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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 ...
Aeolian landform – Landforms produced by action of the winds include: Dry lake – Area that contained a standing surface water body; Sandhill – Type of ecological community or xeric wildfire-maintained ecosystem; Ventifact – Rock that has been eroded by wind-driven sand or ice crystals; Yardang – Streamlined aeolian landform
The solar wind is quite different from a terrestrial wind, in that its origin is the Sun, and it is composed of charged particles that have escaped the Sun's atmosphere. Similar to the solar wind, the planetary wind is composed of light gases that escape planetary atmospheres. Over long periods of time, the planetary wind can radically change ...
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).
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]
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.
Natural patterns form as wind blows sand in the dunes of the Namib Desert. The crescent shaped dunes and the ripples on their surfaces repeat wherever there are suitable conditions. Patterns of the veiled chameleon, Chamaeleo calyptratus, provide camouflage and signal mood as well as breeding condition.
Many of the terms are not restricted to refer to features of the planet Earth, and can be used to describe surface features of other planets and similar objects in the Universe. Examples are mountains, hills, polar caps, and valleys, which are found on all of the terrestrial planets. The scientific study of landforms is known as geomorphology.