News tagged with dunes
Researchers uncover a mechanism to explain dune field patterns
In a study of the harsh but beautiful White Sands National Monument in New Mexico, University of Pennsylvania researchers have uncovered a unifying mechanism to explain dune patterns. The new work represents a contribution ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Feb 06, 2012 |
4.3 / 5 (4) |
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Putting an airplane on a distant moon
(PhysOrg.com) -- In addition to its rivers, oceans, mountains, sand dunes and winds, Saturn’s moon Titan may someday share another similarity with Earth: airplanes.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jan 25, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (15) |
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Cassini sees the two faces of Titan's Dunes
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new analysis of radar data from NASA's Cassini mission, in partnership with the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency, has revealed regional variations among sand dunes on Saturn's ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jan 24, 2012 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
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Dutch unveil plan in war against the sea: a sandbar
In its age-old war to keep back the sea, low-lying Netherlands has dumped sand onto a surface larger than 200 football fields just off the coast -- and will wait for nature to do the rest.
Dec 20, 2011 |
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With 'Google Earth' for Mars, explore the red planet from home
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new software tool developed by the HiRISE team in the UA's Lunar and Planetary Lab allows members of the public to download high-resolution images of the Martian landscape almost instantaneously ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Dec 08, 2011 |
5 / 5 (5) |
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Winds drive dune movement on Mars
Sand dunes, a common feature on the surface of Mars, can provide a record of recent and past changes. Some dunes near Mars’ polar areas have been observed to move recently due to carbon dioxide ice sublimation, ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 16, 2011 |
4 / 5 (4) |
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Iran, Iraq pay $1.2 bn to battle sandstorms
A top Iranian environment official said on Monday Tehran and Baghdad will jointly pay $1.2 billion in a project to reduce the number of sand dunes in a bid to cut the number of sandstorms from Iraq.
Oct 03, 2011 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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Earth from space: African gem
(PhysOrg.com) -- This Envisat image shows southern Namibia and northern South Africa on Africa's lower-west coast.
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Aug 15, 2011 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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Putting it all together on Titan
Three of Titan's major surface features -- dunes, craters and the enigmatic Xanadu -- appear in this radar image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The hazy, bright area at the left that extends to the lower ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Aug 09, 2011 |
5 / 5 (4) |
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Conservation of coastal dunes is threatened by poorly designed infrastructure
Although the dune ecosystem is unusual, fragile and is protected by the "habitats" directive of the network Natura 2000, its conservation is very vulnerable to the proliferation of car parks, nearby buildings ...
Apr 25, 2011 |
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Sand drift explained
Researchers in countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands and Poland study sand drift, but most of them are focusing on sand dunes along the coastline, not on the plains further inland.
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 07, 2011 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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NASA's Spaceward Bound goes to the deserts of the United Arab Emirates
Whether or not you remember the winter of 2011 as unusually cold or snowy, an adventurous team of experts will remember its intense heat, as they searched for microbial life between sand dunes in the United ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Mar 17, 2011 |
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How nature's patterns form
When people on airplanes ask Alan Newell what he works on, he tells them "flower arrangements."
Feb 18, 2011 |
4.8 / 5 (8) |
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Winds of change strike Mars, too
Mysterious dark sand dunes around Mars' northern polar cap are shifting with the seasons, as carbon dioxide gas changes form and sparks landscape-altering avalanches, said a study published Thursday.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Feb 03, 2011 |
4.4 / 5 (14) |
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Image: Dark dune fields of proctor crater, Mars
The dark rippled dunes of Mars' Proctor Crater likely formed more recently than the lighter rock forms they appear to cover, and are thought to slowly shift in response to pervasive winds.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 29, 2010 |
4.8 / 5 (4) |
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Dune
In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind. The valley or trough between dunes is called a slack. A "dune field" is an area covered by extensive sand dunes. Large dune fields are known as ergs.
Some coastal areas have one or more sets of dunes running parallel to the shoreline directly inland from the beach. In most cases the dunes are important in protecting the land against potential ravages by storm waves from the sea. Although the most widely distributed dunes are those associated with coastal regions, the largest complexes of dunes are found inland in dry regions and associated with ancient lake or sea beds.
Dunes also form under the action of water flow (alluvial processes), and on sand or gravel beds of rivers, estuaries and the sea-bed.
The modern word "dune" came into English from French circa 1790. In ancient times, words cognate to "dune" probably had the meaning of a built-up hill or citadel fortification.
For more information about Dune, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
