Morphology and formation mechanism of sand shadow dunes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The formation and development of dunes depend on wind-blown sand movement which is affected by the characteristics of sand material, topography, wind regimes and other factors. In this paper, we investigated two sand shadow dune groups in Shigatse and Za＇gya Zangbo of Tibet and an individual dune in Da Qaidam of Qinghai, and analyzed their topographies and morphologies, and the physical characteristics of the sand, wind regime and sand transport. Formed under harsh conditions behind hills, these mature sand shadow dunes are hundreds of meters long, have significant ridges and crescent dunes downwind, and have a hill pass on one or both sides. Wind tunnel experiments revealed that the hill gap and wind velocity are important factors in the formation of these dunes Sand shadow dunes formed only when the gap spacing is two-thirds of the hill height. When wind velocities are 20 m/s, the sand body is divided into two parts. The hill pass allows the transport of sand by wind, creating a ＂nar- row-pipe effect＂, which causes the transported material to gradually accumulate in the center of the shadow zone. We observed that the following are needed for sand shadow dunes to form： （1） strong winds, sufficient sand, suitable obstacles and a dry climate; （2） one or both sides of the obstacle forming the shadow zone must have a hill pass; and （3） the windward side of the obstacle must have a wide, flat area, providing adequate spacing for wind flow and transport of material and the leeward side must have a sufficiently broad, flat area to allow the release of the transported material. Research results on these newly discovered dunes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau could contribute to the understanding of dune geomorphology.

Feathered sand ridges in the Kumtagh Desert and their position in the classification system

Feathered sand ridges in the northeastern Kumtagh Desert in China cover an area of 4016 km 2 and consist of crescent sand ridges and interridge tongue-shaped dunes.Differences in grain size,mineral composition and albedo between crescent sand ridges and tongue-shaped dunes,and between windward and leeward slopes of tongue-shaped dunes,result in their feathery appearance in aerial and satellite imagery.Measurements of the sand drift potential in the region show that the sand-moving wind for feathered sand ridges can be divided into three sectors;i.e.north-northeasterly,easterly and east-northeasterly sectors roughly corresponding to the southeast,northwest and southwest slip faces.Our findings suggests that the crescent sand ridges resulting from the connection of barchan dunes along the prevailing wind direction are longitudinal dune ridges rather than transverse ones.Tongue-shaped dunes and quasi-dune shapes have obvious distinctions and are new transverse dune types.According to McKee's dune shape classification,the feathered sand ridges are not a deformation dune type but a complex one.According to Wu's dune morphological and genetic classification,they are not dune ridges or compound dune ridges that form under the action of unidirectional winds or two winds intersecting at an acute angle,but are complex dune ridges that form under the action of three winds intersecting at an acute angle.