Grain-size characteristics of linear dunes on the northern margin of Qarhan Salt Lake, northwestern China
LI Jiyan*, DONG Zhibao, ZHANG Zhengcai, QIAN Guangqiang, LUO Wanyin, LU Junfeng
Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Grain-size characteristics of linear dunes on the northern margin of Qarhan Salt Lake, northwestern China
LI Jiyan*, DONG Zhibao, ZHANG Zhengcai, QIAN Guangqiang, LUO Wanyin, LU Junfeng
Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
摘要 In order to clarify the formation mechanism of linear dunes on the northern margin of Qarhan Salt Lake, northwestern China, we analyzed the grain-size and sorting parameters of the dune and interdune sands. The surface sands (0–30 mm) from the dune base to the crest of both flanks and interdune corridors were sampled along transects from upwind to downwind through the dune field. The results indicated that the grain-size distribution differed at different positions between and within the dunes. The frequency curve for dune sands mainly showed a bimodal distribution, while the interdune sediments showed a trimodal distribution. The grain size distribution of the linear dunes showed a finer crest pattern, i.e. the crests were composed of sands that were generally finer, better sorted than those of base sands. In addition, at the dune field scale, the dune crest sands were tending to become much finer but sorting became worse along the downwind transects. However, the grain-size parameters of sediments in the interdune corridors showed no clear pattern. The results demonstrated that the grain size and sorting parameters exhibited a systematic change not only at the individual scale but also at the dune field scale. Our results quantitatively estimate the limited role of cohesive sediments on the formation of linear dune under unidirectional wind regime. More attention should be paid to a long-term wind regime observation, internal sedimentary structures and their formation ages.
Abstract: In order to clarify the formation mechanism of linear dunes on the northern margin of Qarhan Salt Lake, northwestern China, we analyzed the grain-size and sorting parameters of the dune and interdune sands. The surface sands (0–30 mm) from the dune base to the crest of both flanks and interdune corridors were sampled along transects from upwind to downwind through the dune field. The results indicated that the grain-size distribution differed at different positions between and within the dunes. The frequency curve for dune sands mainly showed a bimodal distribution, while the interdune sediments showed a trimodal distribution. The grain size distribution of the linear dunes showed a finer crest pattern, i.e. the crests were composed of sands that were generally finer, better sorted than those of base sands. In addition, at the dune field scale, the dune crest sands were tending to become much finer but sorting became worse along the downwind transects. However, the grain-size parameters of sediments in the interdune corridors showed no clear pattern. The results demonstrated that the grain size and sorting parameters exhibited a systematic change not only at the individual scale but also at the dune field scale. Our results quantitatively estimate the limited role of cohesive sediments on the formation of linear dune under unidirectional wind regime. More attention should be paid to a long-term wind regime observation, internal sedimentary structures and their formation ages.
The research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41171010, 41130533, 41301003).
通讯作者:
LI Jiyan
E-mail: jyli@lzb.ac.cn
引用本文:
LI Jiyan, DONG Zhibao, ZHANG Zhengcai, QIAN Guangqiang, LUO Wanyin, LU Junfeng. Grain-size characteristics of linear dunes on the northern margin of Qarhan Salt Lake, northwestern China[J]. 干旱区科学, 2015, 7(4): 438-449.
LI Jiyan, DONG Zhibao, ZHANG Zhengcai, QIAN Guangqiang, LUO Wanyin, LU Junfeng. Grain-size characteristics of linear dunes on the northern margin of Qarhan Salt Lake, northwestern China. Journal of Arid Land, 2015, 7(4): 438-449.
