The Holocene history of the White Sands dune field and influences on eolian deflation and playa lakes

Langford, Richard P.

doi:10.1016/s1040-6182(02)00133-7

Cited by 100 publications

(117 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

110

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The antecedent topography of the older dune pattern formed a boundary condition to development of the younger pattern, but the younger pattern is reworking the older pattern by defect creation. Significantly, the degree of pattern development of even the older pattern, while greater than that evident in White Sands, New Mexico (;7 ka; Langford 2003, Kocurek et al 2007, is less than that of major dune fields on Earth (e.g., Sahara in Mauritania, Gran Desierto in Mexico, East Taklimakan, Namibia, Arabian Wahiba; see fig. 10 in Ewing et al [2010]).…”

Section: Marsmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…For example, throughout its long history, the Namib has been sourced contemporaneously by the Orange River via coastal processes (Lancaster andOllier 1983, Bluck et al 2007). White Sands in New Mexico has been sourced by a mix of lagged sediment influx that occurred with deflation of lake-bed accumulations during regressions and contemporaneous influx from shorelines and exposed playa flats (Langford 2003). The Sahara has arguably received a lagged fluvial source at two scales.…”

Section: Earthmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Source-to-Sink

Kocurek¹,

Ewing²

2012

Sedimentary Geology of Mars

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Eolian dune fields on Earth and Mars evolve as complex systems within a set of boundary conditions. A source-to-sink comparison indicates that although differences exist in sediment production and transport, the systems largely converge at the dune-flow and pattern-development levels, but again differ in modes of accumulation and preservation. On Earth, where winds frequently exceed threshold speeds, dune fields are sourced primarily through deflation of subaqueous deposits as these sediments become available for transport. Limited weathering, widespread permafrost, and the lowdensity atmosphere on Mars imply that sediment production, sediment availability, and sand-transporting winds are all episodic. Possible sediment sources include relict sediments from the wetter Noachian; slow physical weathering in a cold, water-limited environment; and episodic sediment production associated with climatic cycles, outflow events, and impacts. Similarities in dune morphology, secondary airflow patterns over the dunes, and pattern evolution through dune interactions imply that dune stratification and bounding surfaces on Mars are comparable to those on Earth, an observation supported by outcrops of the Burns formation. The accumulation of eolian deposits occurs on Earth through the dynamics of dry, wet, and stabilizing eolian systems. Dry-system accumulation by flow deceleration into topographic basins has occurred throughout Martian history, whereas wetsystem accumulation with a rising capillary fringe is restricted to Noachian times. The greatest difference in accumulation occurs with stabilizing systems, as manifested by the north polar Planum Boreum cavi unit, where accumulation has occurred through stabilization by permafrost development. Preservation of eolian accumulations on Earth typically occurs by sediment burial within subsiding basins or a relative rise of the water table or sea level. Preservation on Mars, measured as the generation of a stratigraphic record and not time, has an Earth analog with infill of impact-created and other basins, but differs with the cavi unit, where preservation is by burial beneath layered ice with a climatic driver.

show abstract

Section: Marsmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Earthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Source-to-Sink

Kocurek¹,

Ewing²

2012

Sedimentary Geology of Mars

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The dune field is thought to have originated $7 ka with the retreat of Late Pleistocene saline Lake Otero during the onset of regional aridity, with the dune field entirely sourced from lake sediment (Langford, 2003;Kocurek et al, 2007;Allen et al, 2009;Langford et al, 2009). Langford (2003) identified two paleo-shorelines at elevations of 1200 m (L1) and 1191 m (L2) between the current Lake Lucero shoreline at 1185 m and the poorly defined Lake Otero high stand, which is given as 1218 m by Lucas and Hawley (2002), 1210 m by Langford (2003), and 1204 m by Seager et al (1987) and Allen et al (2009). Each successive fall of Lake Otero would have allowed for the deflation of newly exposed lacustrine deposits and sediment sourcing for the dune field.…”

Section: Geomorphic and Geologic Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Definition and origin of the dune-field pattern at White Sands, New Mexico

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…A modern ephemeral lake, Lake Lucero, is located in the north-central part of the study area at the White Sands National Monument. Lake Lucero is the remnant of a former late-Pleistocene pluvial lake (Lake Otero) that has given rise to the largest gypsum dune field in the world (Langford, 2003).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Geomorphic-vegetation relationships using a geopedological classification system, northern Chihuahuan Desert, USA

Michaud

Monger

Anderson³

2013

Journal of Arid Environments

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

a b s t r a c tDrylands typically have distinctive vegetative patterns that reflect the underlying physical landscape. We use a geopedological classification to organize the landscape into five categories from broad scale to fine scale: (1) physiographic divisions which describe regional topography, such as mountains and basin floors; (2) regolith type which identifies residuum versus transported sediments; (3) parent materials which describe mineralogy; (4) landforms which provide meso-scale descriptions of topography; and (5) soil texture, a fine-scale variable important for infiltration, erodibility, and available water holding capacity. The study was conducted in a 1753 km 2 area of the White Sands Missile Range and easternmost Jornada Experimental Range and revealed the following.(1) At the broadest scale, mesquite is dominant on the basin floor when the parent material is siliceous sand, but (2) biological soil crust becomes dominant in the basin floor when the parent material is gypseous. (3) Creosotebush is dominant on rocky soils of the piedmont slopes regardless of parent material, but (4) grasslands become dominant on the bajadas upslope in the semiarid zone and into the semiarid mountain uplands regardless of bedrock type. This method provides a way of supplementing ecologic-edaphic studies and provides a framework within which mechanisms can be explored.

show abstract

The Holocene history of the White Sands dune field and influences on eolian deflation and playa lakes

Cited by 100 publications

References 20 publications

Source-to-Sink

Source-to-Sink

Definition and origin of the dune-field pattern at White Sands, New Mexico

Geomorphic-vegetation relationships using a geopedological classification system, northern Chihuahuan Desert, USA

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About