Wind As a Geomorphic Agent in Cold Climates

by Matti Seppälä

• ISBN13: 9780521564069
• ISBN10: 0521564069
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-07-05
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Wind erosion and deposition are important factors in cold climates because of the open space and scarce vegetation. Aeolian processes connected with sand drift in polar environments are similar to those in deserts but in cold environments, frost and snow also play an important role. The Arctic is characterised by strangely eroded rocks, wind-formed lakes, sand dunes and loess deposits that owe their formation to aeolian processes controlled by frost and snow cover. Wind as a Geomorphic Agent in Cold Climates presents a detailed description and explanation of these wind-generated polar landforms. It includes numerous illustrations that will assist the reader in identifying and interpreting these features; both modern-day and those preserved in the geological record. This book provides an important introduction to this area of geocryology and will form a useful reference for graduate students and researchers in a variety of fields, including geomorphology, geology and environmental science.

Author Biography

Matti Seppala is the recipient of various honorary awards including the Erskine Fellowship, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand; and the Ragnar Hult Medal of the Geographical Society of Finland

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

1. Introduction

2. Delimitation and characterization of cold environments

3. General wind patterns in polar regions

4. Wind drift of mineral material

5. Abrasion

6. Deflation

7. Question of oriented lakes

8. Accumulation

9. Wind directions interpreted from field evidence

10. Ice wedge casts and sand wedges

11. Snow

12. Drift of snow

13. Snow accumulation

14. Deflation of snow cover

15. Snow and frost formation

16. Aeolian landforms indicating palaeowind conditions

References

Index.