Dune

Erg Chebbi, Morocco

Dunes of Maspalomas in Gran Canaria

Avalanche deposits on a crest of the Kelso Dunes, Mojave National Preserve, California.

In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by aeolian processes. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind. The valley or trough between dunes is called a slack. A "dune field" is an area covered by extensive sand dunes. Large dune fields are known as ergs.

Some coastal areas have one or more sets of dunes running parallel to the shoreline directly inland from the beach. In most cases the dunes are important in protecting the land against potential ravages by storm waves from the sea. Although the most widely distributed dunes are those associated with coastal regions, the largest complexes of dunes are found inland in dry regions and associated with ancient lake or sea beds.

Dunes also form under the action of water flow (alluvial processes), on sand or gravel beds of rivers, estuaries and the sea-bed.

The modern word "dune" came into English from French circa 1790. In ancient times, words cognate to "dune" probably had the meaning of a built-up hill or citadel fortification.^[1]

Conservation

Dune habitats provide niches for highly specialized plants and animals, including numerous rare species and some endangered species. Due to widespread human population expansion, dunes face destruction through land development and recreational usages, as well as alteration to prevent the encroachment of sand onto inhabited areas. Some countries, notably the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Netherlands, have developed significant programs of dune protection through the use of sand dune stabilization. In the U.K., a Biodiversity Action Plan has been developed to assess dunes loss and to prevent future dunes destruction.

Aeolian Dune shapes

Crescentic

Crescent-shaped mounds are generally wider than they are long. The slipfaces are on the concave sides of the dunes. These dunes form under winds that blow consistently from one direction, and they also are known as barchans, or transverse dunes. Some types of crescentic dunes move more quickly over desert surfaces than any other type of dune. A group of dunes moved more than 100 metres per year between 1954 and 1959 in the China's Ningxia Province, and similar speeds have been recorded in the Western Desert of Egypt. The largest crescentic dunes on Earth, with mean crest-to-crest widths of more than 3 kilometres, are in China's Taklamakan Desert.

Linear

Straight or slightly sinuous sand ridges typically much longer than they are wide are known as linear dunes. They may be more than 160 kilometres (99 mi) long. Some linear dunes merge to form Y-shaped compound dunes. Many form in bidirectional wind regimes. The long axes of these dunes extend in the resultant direction of sand movement.

Linear loess hills known as pahas appear to be superficially similar. These hills appear to have been formed during the last ice age under permafrost conditions dominated by sparse tundra vegetation.

Star

Radially symmetrical, star dunes are pyramidal sand mounds with slipfaces on three or more arms that radiate from the high center of the mound. They tend to accumulate in areas with multidirectional wind regimes. Star dunes grow upward rather than laterally. They dominate the Grand Erg Oriental of the Sahara. In other deserts, they occur around the margins of the sand seas, particularly near topographic barriers. In the southeast Badain Jaran Desert of China, the star dunes are up to 500 metres tall and may be the tallest dunes on Earth.

Dome

Oval or circular mounds that generally lack a slipface, dome dunes are rare, and these occur at the far upwind margins of sand seas.

Parabolic

U-shaped mounds of sand with convex noses trailed by elongated arms are parabolic dunes. Sometimes these dunes are called U-shaped, blowout, or hairpin dunes, and they are well known in coastal deserts. Unlike crescent shaped dunes, their crests point upwind. The elongated arms of parabolic dunes follow rather than lead because they have been fixed by vegetation, while the bulk of the sand in the dune migrates forward.

Longitudinal (Seif) and transverse dunes

Seif dunes.

Rub' al Khali seen by the ASTER instrument on NASA's Terra satellite

Longitudinal dunes (also called Seif dunes, after the Arabic word for "sword"), elongate parallel to the prevailing wind, possibly caused by a larger dune having its smaller sides blown away. Seif dunes are sharp-crested and are common in the Sahara. They range up to 300 m (980 ft) in height and 300 km (190 mi) in length. In the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula, a region called the Empty Quarter because of its total lack of population, a vast erg called Rub al Khali contains seif dunes that stretch for almost 200 km and reach heights of over 300 m.

