Types of Dunes | How the shape of sand dune indicate the wind direction
These dunes form under winds that blow from one direction, and they also are ... The largest crescentic dunes on Earth, with mean crest-to-crest widths ... Straight or slightly sinuous sand ridges typically much longer than they ...RipplesonaduneinEurekaValley,California(photographbyTerrenceMoore).AworldwideinventoryofdesertshasbeendevelopedusingimagesfromtheLandsatsatellitesandfromspaceandaerialphotography.Itdefinesfivebasictypesofdunes:crescentic,linear,star,dome,andparabolic.ThemostcommonduneformonEarthandonMarsisthecrescentic.Crescent-shapedmoundsgenerallyarewiderthanlong.Theslipfaceisonthedune'sconcaveside.Thesedunesformunderwindsthatblowfromonedirection,andtheyalsoareknownasbarchans,ortransversedunes.Sometypesofcrescenticdunesmovefasteroverdesertsurfacesthananyothertypeofdune.Agroupofdunesmovedmorethan100metersperyearbetween1954and1959inChina'sNingxiaProvince;similarrateshavebeenrecordedintheWesternDesertofEgypt.ThelargestcrescenticdunesonEarth,withmeancrest-to-crestwidthsofmorethan3kilometers,areinChina'sTaklimakanDesert.ThesecrescenticdunesofcoastalPeruaremigratingtowardtheleft(photographbyJohnMcCauley).Straightorslightlysinuoussandridgestypicallymuchlongerthantheyarewideareknownaslineardunes.Theymaybemorethan160kilometerslong.Lineardunesmayoccurasisolatedridges,buttheygenerallyformsetsofparallelridgesseparatedbymilesofsand,gravel,orrockyinterdunecorridors.SomelineardunesmergetoformY-shapedcompounddunes.Manyforminbidirectionalwindregimes.Thelongaxesofthesedunesextendintheresultantdirectionofsandmovement.LineardunesadvanceonsmallplayaseastofLakeEyreintheSimpsonDesertofcentralAustralia(photographbyC.Twidale).LineardunesinthewesterndesertsofEgypt(photographbyCarolBreed).Radiallysymmetrical,stardunesarepyramidalsandmoundswithslipfacesonthreeormorearmsthatradiatefromthehighcenterofthemound.Theytendtoaccumulateinareaswithmultidirectionalwindregimes.Stardunesgrowupwardratherthanlaterally.TheydominatetheGrandErgOrientaloftheSahara.Inotherdeserts,theyoccuraroundthema