Section 8.
8.22
Objectives
Wind
◗ Describe conditions that contribute
to the likelihood that an area will
experience wind erosion. MAIN Idea Wind modifies landscapes in all areas of the world by
◗ Identify wind-formed landscape transporting sediment.
features.
Real-World Reading Link If you have ever been on a beach on a windy day,
◗ Describe how dunes form and
migrate. you might have felt the stinging of sand on your face. Sand travels in the wind if
the wind is fast enough.
Review Vocabulary
velocity: the speed of an object and Wind Erosion and Transport
its direction of motion
A current of rapidly moving air can pick up and carry sediment
New Vocabulary in the same way that water does. However, except for the extreme
deflation winds of hurricanes, tornadoes, and other strong storms, winds
abrasion cannot generally carry particles as large as those transported by
ventifact moving water. Regardless, wind is a powerful agent of erosion.
dune Winds transport materials by causing their particles to move in
loess
different ways. For example, wind can move sand on the ground in
a rolling motion. A method of transport by which strong winds
cause small particles to stay airborne for long distances is called
suspension. Another method of wind transport, called saltation,
causes a bouncing motion of larger particles. Saltation accounts for
most sand transport by wind. Limited precipitation leads to an
increase in the amount of wind erosion because precipitation holds
down sediments and allows plants to grow. Thus, wind transport
and erosion primarily occur in areas with little vegetative cover,
such as deserts, semiarid areas, seashores, and some lakeshores.
Wind erosion is a problem in many parts of the United States, as
shown in Figure 8.13.
■ Figure 8.13 Wind erosion does not Wind Erosion in the United States
affect all areas of the United States equally.
Observe which areas are subject to
wind erosion.
Areas of wind erosion
Section 2 • Wind 201
■ Figure 8.14 Through deflation, the
wind can create a bowl-shaped blowout.
Deflation The lowering of the land surface that results from the
wind’s removal of surface particles is called deflation. During the
1930s, portions of the Great Plains region, which stretches from
Montana to Texas, experienced severe drought. The area was
already suffering from the effects of poor agricultural practices, in
which large areas of natural vegetation were removed to clear the
land for farming. Strong winds readily picked up the dry surface
particles, which lacked any protective vegetation. Severe dust
storms resulted in daytime skies that were often darkened, and the
region became known as the Dust Bowl.
Today, the Great Plains are characterized by thousands of shallow
depressions known as deflation blowouts. Many are the result of the
removal of surface sediment by wind erosion during the 1930s. The
depressions range in size from a few meters to hundreds of meters in
diameter. Deflation blowouts are also found in other areas that have
sandy soil, as shown in Figure 8.14. Wind erosion continues today
throughout the world, as shown by the sandstorm in Figure 8.15.
Reading Check Explain how deflation removes surface particles.
■ Figure 8.15 A sandstorm in a desert
region fills the air with dust.
202 Chapter 8 • Mass Movements, Wind, and Glaciers
(t)Jerome Wyckoff/Animals Animals, (b)Remi Benali/CORBIS
Deflation is a major problem in many agricultural areas of the
world as well as in deserts, where wind has been consistently strong
for thousands of years. In areas of intense wind erosion, coarse
gravel and pebbles are usually left behind as the finer surface mate-
rial is removed by winds. The coarse surface left behind is called
desert pavement.
Abrasion Another process of erosion, called abrasion, occurs To read about how
when particles such as sand rub against the surface of rocks or wind has shaped desert
other materials. Abrasion occurs as part of the erosional activities landscapes, read the National Geographic
of winds, streams, and glaciers. In wind abrasion, wind picks up Expedition on page 898.
materials such as sand particles and blows them against anything
in their path. Because sand is often made of quartz, a hard mineral,
wind abrasion can be an effective agent of erosion — windblown
sand particles eventually wear away rocks. Structures, such as tele-
phone poles, can also be worn away or undermined by wind abra-
sion, and paint and glass on homes and vehicles can be damaged
by windblown sand.
Materials that are exposed to wind abrasion show unique char-
acteristics. For example, windblown sand causes rocks to become
pitted and grooved. With continued abrasion, rocks become pol-
ished on the windward side and develop smooth surfaces with
sharp edges. In areas of shifting winds, abrasion patterns corre-
spond to wind shifts, and different sides of rocks become polished
and smooth. Rocks shaped by windblown sediments, such as those
shown in Figure 8.16, are called ventifacts. Ventifacts are found
in various shapes and sizes, and include arches and pillars.
Reading Check Identify the unique characteristics of materials
shaped by abrasion.
■ Figure 8.16 Ventifacts form in different types of environments but most commonly
in arid climates where wind can be a dominant erosional force.