Seif dunes are thought to develop from barchans if a change of the usual wind direction occurs. The new wind direction will lead to the development of a new wing and the over development of one of the original wings. If the prevailing wind then becomes dominant for a lengthy period of time the dune will revert to its barchan form, with one exaggerated wing. Should the strong wind then return the exaggerated wing will further extend so that eventually it will be supplied with sand when the prevailing wind returns. The wing will continue to grow under both wind conditions, thus producing a seif dune. On a seif dune the slip face develops on the side facing away from the strong wind, while the slip face of a barchan faces the direction of movement. In the sheltered troughs between highly developed seif dunes barchans may be formed because the wind is unidirectional.

A transverse dune is perpendicular to the prevailing wind, probably caused by a steady build-up of sand on an already existing minuscule mound.

Reversing dunes

Complex dune: Dune 7 in the Namib desert, one of the tallest in the world.

Occurring wherever winds periodically reverse direction, reversing dunes are varieties of any of the above shapes. These dunes typically have major and minor slipfaces oriented in opposite directions.

All these dune shapes may occur in three forms: simple, compound, and complex. Simple dunes are basic forms with a minimum number of slipfaces that define the geometric type. Compound dunes are large dunes on which smaller dunes of similar type and slipface orientation are superimposed, and complex dunes are combinations of two or more dune types. A crescentic dune with a star dune superimposed on its crest is the most common complex dune. Simple dunes represent a wind regime that has not changed in intensity or direction since the formation of the dune, while compound and complex dunes suggest that the intensity and direction of the wind has changed.

Dune types

The Great Dune of Pyla is the largest dune in Europe.

Sub-aqueous dunes

Sub-aqueous lithified dune (megaripple) from Utah.

Sub-aqueous (underwater) dunes (also known in geology as megaripples) form on a bed of sand or gravel under the actions of water flow. They are ubiquitous in natural channels such as rivers and estuaries, and also form in engineered canals and pipelines. Dunes move downstream as the upstream slope is eroded and the sediment deposited on the downstream or lee slope in typical bedform construction.^[2]

These dunes most often form as a continuous 'train' of dunes, showing remarkable similarity in wavelength and height.

Dunes on the bed of a channel significantly increase flow resistance, their presence and growth playing a major part in river flooding.

Lithified dunes

A lithified (consolidated) sand dune is a type of sandstone that is formed when a marine or aeolian sand dune becomes compacted and hardened. Once in this form, water passing through the rock can carry and deposit minerals, which can alter the color of the rock. Cross-bedded layers of stacks of lithified dunes can produce the cross-hatching patterns, such as those seen in the Zion National Park in the western United States.

A slang term that is used in the Southwestern States (of the U.S.A.) for those consolidated and hardened sand dunes is "slickrock", a name that was introduced by pioneers of the Old West because their steel-rimmed wagon wheels could not gain traction on the rock.

Coastal dunes

Coastal dunes on the Kurnell Peninsula

Dunes form where constructive waves encourage the accumulation of sand, and where prevailing onshore winds blow this sand inland. There need to be obstacles e.g. vegetation, pebbles etc. to trap the moving sand grains. As the sand grains get trapped they start to accumulate, starting dune formation. The wind then starts to affect the mound of sand by eroding sand particles from the windward side and depositing them on the leeward side. Gradually this action causes the dune to “migrate” inland, as it does so it accumulates more and more sand. Dunes provide privacy and shelter from the wind.

Ecological succession on coastal dunes

Coastal dunes in Curonian spit.

