The Effects of Eolian Sorting and Abrasion Upon the Shapes of Fine Quartz Sand Grains

Mazzullo, Jim; Sims, Donald; Cunningham, David

doi:10.1306/212f887d-2b24-11d7-8648000102c1865d

Cited by 18 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…Regardless of the fluvial‐to‐eolian or alluvial‐to‐eolian sediment routing way, some sediments could get away from the hydrologic (e.g., fluvial or alluvial) system at a time point as nascent eolian sand. The less‐resistant minerals (e.g., feldspars) and fragile corners of angular grains could be broken off during repeated eolian abrasion and/or ballistic impacts (Durian et al., 2007; Dutta et al., 1993; Mazzullo et al., 1986; Novák‐Szabó et al., 2018), thereby increasing the sphericity and symmetry of the particles (Figure 6), as we observed in this study (Figure 2f). The northwesterly wind blows the silt grains and some inherited flaky micas out of the HSL dune field system (Figure 2b), and the emitted dust accumulated as loess in the western piedmont of the GKM, which shows lower mineralogical maturity (Figures 4 and 6).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

“…Sedimentologists did recognize that grain shape might be more important than grain size in inferring transport processes (Dutta et al., 1993; Folk, 1980; Krumbein, 1941b; Pettijohn et al., 1972), and numerous seminal experimental works have been performed to explore grain shape changes in various abrasion environments (Kuenen, 1955, 1956, 1959, 1960; Krumbein, 1941a). More importantly, factors such as eolian sorting and abrasion, fluvial action, and chemical weathering controlling grain shape have also been qualitatively or semiquantitatively explored in natural and experimental conditions (Asumadu et al., 1988; Bui et al., 1989; Crook, 1968; Folk, 1978; Goudie & Watson, 1981; Khalaf & Gharib, 1985; Mazzullo & Ehrlich, 1983; Mazzullo et al., 1986; Pye & Mazzullo, 1994). However, the imprecise way to measure grain shape based on the descriptive Powers roundness grades (Powers, 1953) has large uncertainties and quite low reproductivity, limiting the broad applications of grain shape.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The attempt to quantify grain shape has not waned in the past half‐century (Altuhafi et al., 2013; Blott & Pye, 2008; Boggs, 1967; Cox & Budhu, 2008; Ehrlich & Weinberg, 1970; Li & Iskander, 2021; Oakey et al., 2005; Resentini et al., 2018; Schwarcz & Shane, 1969; Sun et al., 2019), particularly in the geotechnical engineering community. For example, the Fourier shape analysis technique (Ehrlich & Weinberg, 1970; Schwarcz & Shane, 1969), which can quantify the two‐dimensional particle shape mathematically, was proposed and applied in several subsequent research works (Bui et al., 1989; Mazzullo & Ehrlich, 1983; Mazzullo et al., 1986; Resentini et al., 2018). Nevertheless, the broad application of grain shape was still hindered by the low efficiency and high cost of capturing large amounts of digital images of grains using scanning electronic microscopy (Cox & Budhu, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Grain Shape Evolution of Sand‐Sized Sediments During Transport From Mountains to Dune Fields

Liang

Yang

2023

JGR Earth Surface

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Grain shape is used less frequently in identifying the origin of sediments than grain size distributions and/or surface microtextures because of technological limitations. In addition, systematic studies on grain shape change of sand‐sized sediments from a source‐to‐sink perspective are lacking, and yet the evolutionary mechanism of grain shape along the sediment transport pathway remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated grain shape changes in sand‐sized sediments ranging from mountains to dune fields using an efficient and quantitative dynamic image analysis technique. By means of the detailed hydro‐geomorphic analysis and field sampling in a quasi‐closed sedimentary system, we collected 41 samples from the Hulunbeier Sandy Land (HSL) in northern China and its potential source region. Also, 21 typical fluvial deposit samples from different river systems in China were collected for comparison. We identify that the sphericity, symmetry, aspect ratio, and mineralogical maturity of the fluvial deposits from mountains are significantly lower than the eolian sand in dune fields. Despite the apparent inheritance of sediments from the mountains to the dune fields, the abrupt changes in the sedimentological and geochemical properties along their pathway suggest that multiple cycles of eolian abrasion within the HSL modify the sediments significantly after they are transported away from the fluvial environments. The well‐defined separation between eolian sand and fluvial deposits by grain shape parameters such as sphericity and symmetry underscores that grain shape can be a powerful tool for tracing sediment transport history in paleoenvironmental or extraterrestrial studies.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Grain Shape Evolution of Sand‐Sized Sediments During Transport From Mountains to Dune Fields

