Wind as a geomorphic agent in cold climates

Matti Seppälä - Collection Studies in polar research

358 pages, parution le 15/06/2004

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Résumé

Wind erosion and deposition are extremely important factors in cold climates because of the open space and scarce vegetation. Aeolian processes connected with sand drift in polar environments are similar to those in deserts, but in cold environments frost and snow also play an important role. Snow, and its transport by wind, make this white seasonal desert quite different from its low-latitude analogues.

The Arctic is characterized by strangely eroded rocks, special wind-formed lakes, large sand dunes and immense loess deposits that owe their formation to aeolian processes controlled by snow cover and frost formation. Wind as a Geomorphic Agent in Cold Climates presents a detailed description and explanation of these wind-generated polar landforms. It includes numerous illustrations and photographs that will assist the reader in identifying and interpreting these features: both modern-day and those preserved in the geological record from earlier glacial periods. Unlike most aeolian geomorphology texts, which do not cover the high-latitude regions north and south of 60 degrees, this volume brings together important information from scattered literature sources concerning these cold environments.

The book provides an important introduction to this area of geocryology and will form a useful reference for graduate students and researchers in a variety of fields, including geomorphology, geology and environmental science.

Sommaire

Delimitation and characterization of cold environments
General wind patterns in cold regions
Wind drift of mineral material
Abrasion
Deflation
The question of oriented lakes
Accumulation
Wind directions interpreted from field evidence
Ice-wedge casts and sand wedges
Snow
Drift of snow
Snow accumulation
Deflation of snow cover
Snow and frost formation
Aeolian landforms indicating palaeowind conditions

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	PAPIER
Éditeur(s)	Cambridge University Press
Auteur(s)	Matti Seppälä
Collection	Studies in polar research
Parution	15/06/2004
Nb. de pages	358
Format	18 x 25
Couverture	Relié
Poids	924g
Intérieur	Noir et Blanc
EAN13	9780521564069
ISBN13	978-0-521-56406-9