As a dune forms, plant succession occurs. The conditions on an embryo dune are harsh, with salt spray from the sea carried on strong winds. The dune is well drained and often dry, and composed of calcium carbonate from seashells. Rotting seaweed, brought in by storm waves adds nutrients to allow pioneer species to colonize the dune. These pioneer species are marram grass, sea wort grass and other sea grasses in the United Kingdom. These plants are well adapted to the harsh conditions of the fore-dune typically having deep roots which reach the water table, root nodules that produce nitrogen compounds, and protected stoma, reducing transpiration. Also, the deep roots bind the sand together, and the dune grows into a fore dune as more sand is blown over the grasses. The grasses add nitrogen to the soil, meaning other, less hardy plants can then colonize the dunes. Typically these are heather, heaths and gorses. These too are adapted to the low soil water content and have small, prickly leaves which reduce transpiration. Heather adds humus to the soil and is usually replaced by coniferous trees, which can tolerate low soil pH, caused by the accumulation and decomposition of organic matter with nitrate leaching.^[3] Coniferous forests and heathland are common climax communities for sand dune systems.

Young dunes are called yellow dunes and dunes which have high humus content are called grey dunes. Leaching occurs on the dunes, washing humus into the slacks, and the slacks may be much more developed than the exposed tops of the dunes. It is usually in the slacks that more rare species are developed and there is a tendency for the dune slacks soil to be waterlogged and where only marsh plants can survive. These plants would include: creeping willow, cotton grass, yellow ins, reeds, and rushes. As for the species, there is a tendency for natterjack toads to breed here.

Desertification

One way of preventing sand from accumulating in roadways is planting trees and vegetation along the road.

Sand dunes can impact humans negatively when they encroach on human habitats. Sand dunes move via a few different means, all of them helped along by wind. One way that dunes can move is by saltation, where sand particles skip along the ground like a rock thrown across a pond might skip across the water's surface. When these skipping particles land, they may knock into other particles and cause them to skip as well. With slightly stronger winds, particles collide in mid-air, causing sheet flows. In a major dust storm, dunes may move tens of metres through such sheet flows. Also as in the case of snow, sand avalanches, falling down the steep slopes of the dunes - that face away from the winds - also move the dunes forward.

Sand threatens buildings and crops in Africa, the Middle East, and China. Drenching sand dunes with oil stops their migration, but this approach is quite destructive to the dunes' animal habitats and uses a valuable resource. Sand fences might also slow their movement to a crawl, but geologists are still analyzing results for the optimum fence designs. Preventing sand dunes from overwhelming towns, villages, and agricultural areas has become a priority for the United Nations Environment Programme.

Examples

Sand dunes of Khongoryn Els, Gurvansaikhan NP, Mongolia.

Africa

• Alexandria Coastal Dunefields, in the Eastern Cape, South Africa ^[4]
• Western Sahara

Asia

• Akrotiri Sand Dune, Lemesos, Cyprus
• The dunes in the Thar desert in Rajasthan, India
• Tottori Sand Dunes, Tottori Prefecture, Japan
• Rig-e Jenn in the Central Desert of Iran.
• Rig-e Lut in the Southeast of Iran.
• The Ilocos Norte Sand Dunes in the Philippines, particularly Paoay Sand Dunes.
• Mer'eb Dune (also written as Merheb) in United Arab Emirates, used as an arena for motor sports and skiing.

Europe

• The Dune of Pyla, not far from Bordeaux, France, is the largest known sand dune in Europe
• Sands of Forvie within the Ythan Estuary complex, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
• Oxwich Dunes, near Swansea, is on the Gower Peninsula in Wales.
• Winterton Dunes – Norfolk, England
• Słowiński National Park, Poland

North America

Gypsum sand at White Sands NM

• The Athabasca Sand Dunes, the northmost sand dunes in the world, located in the Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park, Saskatchewan.
• The Kelso Dunes in the Mojave Desert of California.
• Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado.
• White Sands National Monument, New Mexico.
• Little Sahara Recreation Area, Utah.
• Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana, on the south shore of Lake Michigan.
• Warren Dunes State Park and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan, on the east shore of Lake Michigan.
• Algodones Dunes near Brawley, California.
• Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes, on the central coast of California.
• Monahans Sandhills State Park near Odessa, Texas.
• Beaver Dunes State Park near Beaver, Oklahoma.
• The Killpecker sand dunes of the Red Desert in southwestern Wyoming.
• Jockey's Ridge State Park – on the Outer Banks, North Carolina.
• Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area near Florence, Oregon, on the Pacific Coast.
• Bruneau Dunes State Park - Owyhee Desert, Idaho

