* Aeolian and Barrier Island

Depositional System
Group Members : Mustahsan Shuaib Mohtasim Niazi Ehsan Haroon Syed Muhammad Ali Shah Ahsan Khursheed Rehamt Ali

*Contents
General Introduction Aeolian Depositional System a. Introduction b. Deserts and their location c. Sediment transportation and Wind Erosion d. Features and Characteristics e. Sedimentary Structures and Interpretation Barrier Island System a. Introduction b. Associated Depositional Systems

* There are various depositional environments

in which the processes of sedimentation occurs. * Here in this presentation two important depositional systems Aeolian and Barrier Island Systems will be discussed. * Aeolian depositional system is a very diverse system which includes a lot of geological features and structures so it will be discussed in detail as compared to Barrier Island system

*
Introduction
* Aeolian sedimentary processes are those
involving transport and deposition of material by the wind

* The most obvious aeolian environments are

the large sandy deserts in hot dry areas of continents

* Aeolian sands deposited in desert

environments have distinctive characteristics that range from the microscopic grain morphology to the scale of crossstratification

* Aeolian sandstones are good hydrocarbon

reservoirs and aquifers.

* Deserts the are arid areas that receive less than

250mm/yr

* An erg is an area where sand has accumulated as

a result of aeolian processes

* Solar energy produces differential heating * Location of continents and oceans impacts heating * Coriolis effect deflects moving air * Mountains deflect wind * Most of deserts lie between 40N to 40S latitude.

Wind Erosion
Two forms of wind erosion
Deflation

Removal of material by wind transport

Abrasion

Mechanical weathering of rock by wind

blown sand

The blowing away of

loose sand, silt, and clay sized particles

Larger particles
remain

Only takes place in

desert areas, or in the absence of vegetation

Roots tend to hold

soil in place

*
Desert pavement is formed when sand and
silt are blown away
of 50 m

Deflation may excavate depressions in excess

*
*Natural sandblasting
* Kinetic energy of wind is transferred to wind-driven
particles

* Particles impact rock surfaces & knock off small pieces

 Abraded and polished

surface facing the wind Prevailing wind direction may be determined

rock surface produced by wind erosion

At least one polished

Uncommon compared
to stream erosion

* Following are the main features and structures

that are present in a typical Aeolian System,

o Ripples o Dunes o Cross Beddings o Mud Cracks

* Ripples form perpendicular to wind from saltating

grains

* Ripples occur at regularly spaced intervals * Ripples may form on dune surfaces
* Crest to crest distance ranging from a few centimetres
to several metres

* Ripple heights range from less than a centimetre to

more than ten centimetres

*
A hill or ridge of sand deposited by wind form from
small irregularities in the land surface Air flow is disrupted

A pocket of low wind velocity is formed Sediment accumulates in the pocket Growing mound further disrupts air flow

Crest becomes unstable, sand avalanches down the

slip face

*
Dune geometry
Asymmetrical shape Shallow upwind slope,
10-12O

Steep downwind slope,

33-34O, angle of repose the sand dunes depending upon the wind patterns and flows.

There are many types of

* Cross beddings are the features which are

strongly related to the Aeolian system beds may dip in different directions

* Cross-bedding is the bedding in which adjacent * Each bed shows the paleo-current of the winds * In deserts the wind direction is changing
constantly thats why we find alternating beds dipping in different directions

* Cross beddings showing wind flowing pattern

in paleo-environment.

* In the deserts temporary lakes are formed known

as Playa lakes which are formed in the rainy season

* Especially when flash floods occur * These playa lakes are the dump site for the
minerals deposits and the ores also and evaporites also deposit large area

* Along with the minerals fine sediments like clay

* These fine grain sediments form a plain covering a

* Mud cracks are produces in these areas when

water evaporates

* Sometimes these cracks are preserved hence can

be used for interpretation of paleo-environment.

* Famous playa in death valley * This is used as racing track * Here stones moves spontaneously , no solid

explanation yet but wind and ice are possible causes.

* Lithologies sand and silt only * Mineralogy mainly quartz, with rare examples of

carbonate or other grains * Texture well- to very well-sorted silt to medium sand * Fossils rare in desert dune deposits, occasional vertebrate bones * Bed geometry sheets or lenses of sand * Sedimentary structures large-scale dune crossbedding and parallel stratification in sands * Palaeocurrents dune orientations reconstructed from cross-bedding indicate wind direction * Colour yellow to red due to iron hydroxides and oxides * Facies associations occur with alluvial fans, playa lakes, and lake facies in deserts,

*
Introduction
* Mainland beaches are long, narrow accumulations
of sand aligned parallel to the shoreline and attached to land * Barriers range in size from less than 100m wide to several kilometers and their length ranges from a few hundred meters to many tens of kilometers * They are similar to mainland beaches but are separated from land by a shallow lagoon, estuary, or marsh * Barrier-island systems are generated predominantly by marine processes

*
* Beach and barrier-island are best developed on
wave-dominated coasts with small to moderate tidal range * Types of coasts with respect to tidal range: Microtidal (0-2 m tidal range) Mesotidal (2-4 m tidal range) Macrotidal (>4 m tidal range) * Barriers are generally absent on Macrotidal coasts

* The barrier-island setting is not a single

environment but a composite of three separate * environments * They may be partially attached to the land, forming a beach spit, * or wholly attached as a welded barrier that completely encloses a lagoon, * or can be isolated as a barrier island in front of a lagoon

*
* Beach deposits form on the beach face or
foreshore, which is the intertidal zone extending from mean low-tide level to mean high-tide level, corresponding to the zone of wave swash extends from mean low tide level on the beach down to the lower limit of fair-weather wave base
sub environments in the back-barrier lagoon landward of barrier beaches.

* Shore face deposits form in an environment that * Back-barrier sediments are deposited in several

* Lithology sand and conglomerate * Mineralogy mature quartz sands and shelly sands * Texture well sorted, well rounded clasts * Bed geometry elongate lenses * Sedimentary structures low-angle stratification and
wave reworking * Palaeo currents mainly wave-formed structures * Fossils shelly debris * Color not diagnostic ( depends on local lithology) * Facies associations may be associated with coastal plain, lagoonal or shallow-marine facies

THATS ALL!