Development of spatially diverse and complex dune‐field patterns: Gran Desierto Dune Field, Sonora, Mexico

Abstract

The pattern of dunes within the Gran Desierto of Sonora, Mexico, is both spatially diverse and complex. Identification of the pattern components from remote‐sensing images, combined with statistical analysis of their measured parameters demonstrate that the composite pattern consists of separate populations of simple dune patterns. Age‐bracketing by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) indicates that the simple patterns represent relatively short‐lived aeolian constructional events since ∼25 ka. The simple dune patterns consist of: (i) late Pleistocene relict linear dunes; (ii) degraded crescentic dunes formed at ∼12 ka; (iii) early Holocene western crescentic dunes; (iv) eastern crescentic dunes emplaced at ∼7 ka; and (v) star dunes formed during the last 3 ka. Recognition of the simple patterns and their ages allows for the geomorphic backstripping of the composite pattern. Palaeowind reconstructions, based upon the rule of gross bedform‐normal transport, are largely in agreement with regional proxy data. The sediment state over time for the Gran Desierto is one in which the sediment supply for aeolian constructional events is derived from previously stored sediment (Ancestral Colorado River sediment), and contemporaneous influx from the lower Colorado River valley and coastal influx from the Bahia del Adair inlet. Aeolian constructional events are triggered by climatic shifts to greater aridity, changes in the wind regime, and the development of a sediment supply. The rate of geomorphic change within the Gran Desierto is significantly greater than the rate of subsidence and burial of the accumulation surface upon which it rests.

Source-to-Sink

“…Unless restricted by some boundary conditions, the general trend in dune-field pattern evolution is constructive (i.e., toward fewer, larger, more widely spaced dunes), with interactions becoming less frequent as dunes migrate more slowly and become more distant from each other. Because any given wind regime produces one dune-field pattern (Kocurek and Ewing 2005), complex patterns, in which simple patterns are superimposed, provide a means for interpreting temporal changes in environmental parameters (e.g., Beveridge et al 2006, Derickson et al 2008. Because dune interactions create bounding surfaces and alter the secondary flow over dunes, it should be possible to identify these interactions in ancient eolian strata, thereby providing a new range of interpretation to the deterministic models of Rubin (1987).…”

Eolian dynamics and sediment mixing in the Gran Desierto, Mexico, determined from thermal infrared spectroscopy and remote-sensing data

“…Other studies have summarized the physiographic, tectonic, and geologic setting of the Gran Desierto dune fi eld Blount and Lancaster, 1990;Beveridge et al, 2006;, which is important to understanding the possible sources of sediment to the dune fi eld. The Colorado River is the largest potential source of sand for the dunes (Merriam and Bandy, 1969).…”

“…By mapping the spatial distribution of mineralogy, especially quartz and feldspar, we update the only previous remotesensing study of the Gran Desierto ) with more accurate results. We compare the Gran Desierto dune fi eld to other geochemical studies of sands (e.g., KasperZubillaga et al, 2007) and place it in the context of other regional studies of dune fi elds of the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts (e.g., Zimbelman and Williams, 2002;Muhs, 2004) and geomorphic studies of Desierto dunes (e.g., Lancaster, 1992Lancaster, , 1995Beveridge et al, 2006).…”

“…1). Several studies have explained the history of dune emplacement by examining dune morphology (Lancaster et al, 1987;Lancaster, 1989Lancaster, , 1992Lancaster, , 1993aLancaster, , 1995Ewing et al, 2007), regional patterns of dune forms and ages (Beveridge et al, 2006), and geochemical and grain-size analysis of sand sources at sand sea margins (Kasper-Zubillaga, 2009;Kasper-Zubillaga and Carranza-Edwards, 2005;Kasper-Zubillaga and Faustinos-Morales, 2007;. These studies have resulted in various hypotheses for the depositional history of the Gran Desierto, which include reworking of previously deposited Colorado River sediment.…”

Mapping and characterization of small-scale aeolian structures on Mars: An example from the MSL landing site in Gale Crater

“…Many examples of studies using morphometric parameters to characterize the long-term dune field dynamics can be found (Beveridge et al, 2006;Bishop, 2010;Elbelrhiti et al, 2008;Ewing et al, 2006;Kocurek and Ewing, 2005). The classic planimetric discretization of landforms using points or lines is still the preferred methodology, even if it is recognized that it can be a highly subjective task whose results are not necessarily reproducible (Hugenholtz et al, 2012).…”