with a number of conditions, including periodic
flooding by fluvial systems, a significant coarse-grained sand population, the
presence of vegetation, or a lack of sand supply that is entrainable by wind
 Insufficient sand supply because of high water table or surface stabilization
restricts dune formation within these areas
 Typical sand sheets commonly have much more coarse-grained material than
dunes or even interdunes; commonly posses granule-ripples, especially in places
of wind scour, as large as .5 meters
 Sand sheets commonly grow by slow vertical accretion and more rapid lateral
extension
 Dry interdune depressions develop soil horizons, aeolian ripple remnants and
other features similar to those of sand sheets
 In wet interdunes, periodic, albeit rare, wet conditions gives rise to subaqueous
dunes, formed under ponded runoff water
 These are characteristically draped by thin mud as ponding occurs and
desiccation cracks may develop on the mud subsequently
 Sabkhas occur where a saline water table intersects the inter-dune troughs
 Blown sand driving across moist areas causes adhesion ripples and adhesion
laminae to form; leading to build-up of highly porous adhesion-accreted
sands
 Later evaporation leads to evaporite precipitation as crusts and subsurface
nodules
 Crusty surfaces do not trap sand along transport paths; rather the hard surfaces
accelerate transport on to the next dune
 In some areas temporary playa lakes may form in inter-dune depressions
following extensive rainfall
 Oscillation ripples and algal carbonates may develop when such lakes sustain for
appreciable periods of time