Impacts of climate change on the formation and stability of late Quaternary sand sheets and falling dunes, Black Mesa region, southern Colorado Plateau, USA

Ellwein, Amy L.; Mahan, Shannon A.; McFadden, Leslie D.

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2014.10.015

Cited by 15 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 71 publications

(111 reference statements)

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“…Aeolian deposits are ubiquitous on the southern Colorado Plateau [1][2][3] and strongly influence landscape evolution (e.g., [3][4][5]). Global climate change models predict increasing aridity in many dryland settings and many researchers (e.g., [6]) speculate that decreasing effective moisture will reactivate dune fields under these model scenarios.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Quaternary Soil Development Enhances Aeolian Landform Stability, Moenkopi Plateau, Southern Colorado Plateau, USA

et al. 2018

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The Moenkopi dune field in northeastern Arizona covers roughly 1250 km 2 , but most of the field is inactive. Dune deposits on the Moenkopi Plateau (MP) have remained inactive throughout the Holocene despite periods of elevated aridity or historical reductions of vegetation cover by livestock grazing. We argue that this inactivity is not because of any diminishment of driving forces in the aeolian system (e.g., insufficient winds), but rather because of increased cohesion due to soil development that enhances resistance to wind erosion. Abundant aeolian sediments were supplied to the Black Mesa region by the Little Colorado River and its tributaries during the late Pleistocene (MIS 2 and 3), which enabled the development of climbing dunes and transport of sand over the Adeii Eechii Cliffs and onto the MP. These deposits (Qe1) stabilized during the Pleistocene/Holocene climatic transition (~12-7.5 ka) because of reduced sediment supply and high dust flux which resulted in rapid soil formation. Erosion of climbing dunes/sand ramps from the Adeii Eechii Cliffs eliminated delivery of large quantities of new sand to the MP during the mid to late Holocene. Soil development within the Qe1 mantle increased sediment cohesion and prevented widespread aeolian reactivation during the Holocene, despite the occurrence of conditions (wind speed, climate, etc.) under which dune reactivation would be expected. Drylands comprise roughly 40% of the land cover of earth and climate models predict their expansion. Pedogenic stability is not commonly considered in climate-based models used to predict aeolian activity. To improve predictions of future dune activity in drylands, the degree of soil development in aeolian deposits should be considered when evaluating sediment availability in aeolian systems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Quaternary Soil Development Enhances Aeolian Landform Stability, Moenkopi Plateau, Southern Colorado Plateau, USA

et al. 2018

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“…This demonstrates that sand ramps are not solely features of the Last Glacial and that they can act as long‐term sediment stores. Akin to Telfer et al () and Ellwein et al () deposition is episodic for most ramps with only Simplon (class 1) potentially representing a single, rapid phase of deposition as described by Bateman et al () and Thomas et al () (Figure ). Chronologies vary between sand ramps reflecting local accommodation space availability, sediment supply and wind dynamics but common periods of activity are apparent (Figure ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…In total, 75 sand ramps were confirmed within the study region (Figure and Supplementary information 2). 90% are climbing features as identified by their position in relation to topography and their morphology (Lancaster and Tchakerian, ; Chojnacki et al, ; Goudie, ; Ellwein et al, ). 74% are predominantly east facing and 17% are west facing (Figure and Supplementary information 2).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At present, only limited research into sand ramps has been undertaken. The majority of this work has been conducted in the Mojave Desert, USA (Lancaster and Tchakerian, ; Rendell and Sheffer, ; Pease and Tchakerian, ; Bateman et al, ) but studies also exist from African, Middle Eastern, Asian and European and other American drylands (Clemmensen et al, ; Thomas et al, ; Turner and Makhlouf, ; Bertram, ; Berking and Schütt, ; Telfer et al, , ; Ellwein et al, ; Kumar et al, ; del Valle et al, ). Table summarises work to date.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, sand ramps from the Black Mesa, USA, Golden Gate, South Africa and the Ladakh Desert, India potentially suggest episodic deposition between c . 28–9 ka, c .45–7 ka and c .44–8 ka, respectively (Telfer et al, ; Ellwein et al, ; Kumar et al, ). In Eivissa, Western Mediterranean accumulation is correlated with glacial sea level change and associated sediment availability (del Valle et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Controls on sand ramp formation in southern Namibia

Rowell

Thomas

Bailey

et al. 2017

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Sand ramps have the potential to provide rich palaeoenvironmental information in dryland regions where proxy records are typically scarce. However, current knowledge of the geomorphic controls and processes of sand ramp formation is limited. This study provides a data‐rich examination of the key factors controlling sand ramp formation. The location and morphology of 75 sand ramps in southern Namibia are examined. The sediments and chronologies of 10 sand ramps are studied in detail using 51 OSL dates and 83 grain‐size and LOI samples. Heavy mineral assemblages are used to determine the provenance of 10 samples and OSL sensitivity is used to explore geomorphic processes of eight samples. Sand ramp morphology can be grouped into one of four classes of increasing size and complexity and is closely linked to the available accommodation space. Heavy mineral assemblages indicate local sediment sources and all 75 studied sand ramps are within 4 km of a large ephemeral river channel or within 5.5 km of a dune field. Therefore, accommodation space and sediment supply are identified as the primary controls of sand ramp formation. Sedimentology and OSL sensitivity suggest a complex interplay of aeolian, fluvial and colluvial processes contribute to sand ramp formation with large variability observed between ramps. Three of the ten dated sand ramps have been present in the Namibian landscape for >100 ka. Eight sand ramps show episodic deposition between >75–12 ka and five show evidence of surface reworking over the past 2 ka. Environmental sensitivity is probably linked to the size and availability of the accommodation space. Therefore, individual sand ramps are expected to reflect local environmental conditions, recording when an abundant sediment supply coincided with available accommodation space, while a regional analysis of multiple sand ramps with chronometric data offers the potential to identify larger scale palaeoenvironmental controls of sediment supply. © 2017 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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Sand Dunes, Modern and Ancient, on Southern Colorado Plateau Tribal Lands, Southwestern USA

Redsteer

2020

Dunes of the World

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Impacts of climate change on the formation and stability of late Quaternary sand sheets and falling dunes, Black Mesa region, southern Colorado Plateau, USA

Cited by 15 publications

References 71 publications

Late Quaternary Soil Development Enhances Aeolian Landform Stability, Moenkopi Plateau, Southern Colorado Plateau, USA

Late Quaternary Soil Development Enhances Aeolian Landform Stability, Moenkopi Plateau, Southern Colorado Plateau, USA

Controls on sand ramp formation in southern Namibia

Sand Dunes, Modern and Ancient, on Southern Colorado Plateau Tribal Lands, Southwestern USA

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