AEOLIAN DEPOSITIONAL

ENVIRONMENT

AEOLIAN DEPOSITIONAL
ENVIRONMENTS-OVERVIEW

Aeolian sedimentary processes are those involving transport and deposition

of material by the wind.
The whole of the surface of the globe is affected by the wind to varying
degrees, but aeolian deposits are only dominant in a relatively restricted
range of settings.
Almost all depositional environments include a component of material that
has been blown in as airborne dust, including the deep marine
environments, and thick accumulations of wind-blown dust are known from
Quaternary strata.

AEOLIAN TRANSPORT

Aeolian sedimentary processes are those involving transport and

deposition of material by the wind.
The term aeolian (or eolian in North American usage) is used to
describe the processes of transport of fine sediment up to sand size by
the wind, and aeolian environments are those in which the deposits
are made up mainly of wind-blown material.

AEOLIAN TRANSPORT
-Global wind patterns-

Deposits
consisting of
grains coarser
than
coarse
sand
are
unlikely to be
aeolian
deposits.

The distribution of high- and low-pressure belts at different latitudes creates

wind patterns that are deflected by the Coriolis force.

Air masses blowing over mountain ranges are forced upwards and are cooled,
and similarly the air is chilled when winds blow over ice caps: this results in
katabatic winds, which are strong, cold air masses moving down mountain
slopes or off the edges of ice masses.

AEOLIAN TRANSPORT
-Aeolian transport processes

A flow of air over a loose grain

of sand exerts a lift force on the
particle and with increasing
velocity the force may increase
to the point where the grain
rolls or saltates.
Winds of 55 ms-1 or more are
recorded during hurricanes, but
strong winds over land areas
are typically around 30 ms-1,
and at these velocities the
upper limit on the size of quartz
grains moved by the wind is
around a half a millimetre in
diameter, that is, medium sand
size storms.

At
high
wind
velocities silt- and
clay-sized
particles
are
carried
as
suspended load.
Airborne material
can be literally
carried
around
the
world
by
winds
and
be
deposited in all
depositional
environments.

DESERTS AND ERGS

A desert is a continental area

that
receives
little
precipitation.
They are arid areas that
receive less than 250mm yr-1
precipitation.
This definition of a desert does
consider temperature to be a
factor,
for,
although
the
classic deserts of the world
today, such as the Sahara, are
hot as well as dry places, there
are also many dry areas that
are also cold, including polar
deserts of high latitudes.

DESERTS AND ERGS

The lack of vegetation is an important

influence on surface processes because
without a plant cover detritus lies loose
on the surface where it is subject to
aeolian activity.

DESERTS AND ERGS

An erg is an area where sand has accumulated as a result of aeolian

processes.
Ergs are prominent features of some deserts, but in fact most deserts
are not sandy but are large barren areas known as rocky deserts.
Rocky deserts are areas of deflation that is, removal of material, and
as such are not depositional environments.

DESERTS AND ERGS

Rocks in a desert are subject

to a sand-blasting effect as
sand and dust particles are
blown against the surface by
the wind.
This erosive effect on the
faces
produces
a
characteristic clast shape,
which is called a zweikanter
if two faces are polished
smooth, or dreikanter if
there are three polished
faces.
Long exposure of a rock
surface
in
the
oxidizing
conditions of a desert also
results in the development of
a dark, surface patina of iron
and manganese oxides known
as a desert varnish.

DESERTS AND ERGS

Rocks in a desert are subject to a sand-blasting effect as sand and dust

particles are blown against the surface by the wind.
This erosive effect on the faces produces a characteristic clast shape, which is
called a zweikanter if two faces are polished smooth, or dreikanter if there are

DESERTS
AND ERGS

CHARACTERISTICS OF
WIND-BLOWN PARTICLES
-Texture of aeolian particles-

When two grains collide in the air

they do so with greater impact than
they would experience under water.
Sand grains that have undergone a
sustained
period
of
aeolian
transport therefore become wellrounded, or even very wellrounded.
Grain roundness is therefore a
characteristic that can easily be
seen in hand specimen using a
hand lens, or will be evident under
the microscope if a thin-section is
cut of an aeolian sandstone.
A wind blowing at a relatively
steady velocity can transport grains
only up to a particular size
threshold.

CHARACTERISTICS OF
WIND-BLOWN PARTICLES
-Texture of aeolian particles

Grains close to the threshold for

transport are carried as bedload and
deposited as ripples and dunes
whereas finer grains remain in
suspension and are carried away.
This
effective
and
selective
separation
of
grains
during
transport
means
that
aeolian
deposits are typically well-sorted.
Sands in dunes are normally fine
to medium grained, with no
coarser grains present and most of
the finer grains winnowed away by
the wind.
This winnowing effect, the
selective removal of finer grains
from the sediment in a flow, also
occurs in water flows, but is more
effective in the lower density and
viscosity medium of air.