Liang

Yang

2023

JGR Earth Surface

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“…Ultrastable grains as zircons and heavy minerals (tourmalines and rutiles) may derived from source areas with igneous and/or reworked sedimentary rocks, consistent with the well-rounded, extremely smooth and worn morphologies observed. Most significant microtextures observed in both facies by SEM were upturned plates, arcuate grooves and meandering ridges, typical of eolian environments (Krinsley and Doornkamp, 1973;Mazullo and Ehrlich, 1983), and considered as high-energy impact features by high velocity winds transport and by wearing away of breakage blocks (Krinsley et al, 1976;Mazullo et al, 1986;Moral-Cardona et al, 1997). Depression and pits result from direct impact between saltating or creeping grains (Krinsley et al, 1976), while scarce conchoidal fractures and parallel or arcuate steps and striations evidence glacial transport and grains derived from crystalline source rocks (Higgs, 1979).…”

Section: Interpretation Of Facies Slp and Smt: Eolian Facies Associationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eolian deposits of the southwestern margin of the Botucatú paleoerg: Reconstruction of the Gondwana landscape in Central Northern Argentina

Peri

Naipauer

Pimentel

et al. 2016

Sedimentary Geology

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“…However, they are also more difficult to entrain (Winkelmolen, 1971). Likewise, studies on shape sorting in saltating transport under natural conditions obtained contradictive results: some publications observed an increase in sphericity with transport distance (MacCarthy and Huddle, 1938;Mazzullo et al, 1986), others a decrease (Eisma, 1965;Winkelmolen, 1971). This is further complicated by the fact that inter-grain collision during (aeolian) saltation effectively rounds grains over longer distances (Kuenen, 1960).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying sediment transport mechanisms from grain size-shape distributions

Hateren

Buuren

Arens³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Abstract. The way in which sediment is transported (creep, saltation, suspension), is traditionally interpreted from grain size distribution characteristics. However, the grain size range associated with transitions from one transport mode to the other is highly variable because it depends on the amount of transport energy available. In this study we present a novel methodology for determination of the sediment transport mode based on grain size and shape data from dynamic image analysis. The data are integrated into grain size-shape distributions and primary components are determined using end-member modelling. In real-world datasets, primary components can be interpreted in terms of different transport mechanisms and/or sediment sources. Accuracy of the method is assessed using artificial datasets with known primary components that are mixed in known proportions. The results show that the proposed technique accurately identifies primary components with the exception of those primary components that only form minor contributions to the samples (highly mixed components). The new method is also tested on sediment samples from an active aeolian system in the Dutch coastal dunes. Aeolian transport processes and geomorphology of these type of systems are well known and can therefore be linked to the spatial distribution of end members to assess the physical significance of the method's output. The grain size-shape distributions of the dune dataset are unmixed into three primary components. The spatial distribution of these components is constrained by geomorphology and reflects the three dominant aeolian transport processes known to occur along a beach-dune transect: bedload on the beach and in notches that were dug by man through the shore-parallel foredune ridge, modified saltation on the windward and leeward slope of the intact foredune, and suspension in the vegetated hinterland. The three transport modes are characterised by distinctly different trends in grain shape with grain size: with increasing size, bedload shows a constant grain regularity, modified saltation a minor decrease in grain regularity and suspension a strong decrease in grain regularity. These trends, or in other words, the shape of the grain size-shape distributions, can be used to determine the transport mode responsible for a sediment deposit. Results of the method are therefore less ambiguous than those of traditional grain-size distribution end-member modelling, especially if multiple transport modes occur or if primary components overlap in terms of grain size but differ in grain shape.

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The Effects of Eolian Sorting and Abrasion Upon the Shapes of Fine Quartz Sand Grains

Cited by 18 publications

References 0 publications

Grain Shape Evolution of Sand‐Sized Sediments During Transport From Mountains to Dune Fields

Grain Shape Evolution of Sand‐Sized Sediments During Transport From Mountains to Dune Fields

Eolian deposits of the southwestern margin of the Botucatú paleoerg: Reconstruction of the Gondwana landscape in Central Northern Argentina

Identifying sediment transport mechanisms from grain size-shape distributions

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