Lecture Outlines

Physical Geology, 10/e

Plummer,McGeary&
Carlson

DesertsandWindAction
PhysicalGeology10/e,Chapter13

SteveKadel,GlendaleCommunityCollege

Deserts
Adesertisanyregionwithan
aridclimatethatreceiveslessthan
25cmofprecipitationperyear
Inspiteoflowrainfall,running
wateristhepredominantforce
shapingmostdesertlandscapes
Rareandoftenviolentflashflood
eventsproducemostofthewater
erosionindeserts

DistributionofDeserts
Desertscanbefound
anywherethattheatmosphere
(air)isusuallydry
Mostdesertsareassociated
withareaswhereairis
descending
Onaglobalscale,hot,moistairrises
inthetropics,rainsoutmostofits
moisture,anddescendsbacktoEarth
near30northandsouthlatitude

CharacteristicsofDeserts
Streambedsflowintermittently,typically
during/afterheavyrains
Mostofthetime,desertstreambedsaredry
Mostdesertslackthroughflowingstreams
Manydesertregionshaveinternaldrainage,suchthat
streamsdrainintolandlockedbasinsthatslowlyfill
withsediments
Mostrainindesertregionscomesfromoccasional,
oftenviolent,thunderstorms,producingflashfloods

Desertwashesorarroyosarecommonlysteep
sided,withflatfloorscoveredbyloose
sedimentsaresultofrarebuthighlyerosive
flashfloodevents

DesertLandformsofthe
SouthwesternUnitedStates
Twodistinctlandscapesinthe
desertsouthwest:theColorado
PlateauandtheBasinand
Rangeprovince
ColoradoPlateauismarkedby
flatlyingsedimentaryrocksthat
areheavilyeroded(duetotheir
largeelevationabovesealevel)
intoplateaus,mesasandbuttes

DesertLandformsofthe
SouthwesternUnitedStates
BasinandRangeprovincehasrugged,
linear,faultboundedmountainranges
separatedbyflatvalleyfloors
Steepmountainrangeserodetoformnarrow
canyonsthatcarrymuchsedimentdownto
desertvalleyfloorsduringheavyrains
Sedimentgetsdepositedintoalluvialfans,
slopingpilesthatfanoutwardfromthemouthsof
mountaincanyons
Alluvialfansmayoverlaptoformabajada
Finestsedimentstraveltocenterofbasinwhere
waterpondsandevaporatesinplayas

WindAction
Windcanbeanimportantagentoferosion
andtransportationoffinesedimentsin
desertregions
Largedailytemperatureandpressure
differencesleadtostrongwindsindesert
regions
Loose,dry,finesedimentsareeasilymovedby
vigorousdesertwinds(often>100kph)
Largeduststormsmayoccuriffinegrained
sedimentsarereadilyavailable
Likevolcanicash,dustcanbetransported
1000sofkmawaybyatmosphericwinds

WindAction
Windcankeepdustinsuspension,
butlargersandgrainsmoveby
hoppingalongtheground
(saltation)
Sandgrainsmovinginhighspeed
windscaneffectivelysandblast
rocksintoerosionalformscalled
ventifacts
Sandblastingofmanmadeobjects,like
powerpoles,canbeproblematic

WindDepositionLoess
Windcandepositthicklayersofsiltand
claysizedsedimentstoformloess
deposits
Sedimentsourcesforloessdepositsinclude
glacialoutwashplainsanddesertplayas

ThickloessdepositsexistinChina,and
inthecentralplains,midwesternand
northwesternregionsoftheUnited
States
Loesstypicallyformssoilsthatarevery
fertile,yeteasilyeroded

ErodedloessdepositsinNebraska

WindDepositionSandDunes
Sanddunesaremoundsofloosesandpiled
upbythewind
Mostlikelytodevelopinareaswithlargesandsupplyand
windsthatgenerallyblowinthesamedirection
Smallpatchesofdunesarecommonindesertvalleysofthe
southwesternU.S.,buthugesandseasexistintheSahara
andArabiandeserts
Dunesmayalsoformjustinlandofbeachesalongthe
coastsofseasandlargelakes
Mostcoastaldunesarecomposedprimarilyofquartz
grains,butinlanddunesmaycontainfeldspar,gypsumand
rockfragments
Carbonatesanddunescanformonorneartropicalbeaches

TypesofSandDunes
Differenttypesofsanddunesform
dependingonthedominantwind
direction(s),theamountofavailable
sand,andarrangementofanyexisting
vegetationcover
Barchandunesarecrescentshaped,with
hornsthatpointdownwindandasteepslip
faceontheconcaveside
Barchansforminareaswithonedominant
winddirectionandalimitedsandsupply
BarchandunesalsoexistonMars

BarchandunesonMars

TypesofSandDunes
Transversedunesforminareaswith
largesandsupplyandonedominant
winddirection
Relativelystraight,elongatedunes

Parabolicdunesformaroundblowouts
inareaswithabundantsand,andhave
hornsthatpointupwindwhichare
typicallyanchoredbyvegetation
Deeplycurved,looksimilartobarchans,
butareconvexinthedownwinddirection

TypesofSandDunes
Longitudinaldunesforminareas
withlargesandsupply,parallelto
theprevailingwinddirection
Extremelylong,high,straightand
regularlyspaced
Crosswindsmayplaypartintheir
development
Areabetweenparalleldunesisswept
cleanofsandbywinds
Formationmechanismstillnotfully
understood

EndofChapter13