CHARACTERISTICS OF
WIND-BLOWN PARTICLES
-Composition of aeolian deposits

When a relatively hard mineral,

such as quartz, collides with a
less robust mineral, for example
mica, the latter will tend to suffer
more damage.
Abrasion during transport by
wind therefore selectively breaks
down the more labile grains.
A mixture of different grain types
becomes reduced to a grain
assemblage that consists of very
resistant minerals such as
quartz and similarly robust lithic
fragments such as chert.
Most modern and ancient winddeposited sands are quartz
arenites.

CHARACTERISTICS OF
WIND-BLOWN PARTICLES
-Texture of aeolian particles

In places where loose carbonate

material is exposed on beaches, the
sand-sized and finer sediment can
be transported and redeposited by
the wind.
If the wind direction is onshore,
wind-blown carbonate sands can
accumulate and build up dune
bedforms.
The clasts may be ooids, bioclasts
or pellets, depending upon what is
available on the beach, and are
well-rounded and well-sorted.
If the clasts are bioclastic they will
commonly have a relatively low
density, so wind-blown grains may
be very coarse sand or granule size.

CHARACTERISTICS OF
WIND-BLOWN PARTICLES
-Texture of aeolian particles-

Windblown
carbonates
may
accumulate in temperate as well as
tropical settings: they are most
commonly found near to coasts, but
may also occur tens of kilometers
inland.
Aeolian carbonate deposits are more
stable features than dunes made of
quartz sand.
Lithified
wind-blown
carbonate
deposits are termed aeolianites, and
these may be locally important
components of coastal deposition.

AEOLIAN BEDFORMS
-Aeolian ripple bedforms

Aeolian ripples have extremely variable

wavelengths (crest to crest distance) ranging
from a few centimeters to several
meters.
Ripple heights (bottom of the trough to the
top of a crest) range from less than a
centimeter
to
more
than
ten
centimeters.
Coarser grains tend to be concentrated at
the crests, where the finer grains are
winnowed away by the wind, and as aeolian
ripples migrate they may form a layer of
inversely graded sand.
Where a crest becomes well-developed
grains may avalanche down into the adjacent
trough forming cross-lamination.

AEOLIAN BEDFORMS
-Aeolian dune bedforms

Aeolian dunes are bedforms that range

from 3m to 600m in wavelength and
are between 10 cm and 100m high.
They migrate by the saltation of sand
up the stoss (upwind) side of the dune
to the crest.
This saltation may result in the
formation of aeolian ripples which are
commonly seen on the stoss sides of
dunes.
The orientation and form (planar or
trough) of the cross-bedding will depend
on the type of dune.

AEOLIAN BEDFORMS
-Aeolian dune bedforms

Planar cross-beds will form by

the migration of transverse
dunes, straight-crested forms
aligned perpendicular to the
prevailing wind direction.
Transverse dunes form where
there is an abundant supply of
sand.
As the sand supply decreases
there is a transition to barchan
dunes,
which
are
lunate
structures with arcuate slip
faces
forming
trough
crossbedding.

AEOLIAN BEDFORMS
-Aeolian dune bedforms

Under circumstances where there

are two prominent wind directions
at approximately 90 to each
other, linear or seif dunes form.
The deposits of these linear dunes
are characterized by cross-bedding
reflecting avalanching down both
sides of the dune and hence
oriented in different directions.
In areas of multiple wind directions
star dunes have slip faces in many
orientations and hence the crossbedding directions display a similar
variability.
The size of the set of cross-beds
formed by the migration of aeolian
dunes can vary from around a
metre to ten or twenty metres.

AEOLIAN BEDFORMS
-Draa bedforms

When an erg is viewed from high

altitudes in aerial photographs or
satellite images, it is possible to see a
pattern of structures that are an order
of magnitude larger than dunes.
The surface of the erg shows an
undulation on a scale of hundreds of
meters to kilometer's in wavelength
and tens to hundreds of meters in
amplitude.
These structures are known as draas
and there is again evidence that they
are a distinct, larger bedform separate
from the dunes that may be
superimposed on them.
Draas are usually made up of dunes on
the stoss and lee sides, but a single slip
face may develop on some lee slopes.

AEOLIAN BEDFORMS
-Palaeowind directions

The slip faces of aeolian dunes

generally face downwind so by
measuring the direction of dip
of crossbeds formed by the
migration of aeolian dunes it is
possible to determine the
direction of the prevailing wind
at the time of deposition.

DESERT ENVIRONMENTS

Aeolian sands form one part of

an arid zone facies association
that also includes ephemeral lake
deposits and alluvial fan and/or
ephemeral river sediments.
In these dry areas, sediment is
brought into the basin by rivers
that bring weathered detritus
from the surrounding catchment
areas and deposit poorly sorted
mixtures of sediment.
The sandy component of these
deposits
is
subsequently
reworked by the wind and
redeposited in other parts of
the basin in aeolian dune
complexes.

Water from these rivers and fans

ponds in the basin to form
ephemeral lakes and these
temporary lakes dry up to leave
deposits of mud and evaporite
minerals.
Through time the positions of the
ephemeral lakes, sand dunes and
the alluvial fans will change, and
the deposits of these three
subenvironments
will
be
preserved as intercalated beds
in the succession of strata.
The
dominant
factor
in
determining the distribution and
extent of sandy deserts is
climate.

