Wind: Part of Erosion in a Landscape, Essay Example

Wind can be an important part of erosion in a landscape but only under specific conditions. Landscapes that are formed by wind, called eolian landforms, “are found in regions of the Earth where erosion and deposition by wind are the dominant geomorphic forces shaping the face of the landscape. According to the Koppen Climate Classification System, this would include regions of the world that are classified as arid deserts and semiarid steppe. Wind can also cause erosion and deposition in environments where sediments have been recently deposited or disturbed. Such environments include lake and ocean coastline beaches, alluvial fans, and farmland where topsoil has been disturbed by cultivation (Pidwirny, 2006).” Landscapes that are shaped by wind, then, are ones that are only semi permanent. Wind shaped landscapes change constantly depending on wind direction and strength. Thus, the idea that areas of great natural beauty have been sculpted by wind are typically inaccurate as these areas are more permanent (geologically) and must have been formed by an a more aggressive eroding agent, such as water.

“Wind has the ability to transport, erode and deposit sediment (Nelson, 2003).” Wind can shape landscapes by moving sediment by means of saltation, which basically refers to the sediment being dislodged by the wind and jumping from one place to the next. The distance the wind is able to move the particle depends on the wind velocity and the size of the particle. This is called threshold velocity (Pidwirny, 2006).  Erosional landforms can also take the form of a deflation hollow. These are broad, shallow pans that can cover thousands of square kilometers, such as the Qattara Depression in the Lybian Desert of Egypt with covers around 15,000 square kilometers (Pidwirny, 2006).  Depositional landforms such as sand dunes are an impermanent landscape feature that are shaped by wind (Pidwirny, 2006). While it is true that wind plays an important part in erosion and landscape sculpture, wind is unlikely to be the force behind striking and complex permanent landscape features.

Resources

Geoindicator (n.d.) “Wind Erosion” Web. Retrieved 28 October 2010 from http://www.lgt.lt/geoin/doc.php?did=cl_wind

Nelson, Stephen A. (2003) “Wind Action and Deserts” Tulane University Web. Retrieved 28 October, 2010 from http://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/geol111/deserts.htm

Pidwirny, M. (2006). “Eolian Processes and Landforms”. Fundamentals of Physical Geography, 2nd Edition. Web. Retrieved 28 October 2010 from http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/10ah.html