Ahlbrandt T S. 1979. Textural parameters of eolian deposits. In: McKee E D. A Study of Global Sand Seas. Washington: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1052, 21–51.Bagnold R A. 1941. The Physics of Blown Sand and Desert Dunes. New York: Methuen, 226–229.Besler H. 1983. The response diagram: distinction between aeolian mobility and stability of sands and aeolian residuals by grain-size parameters. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie Supplementband, 45: 287–301.Buckley R. 1989. Grain-size characteristics of linear dunes in central Australia. Journal of Arid Environments, 16(1): 23–28.Edgett K S, Blumberg D G. 1994. Star and linear dunes on Mars. Icarus, 112(2): 448–464.Folk R L, Ward W C. 1957. Brazos river bar: a study in the significance of grain-size parameters. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 27(1): 3–26.Folk R L. 1971. Longitudinal dunes of the northwestern edge of the Simpson desert, Northern Territory, Australia, 1. Geomorphology and grain-size relationships. Sedimentology, 16(1–2): 5–54.Goudie A S, Allchin B, Hegde K T M. 1973. The former extensions of the Great Indian Sand Desert. Geographical Journal, 139(2): 243–257.Herrmann H J, Durán O, Parteli E J R, et al. 2008. Vegetation and induration as sand dunes stabilizators. Journal of Coastal Research, 24(6): 1357–1368.Hesp P A , Hyde R, Hesp V, et al. 1989. Longitudinal dunes can move sideways. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 14(5): 447–451.Kerr R C, Nigra J O. 1952. Eolian sand control. Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 36(8): 1541–1573.Lancaster N. 1981. Grain-size characteristics of Namib Desert linear dunes. Sedimentology, 28(1): 115–122.Lancaster N. 1982. Linear dunes. Progress in Physical Geography, 6(4): 475–504.Lancaster N. 1986. Grain-size characteristics of linear dunes in the southwestern Kalahari. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 56(3): 395–400.Lancaster N. 1995. Geomorphology of Desert Dunes. London: Routledge, 59–70.Lancaster N. 2006. Linear dunes on Titan. Science, 312(5774): 702–703.Lee P, Thomas P C. 1995. Longitudinal dunes on Mars: Relation to current wind regimes. Journal of Geophysical Research, 100(E3): 5381–5395.Livingstone I. 1987. Grain-size variation on a ‘complex’ linear dune in the Namib Desert. In: Frostick L, Reid I. Desert Sediments: Ancient and Modern, Special Publication-Geological Society of London. Oxford: Blackwell, 281–291.Livingstone I, Warren A. 1996. Aeolian geomorphology: An introduction. Harlow: Longman, 116–119.Livingstone I, Bullard J E, Wiggs G F S, et al. 1999. Grain-size variation on dunes in the Southwest Kalahari, Southern Africa. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 69(3): 546–552.Lorenz R D, Wall S, Radebaugh J, et al. 2006. The sand seas of Titan: Cassini RADAR observations of longitudinal dunes. Science, 312(5774): 724–727.Petrov M P. 1976. Deserts of the World. New York: Wiley.Qian G Q, Dong Z B, Zhang Z C, et al. 2012. Granule ripples in the Kumtagh Desert, China: Morphology, grain-size and influencing factors. Sedimentology, 59(6): 1888–1901.Qian Y B, Wu Z N, Yang H F, et al. 2009. Spatial heterogeneity for grain-size distribution of eolian sand soil on longitudinal dunes in the southern Gurbantunggut Desert. Journal of Arid Land, 1(1): 26–33.Qian Z Y, Liu S Q. 1994. Research on aeolian sand characteristics and depositional structure of linear dunes. Journal of Desert Research,14(3): 25–30. (in Chinese)Rubin D M, Hesp P A. 2009. Multiple origins of linear dunes on Earth and Titan. Nature Geoscience, 2(9): 653–658.Thomas D S G. 1988. Analysis of linear dune sediment-form relationships in the Kalahari Dune Desert. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 13(6): 545–553.Tsoar H. 1978. The dynamics of longitudinal dunes: Final Technical Report. U.S. Army European Research Office.Tsoar H. 1989. Linear dunes–forms and formation. Progress in Physical Geography, 13(4): 507–528.Visher G S. 1969. Grain-size distributions and depositional processes. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 39(3): 1074–1106.Warren A. 1971. Dunes in the Ténéré Desert. Geographical Journal, 137(4): 458–461.Warren A. 1972. Observations on dunes and bi-modal sands in the Ténéré Desert. Sedimentology, 19(1–2): 37–44.Watson A. 1986. Grain-size variations on a longitudinal dune and a barchan dune. Sedimentary Geology, 46(1–2): 49–66.Wilson I G. 1972. Aeolian bedforms–their development and origins. Sedimentology, 19(3–4): 173–210.Zhou J X, Zhu Y, Yuan C Q. 2012. Origin and lateral migration of linear dunes in the Qaidam Basin of NW China revealed by dune sediments, internal structures, and optically stimulated luminescence ages, with implications for linear dunes on Titan. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 124(7–8): 1147–1154.
2015, Vol. 7 