DESERT
ENVIRONMENTS

DESERT ENVIRONMENTS
-Water table

The land surface in sandy

deserts is mainly dry, but if the
substrate is porous sediment or
rock there will be groundwater
below the surface.
The level below the surface of
this groundwater, the water
table, is determined by the
amount of water that is charging
the water-bearing strata, the
aquifer, and the relative level of
the nearest lake or sea.
Charge to the aquifer is from
areas around the desert that
receive rainfall, and direct
precipitation on the desert itself.

A cross section beneath the Sahara Desert from

the mountains of Libya in the west to the Nile
River in the east unmasks the Nubian aquifer,
which extends beneath the Sahara Desert.

DESERT ENVIRONMENTS
-Water table-

A rise in water table therefore tends to

promote the accumulation of sediment within
the erg and vice versa.

DESERT ENVIRONMENTS
-Global climate variations

The formation of ergs requires an appropriate configuration of

topography and wind patterns within a suitable climate belt.
Modern sandy deserts are in the warm subtropical regions, which
have predominantly dry, offshore wind patterns: most, in fact, lie to
the western sides of continents in belts of westerly winds that
have lost all of their moisture while crossing the eastern side of the
continent.

DESERT ENVIRONMENTS
-Colour in desert sediments

The sands in modern deserts

such
as
the
Sahara
are
generally yellow.
This colour is due to the
presence of iron minerals, which
occur as very fine coatings to
the sand grains, particularly the
iron
hydroxide
goethite
(Fe(OH)x), which is a dull yellow
mineral.
Oxidation of goethite forms the
common iron oxide mineral
haematite, Fe2O3, and this very
common mineral has a strong
red color when it is very finely
disseminated as a coating on
sand grains.

DESERT ENVIRONMENTS
-Colour in desert sediments

Sedimentary successions composed of strongly reddened sandstone

and mudstone are sometimes referred to as red beds.
It is tempting to use the presence of haematite as evidence that the
sediments were deposited in an oxidising continental environment.

DESERT ENVIRONMENTS
-Life in deserts and fossils in aeolian deposits

The absence of regular supplies of water in deserts makes them

harsh environments for most plants and animals.
A few specialized plants are able to survive long periods of drought
and these form the bottom of the food chain for insects, reptiles,
birds and mammals, but none occur in large quantities.
Only the most resistant animal remains, such as the bones of large
animals such as dinosaurs, have much potential to be preserved in
aeolian environments.

AEOLIAN DEPOSITS OUTSIDE DESERTS

-Aeolian dust deposits

There are deposits of Quaternary age in

eastern Europe, North America and China
that are interpreted as accumulations of
wind-blown dust.
These deposits, known as loess, locally
occur in beds several metres thick
made up predominantly of well-sorted
silt-sized material, with little clay or
sand-sized material present.
Aeolian dust is dispersed worldwide, but
most of it ends up in other marine and
continental depositional environments
where it mixes with other sediment and
its origin cannot easily be determined.

AEOLIAN DEPOSITS OUTSIDE DESERTS

-Aeolian sands in other environments-Beach dunes-

Sand dunes built up by

aeolian
action
can
form
adjacent to beaches in any
climatic setting.
Beach dune ridges form where
the foreshore sediments are
mainly sandy, exposed at low
tide and subject to removal by
onshore winds.
In humid climates the dunes
become colonized by grasses,
shrubs and trees that stabilize
the sand and allow the ridges
to build up meters to tens of
meters thickness.

AEOLIAN DEPOSITS OUTSIDE DESERTS

-Aeolian sands in other environments-Periglacial deposits

Glacial
outwash
areas are
places where loose detritus that
has been released from melting
ice remains exposed on the
surface for long periods of time
because plant growth and soil
formation is slow in periglacial
regions.
Wind blowing over the outwash
plain can pick up sand and
redeposit
it
locally,
usually
against topographic features such
as the side of a valley.
These patches of aeolian sand
may therefore occur intercalated
with fluvio-glacial facies but
rarely form large deposits.

SUMMARY

Aeolian deposits occur mainly in arid environments where surface

water is intermittent and there is little plant cover.
Sands deposited in these desert areas are characteristically both
compositionally and mineralogically mature with large-scale
cross-bedding formed by the migration of dune bedforms.
Oxidising conditions in deserts preclude the preservation of much
fossil material, and sediments are typically redyellow colours.
Associated facies in arid regions are mud and evaporites deposited
in ephemeral lakes and poorly sorted fluvial and alluvial fan
deposits.
Aeolian deposits are less common outside of desert environments,
occurring as local sandy facies associated with beaches and
glaciers, and as dust distributed over large distances into many
different environments, but, apart from Quaternary loess, rarely in
significant quantities.

SUMMARY
-Characteristics of aeolian deposits

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 crossbedding indicate wind direction.
colour yellow to red due to iron hydroxides and oxides.
facies associations occur with alluvial fans, ephemeral river and
lake facies in deserts, also with beach deposits or glacial outwash
facies.