South America

• Lençóis Maranhenses National Park in the state of Maranhão, Brazil
• Genipabu in Natal, Brazil
• Medanos de Coro National Park near the town of Coro, in Falcón State, Venezuela
• Cerro Blanco in Ica Province in Peru
• Cerro Medanoso in Atacama Region in Chile

World's highest dunes

Sand dune systems

An example of fencing at Studland

(coastal dunes featuring succession)

• Ashdod Sand Dune, Israel
• Crymlyn Burrows, Wales
• Kenfig Burrows, Wales
• Margam burrows, Wales
• Studland, Dorsetshire, England
• Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park, Alberta and Saskatchewan
• Murlough Sand Dunes, Newcastle, Co Down, Northern Ireland
• Morfa Harlech sand dunes, Gwynedd, Wales
• Newborough Warren, North Wales
• Bamburgh Dunes, Northumberland, England
• Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, near North Bend, Oregon
• Circeo National Park, a Mediterranean dune area on the southwest coast of the Lazio region of Italy
• Winterton, Norfolk, England
• Ynyslas Sand Dunes, Wales
• Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan

Extraterrestrial dunes

Dunes can likely be found in any environment where there is a substantial atmosphere, winds, and dust to be blown. Dunes are common on Mars, and they have also been observed in the equatorial regions of Titan using the radar system of the Cassini space probe.

Titan's dunes include large expanses with modal lengths of about 20–30 km. The regions are not topographically confined, resembling sand seas. These dunes are interpreted to be longitudinal dunes whose crests are oriented parallel to the dominant wind direction, which generally indicates west-to-east wind flow. The sand is likely composed of hydrocarbon particles, possibly with some water ice mixed in.^[7]

Images

A diagram showing the formation of a dune with a slipface	Mesquite Flat Dunes in Death Valley National Park	Erg Awbari (Idehan Ubari) in the Sahara desert region of Fezzan in Libya	Some dunes are suitable for dune-boarding
Sand dunes in Death Valley National Park. The image shows coppice dunes,which are formed around vegetation	A footbridge provides beach access and protects dunes	A sand dune in Namibia	A dune in Morocco
Sand dunes with scattered vegetation in UAE	Parabolic dune partially stabilized by marram grass	Sand blowing off a crest in the Kelso Dunes of the Mojave Desert, California	A cat-shaped sand dune on-laps onto the Cronese Mountains, California
Satellite image of dune fields near Luís Correia.

See also

• Antidune
• Barchan
• Earth science
• Erg (landform)
• Ice dune
• List of landforms
• Machair
• Masseira
• Médanos
• Sandhill
• Singing sand
• Strand plain

References and notes

• Ralph Bagnold The Physics of Blown Sand (1941)
• "Nouakchott, Mauritania". NASA Earth Observatory. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17168. Retrieved 2006-04-28. 
• V. Badescu, R. B. Cathcart and A. A. Bolonkin, "Sand Dune Fixation: a solar-powered Sahara seawater pipeline macroproject", in: Land Degradation & Development; 19, (2008): doi: 10.1002/ldr.864.

External links

• Coastal Sand Dunes
• Magilligan Dunes, Northern Ireland
• Dune pattern identification, U.S. Army
• Treading Lightly: Minimum Impact Dune Hiking
• Dune Racers of the Empty Quarter – video of sand dunes in the United Arab Emirates
• The Bibliography of Aeolian Research
• Sahara sand dunes forms – as investigated by native offroaders from Egypt
• Gold Coast Dune Management Policy
• USGS page on dune types
• Great Sand Dunes National Park