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Aeolian landforms, or Eolian landforms, are produced by either the erosive or depositive action of wind. These features may be built up from sand or snow , [ 1 ] or eroded into rock, snow, or ice. Aeolian landforms are commonly observed in sandy deserts and on frozen lakes or sea ice and have been observed and studied around Earth and on other ...
Ria – Coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley; River delta – Silt deposition landform at the mouth of a river; Salt marsh – Coastal ecosystem between land and open saltwater that is regularly flooded; Sea cave – Cave formed by the wave action of the sea and located along present or former coastlines
Wind erosion of soil at the foot of Chimborazo, Ecuador Rock carved by drifting sand below Fortification Rock in Arizona (Photo by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, USGS, 1871). Aeolian processes, also spelled eolian, [1] pertain to wind activity in the study of geology and weather and specifically to the wind's ability to shape the surface of the Earth (or other planets).
Sedimentary rocks are created by a variety of processes but usually involving deposition, grain by grain, layer by layer, in water or, in the case of terrestrial sediments, on land through the action of wind or sometimes moving ice. Erosion later exposes them in their current form.
Erosional plains have been leveled by various agents of denudation such as running water, rivers, wind and glacier which wear out the rugged surface and smoothens them. Plain resulting from the action of these agents of denudation are called peneplains (almost plain) while plains formed from wind action are called pediplains. [13]
Barchans "face" the wind, appearing convex, and are produced by wind action predominantly from one direction. They are a very common landform in sandy deserts all over the world and are arc-shaped, markedly asymmetrical in cross section, with a gentle slope facing toward the wind sand ridge, comprising well-sorted sand.
Cross-bedding is formed by the downstream migration of bedforms such as ripples or dunes [3] in a flowing fluid. The fluid flow causes sand grains to saltate up the stoss (upstream) side of the bedform and collect at the peak until the angle of repose is reached. At this point, the crest of granular material has grown too large and will be ...
Aeolian lakes consist of lake basins dammed by wind-blown sand; interdunal lakes that lie between well-oriented sand dunes; and deflation basins formed by wind action under previously arid paleoenvironments. Moses Lake in Washington, United States, was originally a shallow natural lake and an example of a lake basin dammed by wind-blown sand.