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Aeolian sediment transport during winter, Black Top Creek, Fosheim Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Canadian Arctic
Author(s) -
Lewkowicz Antoni G.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
permafrost and periglacial processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.867
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1099-1530
pISSN - 1045-6740
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1530(199801/03)9:1<35::aid-ppp276>3.0.co;2-l
Subject(s) - aeolian processes , geology , arctic , permafrost , oceanography , deposition (geology) , geomorphology , sediment , peninsula , snow , hydrology (agriculture) , prevailing winds , physical geography , archaeology , geography , geotechnical engineering
Northerly winds of 25 m s −1 , and possibly in excess of 40 m s −1 , occurred for about one hour in the Eureka area on 18 February 1991. In the valley of Black Top Creek, the effects of these winds were dominantly (1) deflation of fine sediments on north‐east‐facing slopes, leaving a patchy soil crust perched up to 28 mm above the surrounding surface, and (2) deposition of up to 125 mm of fine and coarse sediments over snow on south‐west‐facing slopes, particularly in rough microtopography within detachment slides. The importance of wind erosion in this arid environment was shown by surface soil loss on a north‐east‐facing slope of 4·8 kg m −2 (4 mm), an amount equivalent to more than 20 years of denudation by water. The maximum size (45 mm long) and weight (25 g) of particles transported during this storm demonstrate that aeolian transportation in the Canadian Arctic, like the Antarctic, is not confined to sand‐sized materials. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.