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Feature: The sedimentary signature of deserts and their response to environmental change
Author(s) -
Mountney Nigel P.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
geology today
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.188
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 1365-2451
pISSN - 0266-6979
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2451.2004.00458.x
Subject(s) - aeolian processes , geology , sedimentary rock , ephemeral key , fluvial , alluvial fan , climate change , feature (linguistics) , alluvium , environmental change , desert (philosophy) , geomorphology , sand dune stabilization , earth science , sedimentary structures , sedimentary depositional environment , paleontology , oceanography , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , epistemology , structural basin , biology
Desert sedimentary systems comprise a variety of related sub‐environments including aeolian dunes, intervening interdunes, sandsheets, salt flats, playa lakes, ephemeral fluvial systems and alluvial fans. These are highly sensitive, and undergo subtle but systematic morphological and sedimentary adjustments in response to externally‐imposed environmental change. This article presents a dynamic model explaining how desert successions – particularly aeolian dune and interdune environments – are determined both by intrinsic sedimentary behaviour, such as dune migration, and by the imposition of externally‐forced changes such as climate change.