Geomorphology Of Desert Dunes

Sand dunes are a globally important depositional landform and sedimentary system. Their origins and dynamics are important in understanding how deserts have evolved in response to climate change and changes in sand supply and mobility, and how they will continue to evolve in the future. This book provides a state-of-the-art review of the characteristics of desert dunes and their sediments, and explores their dynamics on timescales from days to millennia as they respond to changes in wind speed and direction, precipitation and sand supply. This extensively revised edition reflects the advances in our understanding of desert dunes, their dynamics and history; and covers recent developments including the luminescence dating revolution, ground penetrating radar and advances in numerical modeling. Also covering dunes on Mars and Titan, this authoritative reference is a must-have for researchers and graduate students working on desert dunes and aeolian geomorphology.

Including recent research findings from terrestrial satellite imagery, the study of planetary landscapes, and advances in laboratory work, this also covers the environmental processes involved in desertification and the solution of planning and

How desert dunes are formed, how they change, their environmental significance and the role of climate change - these issues are examined through extensive case studies drawn from South Africa, India, Northern Europe and Australia.

About one-third of the Earth’s land surface experiences a desert climate, and this area supports approximately 15% of the planet’s population. This percentage continues to grow, and with this growth comes the need to acquire and apply an understanding of desert geomorphology. Such an understanding is vital in managing scarce and fragile resources and in mitigating natural hazards. This authoritative reference book is comprehensive in its coverage of the geomorphology of desert environments, and is arranged thematically. It begins with an overview of global deserts, proceeds through treatments of weathering, hillslopes, rivers, piedmonts, lake basins, and aeolian surfaces, and concludes with a discussion of the role of climatic change. Written by a team of international authors, all of whom are active in the field, the chapters cover the spectrum of desert geomorphology.

A revised introduction to aeolian geomorphology written by noted experts in the field The new, revised and updated edition of Aeolian Geomorphology offers a concise and highly accessible introduction to the subject. The text covers the topics of deserts and coastlines, as well as periglacial and planetary landforms. The authors review the range of aeolian characteristics that include soil erosion and its consequences, continental scale dust storms, sand dunes and loess. Aeolian Geomorphology explores the importance of aeolian processes in the past, and the application of knowledge about aeolian geomorphology in environmental management. The new edition includes contributions from eighteen experts from four continents. All the chapters demonstrate huge advances in observation, measurement and mathematical modelling. For example, the chapter on sand seas shows the impact of greatly enhanced and accessible remote sensing and the chapter on active dunes clearly demonstrates the impact of improvements in field techniques. Other examples reveal the power of greatly improved laboratory techniques. This important text: Offers a comprehensive review of aeolian geomorphology Contains contributions from an international panel of eighteen experts in the field Includes the results of the most recent research on the topic Filled with illustrative examples that demonstrate the advances in laboratory approaches Written for students and professionals in the field, Aeolian Geomorphology provides a comprehensive introduction to the topic in twelve new chapters with contributions from noted experts in the field.

Based on four decades of research by Professor Andrew Goudie, this volume provides a state-of-the-art synthesis of our understanding of desert geomorphology. It presents a truly international perspective, with examples from all over the world. Extensively referenced and illustrated, it covers such topics as the importance of past climatic changes, the variability of different desert environments, rock breakdown, wind erosion and dust storm generation, sand dunes, fluvial and slope forms and processes, the role of the applied geomorphologist in desert development and conservation, and the Earth as an analogue for other planetary bodies. This book is destined to become the classic volume on arid and semi-arid geomorphology for advanced students and researchers in physical geography, geomorphology, Earth science, sedimentology, environmental science and archaeology.

Over the last twenty years there has been a major expansion of knowledge in the field of landforms and landforming processes of deserts. This advanced-level book provides a benchmark for the current state of science, and is written by an international team of authors who are acknowledged experts in their fields.

It is more than half a century since the publication of R. A. Bagnold’s classic book The physics of blown sand and desert dunes, and it is a tribute to the quality of Bagnold’s work that many of the fundamental principles which he developed - main valid today. His book continues to be essential reading for any serious s- dent of aeolian processes. However, the past two decades have seen an explosion in the scale of research dealing with aeolian transport processes, sediments, and landforms. Some of this work has been summarized in review papers and edited conference proceedings, but this book provides the rst attempt to review the whole eld of aeolian sand research. Inevitably, it has not been possible to cover all - pects in equal depth, and the balance of included material naturally re ects the - thors’ own interests to a signi cant degree. However, our aim has been to provide as broad a perspective as possible, and to provide an entry point to an extensive mul- disciplinary scienti c literature, some of which has not been given the attention it deserves in earlier textbooks and review papers. Many examples are drawn from existing published work, but the book also makes extensive use of our own research in the Middle East, Australia, Europe, and North America. The book has been written principally for use by advanced undergraduates, po- graduates, and more senior research workers in geomorphology and sedimentology.