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Physical Process

Aeolian Processes

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Also Known As Wind Erosion and Deposition
Geomorphology

Aeolian processes are the erosion, transport and deposition of sediment carried out by wind. Deflation strips loose fine grains from a surface, abrasion and attrition wear and round the grains wind carries, and the same wind builds the sand back up as dunes, sand sheets and windblown loess. Water erodes more material worldwide, but wind dominates where vegetation is sparse and sand is exposed, chiefly deserts and their margins. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Process Type
Geomorphological 1
Timescale
Days, in a single dust storm, to tens of thousands of years, in the buildup of a loess plateau. 1
First Proposed Year
1941 2
Timescale
Timescale (category)
Days 1
Timescale (category)
Years 1
Timescale (category)
Thousands of Years 1
Connections

Caused By

Wind is the surface expression of atmospheric circulation; the source page names wind rather than the atmospheric-circulation process entity by name.

Source Aeolian Processes (Wikipedia)

Causes

Shaped

The Gobi is a classic cold desert whose dune fields, gravel pavement and loess plumes are aeolian landforms.

Sources
1. Aeolian Processes (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Introduction, definition and setting
    Although water is a much more powerful eroding force than wind, aeolian processes are important in arid environments such as deserts.
  • Deposition section, process-type
    Wind is very effective at separating sand from silt and clay. As a result, there are distinct sandy (erg) and silty (loess) aeolian deposits.
  • Introduction, alias
    Aeolian processes are those processes of erosion, transport, and deposition of sediments that are caused by wind.
View the Source
2. Ralph Bagnold (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPublication list
Quote, Publication list
Bagnold, R.A. 1941. The Physics of Blown Sand and Desert Dunes. London: Methuen, 265 pp.
View the Source
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