Premium
Winds and sand movements in the Namib Sand Sea
Author(s) -
Lancaster N.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
earth surface processes and landforms
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.294
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1096-9837
pISSN - 0197-9337
DOI - 10.1002/esp.3290100608
Subject(s) - geology , sediment transport , sand dune stabilization , sediment , prevailing winds , wind speed , oceanography , global wind patterns , geomorphology , climatology
Wind regimes in the vicinity of the Namib Sand Sea are high energy unimodal near the coast, becoming bimodal or complex inland. There is an overall decrease in wind energy and sand transport rates from south to north and west to east, such that sand moves from coastal and southern source areas to accumulate in the northern and central parts of the sand sea. Such a pattern can explain much of the observed spatial variability in dune types, sizes, and sediment characteristics and lends support to a climatic model of sand sea formation in this region. Seasonal and daily cycles of wind velocity and direction give rise to episodic sand transport, most of which is generated by winds of moderate velocity and frequency.