Arch Pillar
Section 2 • Wind 203
(l)Robert Barber/Visuals Unlimited, (r)David Nunuk/Photo Researchers
Thane/Animals Animals
■ Figure 8.17 Great Sand Dunes
National Monument, in southern Colorado,
contains North America’s highest sand
dunes of more than 228.6 m.
Identify the dominant direction of
wind in the figure.
Wind Deposition
Wind deposition occurs in areas where wind velocity decreases. As
the wind velocity slows down, some of the windblown sand and
other materials cannot stay airborne, and they drop out of the air
stream to form a deposit on the ground.
Dunes In windblown environments, sand particles tend to
accumulate where an object, such as a rock, landform, or piece of
VOCABULARY vegetation, blocks the forward movement of the particles. Sand
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY continues to be deposited as long as winds blow in one general
migrate direction. Over time, the pile of windblown sand develops into
to move from one location to another a dune, as shown in Figure 8.17. All dunes have a characteristic
Dunes migrate as wind blows over
profile. The gentler slope of a dune, located on the side from
sand.
which the wind blows, is called the windward side. The steeper
slope, on the side protected from the wind, is called the leeward
side. The conditions under which a dune forms determine its
shape. These conditions include the availability of sand, wind
velocity, wind direction, and the amount of vegetation present.
The different types of dunes are shown in Table 8.1.
Dune migration As long as winds continue to blow, dunes will
migrate. As shown in Figure 8.18, dune migration is caused when
prevailing winds continue to move sand from the windward side of a
Interactive Figure To see an animation dune to its leeward side, causing the dune to move slowly over time.
of dune migration, visit [Link].
■ Figure 8.18 Dune migration is Wind direction
caused by wind. Leeward Windward
204 Chapter 8 • Mass Movements, Wind, and Glaciers
Interactive Table To explore
Table 8.1 Types of Dunes more about sand dunes, visit
[Link].
Example of Dune Description
Barchan Dunes
• form solitary, crescent shapes
• form from a small amount of sand
• covered by minimal or no vegetation
• form in flat areas of constant wind
direction
• crests point downwind
• reach maximum size of 30 m
Transverse Dunes
• form series of ridge shapes
• form from a large amount of sand
• covered by minimal or no vegetation
• form in ridges that are perpendicular to
the direction of the strong wind
• reach maximum size of 25 m
Parabolic Dunes
• form U-shapes
• form from a large amount of sand
• covered by minimal vegetation
• form in humid areas with moderate
winds
• crests point upwind
• reach maximum size of 30 m
Longitudinal Dunes
• form series of ridge shapes
• form from small or large amounts of
sand
• covered by minimal or no vegetation
• form parallel to variable wind direction
• reach maximum height of 300 m
Section 2 • Wind 205
(t to b)George Steinmetz/CORBIS, (2)George Steinmetz/CORBIS, (3)George Steinmetz/CORBIS, (4)ABPL Library/Photo Researchers
■ Figure 8.19 This map shows the loca- Distribution of Loess Deposits in the United States
tion of loess deposits in the continental
United States.
Sandy areas where
dunes are found
Loess deposits
Loess Wind can carry fine, lightweight particles such as silt
and clay in great quantities and for long distances. Many parts of
Earth’s surface are covered by thick layers of windblown silt, which
are thought to have accumulated as a result of thousands of years
of dust storms. The source of these silt deposits might have been
the fine sediments that were exposed when glaciers melted after
the last ice age, more than 10,000 years ago. These thick, wind-
blown silt deposits are known as loess (LESS). Figure 8.19 shows
loess deposits in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska,
Kansas, and Idaho. Loess soils are some of the most fertile soils
because they contain abundant minerals and nutrients.
Section 8.2 Assessment
Section Summary Understand Main Ideas
◗ Wind is a powerful agent of erosion. 1. MAIN Idea Evaluate the various types of landforms formed by wind and how
these landforms are created.
◗ Wind can transport sediment in sev-
eral ways, including suspension and 2. Identify conditions that can contribute to an increase in wind erosion.
saltation. 3. Examine why loess can travel much greater distances than sand.
◗ Dunes form when wind velocity 4. Classify the four types of dunes as they are related to wind, vegetation, and
slows down and windblown sand is amount of sand available.
deposited.
Think Critically
◗ Dunes migrate as long as winds con-
5. Infer how the movement of sand grains by saltation affects the overall movement
tinue to blow.
of dunes.
6. Evaluate why wind erosion is an effective agent of erosion.
Earth Science
7. Predict how human activities directly affect wind erosion on coastlines.
206 Chapter 8 • Mass Movements, Wind, and Glaciers Self-Check Quiz [Link]