The Morphodynamics of Sand Dunes and Wind Patterns (Case Study: New and Young Arg in Southeast of Qom)

Document Type : Research Article

Author

• Naser Mashhadi

Assistant Professor in Geomorphology (Wind Erosion), University of Tehran, Tehra, Iran

10.22067/geoeh.2022.76706.1227

Abstract

The study of dunes morphology provides a valuable tool for investigating wind systems and the identification of sand sources (removal region). The wind direction is the primary factor controlling the dune shape and elongation. In deserts jubject to wind from different directions and with comparable magnitude, dunes are formed having different morphologies. The sand dunes are either perpendicular or parallel to the wind direction. The purpose of this study was to analyze the morphology of sand dunes under bimodal winds using conventional models. Observations showed that the linear (seif) dunes formation are due to the elongation of a barchan horn. These dunes are created by a bimodal wind regime with a strong peak from the result of northwest and west winds and a weaker peak from the east winds with a divergence angle of 135°. Sinuous crest lines of seif dune grow directly by west and east winds. The study showed that the evolution trend of the sand dunes of the region, under the strong northwest wind, first shield dune transforms into a dihedral barchans. At this stage, wind erosion on the back of the sand pile (shield dune) leads to the formation of a crest perpendicular to the wind direction and then to the formation of a slip face downwind. According to the effect of the magnitude and change of direction in the Westerly and Easterly winds, the western wing of barchan begins to extend and turns into a dentate seif dune.

Keywords

• Erg
• pre-Barchanic
• Sand dunes
• seif dune
• Shield dune

Main Subjects

• Geomorphic-hydrological hazards

---

©2025 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)

References

- حسنی درآباد، فرهاد؛ مشهدی، ناصر؛ 1396. ارتباط گلباد و گلتوفان با دوره‌های خشک و مرطوب منحنی نرمال آمبروترمیک (بررسی موردی: ایستگاه سینوپتیک قم)، مجموعه مقالات کنفرانس بین‌المللی مدیریت منابع طبیعی در کشورهای درحال‌توسعه، کرج.              

https://civilica.com/doc/780619

- توکلی فرد، اصغر؛ قاسمیه، هدی؛ نظری سامانی، علی اکبر؛ مشهدی، ناصر؛ میرزاوند محمد؛ 1391. بررسی نقش اراضی مختلف در توفان‌های ماسه‌ای با استفاده از گلباد و گل‌توفان (مطالعه‌ موردی: کاشان). پژوهش‌های فرسایش محیطی. شماره 2. صص 25-41 .

 https://magazine.hormozgan.ac.ir/article-1-103-fa.html     

 

- Bagnold, R.A., 1941. The Physics of Wind Blown Sand and Desert Dunes, vol. 265 (10), 244 pp. Methuen & Co., London. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-94-009-5682-7.

- Bagnold, R.A., 2012. The physics of blown sand and desert dunes. Courier Corporation. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-94-009-5682-7.

- Cooke, R.U., Warren, A. and Goudie, A.S., 1993. Desert geomorphology. CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/622457.

- Fryberger, S.G. and Dean, G., 1979. Dune forms and wind regime. In A study of global sand seas (Vol. 1052, pp. 137-169). US Government Printing Office Washington. https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1052.

- Ghorbani, A. and Pakravan, M., 2013. Land use mapping using visual vs. digital image interpretation of TM and Google earth derived imagery in Shrivan-Darasi watershed (Northwest of Iran). European Journal of Experimental Biology, 3 (1), pp.576-582. https://www.primescholars.com/articles/bhba-nefa-and-ldh-have-changed-in-fatty-liver-syndromean-abattoirbased-study.pdf.

- Hunter, R.E., Richmond, B.M. and Rho Alpha, T.A.U., 1983. Storm-controlled oblique dunes of the Oregon coast. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 94(12), pp.1450-1465. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1983)94<1450:SODOTO>2.0.CO;2.

- Kocurek, G. and Ewing, R.C., 2005. Aeolian dune field self-organization–implications for the formation of simple versus complex dune-field patterns. Geomorphology, 72(1-4), pp.94-105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2005.05.005.

- Lancaster, N., 1982. Linear dunes. Progress in Physical Geography, 6(4), pp.475-504. http://ppg.sagepub.com/content/13/1/67.

- Mainguet, M. (1986). The wind and desertification processes in the Saharo-Sahelian and Sahelian regions. In Physics of desertification (pp. 210-240). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.

- Mashhadi, N., AHMADI, H., Ekhtesasi, M. R., FEYZNIA, S., & Feghhi, G. (2007). Analysis of sand dunes to determine wind direction and detect sand source sites (case study: Khartooran Erg, Iran). https://jdesert.ut.ac.ir/article_31068_a0a022a6702aeb4427d51f070eee7f07.pdf.

- McKee, E.D., 1979. A study of global sand seas (Vol. 1052). US Government Printing Office. https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1052.

- Narteau, C., Ping, L., Dong, Z., Zhang, Z. and Courrech Du Pont, S., 2013, December. Emergence of oblique dunes in a landscape-scale experiment. In AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts (Vol. 2013, pp. EP43F-02). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2047.

- Parteli, E.J., Durán, O., Tsoar, H., Schwämmle, V. and Herrmann, H.J., 2009. Dune formation under bimodal winds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(52), pp.22085-22089. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0808646106.

- Pye, K. and Tsoar, H., 2008. Aeolian sand and sand dunes. Springer Science & Business Media. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-540-85910-9.

- Reffet, E., Courrech du Pont, S., Hersen, P. and Douady, S., 2010. Formation and stability of transverse and longitudinal sand dunes. Geology, 38(6), pp.491-494. https://doi.org/10.1130/G30894.1.

- Rubin, D.M. and Hunter, R.E., 1987. Bedform alignment in directionally varying flows. Science, 237(4812), pp.276-278. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.237.4812.276.

- Rubin, D.M. and Ikeda, H., 1990. Flume experiments on the alignment of transverse, oblique, and longitudinal dunes in directionally varying flows. Sedimentology, 37(4), pp.673-684. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3091.1990.tb00628.x.

- Rubin, D.M., Tsoar, H. and Blumberg, D.G., 2008. A second look at western Sinai seif dunes and their lateral migration. Geomorphology, 93(3-4), pp.335-342. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2007.03.004.

- Tsoar, H., 1984. The formation of seif dunes from barchans-a discussion. Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie, 28(1), pp.99-103. https://cris.bgu.ac.il/en/publications/the-formation-of-seif-dunes-from-barchans-a-discussion.

- Tsoar, H., Blumberg, D.G. and Stoler, Y., 2004. Elongation and migration of sand dunes. Geomorphology, 57(3-4), pp.293-302. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-555X(03)00161-2.

- Werner, B.T. and Kocurek, G., 1997. Bed-form dynamics: Does the tail wag the dog? Geology, 25(9), pp.771-774. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1997)025<0771:BFDDTT>2.3.CO;2.

- Zhenda, Z., 1984. Aeolian landforms in the Taklimakan Desert. In Deserts and arid lands (pp. 133-143). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.