Aeolian Landforms

GGY 168

Barend vd Merwe
3 November 2023

1 Link to earlier work

1. The directional variability of the wind refers to the number of modes there are.
2. As the speed of the wind increases, the amount of particles being transported also increases.

2 Introduction
1. The accumulation of windblown sand creates dunes and 99% of dunes occur in desert environments (Tsoar,
2001).
2. Dunes can either be simple, compound, or complex (Tsoar, 2001):
(a) Simple dunes consists of individual dunes that are separated from each other. (see Fig. 2)
(b) Compound dunes consist of two or more dunes of the same type that have merged together or are
superimposed on one another.
(c) Complex dunes consist of two or more dunes of different types that have merged together or are
superimposed on one another.
3. Dunes can be classified based on movement (Tsoar, 2001):
(a) Migrating dunes are dunes where the whole dune body advances with little or no changes in shape.
These tend to be associated with an unimodal wind regime.
(b) Elongating dunes are dunes where the body extends in length over time. These tend to be associated
with a bimodal wind regime.
(c) Accumulating dunes are dunes that have little or no movement or elongation. These are associated
either with a bimodal or multimodal wind regime.
4. Dunes can also be classified based on how the sediment accumulates (Tsoar, 2001): (see Fig. 2)
(a) Accumulation due to the action of obstacles. (see Fig. 1)

Figure 1: An example of an echo and a lee dune that form due to obstacles.

(b) Accumulation due to surface roughness. These are also known as self-accumulating dunes.
(c) Accumulation due to the action of vegetation.

1
 Accumulation due to Accumulation due to
Simple Dunes
Topography Vegetation

Windward Clif -top Leeward Parabolic Vegetated Linear Nebkha

Accumulation Accumulation Accumulation Dunes Dunes

Accumulation due to
bed roughness or
aerodynamic roughness

Echo Climbing Clif -top Lee Falling

Dune Dune Dune Dune Dune

2
Fine Poorly Sorted
Sand Sand

Barchan Barchanoid Seif Star Sand Zibars

Ridges Dunes Dunes Wheels

Migrating Elongating Accumulating

1 0
Directional Variability

Figure 2: The classification scheme for simple dunes developed by Tsoar (2001).
3 Barchan dunes
1. Barchans are isolated mounds of sand that form in regions of limited sand supply that overlie coarse sand
or non-sandy surfaces (Tsoar, 2001).

2. The shape of a barchan represents a crescent with crests perpendicular to the wind and the horns pointing
downwind (Wiggs, 2013; Laity, 2008). (see Fig 3 and 4)

Figure 3: An oblique areal photo of barchan dunes (Photo Credit: George Steinmetz)

Figure 4: A simplified representation of how barchans are aligned with the wind.

3. The shape of barchan is calculated using the ac ratio where a refers to the length of the stoss slope and c
is the distance between the horns (Bourke and Goudie, 2009). (see Fig. 5)
4. The barchan can then be classified as follows (Bourke and Goudie, 2009):

(a) Slim: 0.125 - 0.375

(b) Normal: 0.376-0.625
(c) Pudgy: 0.626-0.875
(d) Fat: 0.876+

5. For example: What shape best describes the following barchan?

3
 cL

cR

Figure 5: The measurements on a barchan are needed to describe its shape (note that c = cl + cR ).

2m

(a) Measure the distances as depicted in Figure 5

4
 m
m
15

m
m
11

31
m
m
2m

(b) Then, using the scale, convert these values to metres:

i. a = 31mm = 5.177m
ii. cL = 11mm = 1.837m, cR = 15mm = 2.505m, therefore c = 4.342m
(c) Then the ratio can be calculated:
a
ratio =
c
5.177m
=
4.342m
= 1.19
∴ F at

6. Barchans can migrate for long distances downwind where the rate of migration is inversely proportional
to the size of the barchan (Laity, 2008):
(a) Small barchans can migrate up to 30m.yr−1 while larger barchans migrate between 5m.yr−1 and
10m.yr−1 .
(b) The rate of barchan migration can be estimated using the following equation

m = 30.35 − 2.26 log V

where m is the migration rate in meters per year and V is the volume of the dune in m3 (Jimenez
et al., 1999).
i. For example Barchan A has a volume of 250 000m3 and barchan B has a volume of 653 000m3 .
Which one would migrate the furthest in 1 year? Show your work.
A. Barchan A

m = 30.35 − log(250 000)

= 18.15 m.yr−1

B. Barchan B

m = 30.35 − log(653 000)

= 17.21 m.yr−1

C. Since barchan A migrates at 18.15m.yr−1 and Migration B migrates at 17.21m.yr−1 , it

means that in one year, barchan A would have migrated 18.15m and barchan B 17.21m.
Thus, barchan A would have migrated the furthest in 1 year.
7. Barchans receive sediment from upwind sources, lose sediment at their horns to downwind sources, and
trap sediment on their slip faces (Laity, 2008) (see Fig. 6)
(a) The windward side of the dune intercepts the sand lost from upwind sources.

5
 Sediment lost
Sediment received to downwind
from upwind
Sediment trapped
on barchan

Sediment lost
to downwind
Erosion Deposition
Figure 6: A simplified representation of the sediment movement on a barchan dune.

(b) On the dune, the sediment is transported to the crest and the horns due to the localized acceleration
of the airflow. (see Fig 7)
(c) At the crest, there is a sudden divergence of flow depositing material. This material then collapses
under the force of gravity to form a slip face. (see Fig 7)
(d) The horns are not big enough to form slipfaces and therefore sediment is lost to the downwind sources
at the horns.

Gravitational
Collapse
Accelerated airflow
(erosion)

Figure 7: A simplified representation of the airflow on a barchan (adapted from Wiggs (2013))

References
Bourke, M. C. and Goudie, A. S. (2009). Varieties of barchan form in the Namib Desert and on Mars, Aeolian
Research 1(1-2): 45–54.
Jimenez, J. A., Maia, L. P., Serra, J. and Morais, J. (1999). Aeolian dune migration along the Ceará coast,
north-eastern Brazil, Sedimentology 46(4): 689–701.
Laity, J. (2008). Deserts and desert environments, Wiley-Blackwell, West Sussex, UK.

Tsoar, H. (2001). Types of aeolian sand dunes, in N. J. Balmforth and A. Provenzale (eds), Geomorphological
Fluid Mechanics, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, chapter 17, pp. 403–429.
Wiggs, G. (2013). Dune morphology and dynamics, in J. F. Shroder (ed.), Treatise on Geomorphology, Vol. 11,
Elsevier, chapter 11, pp. 201–218.