Variability of Grain Size of Surface Sand on Nebkhas at the Southern Fringe of the Taklimakan Desert, China

Abstract:

Nebkha plays a major role in the ecological and environmental stabilization by accumulating wind-blown sediments around shrubs. Grain-size characteristics of different positions on nebkha reflect the sorting effect of aeolian dynamics. Based on the collected sand grains of different positions on four types of nebkhas at the southern fringe of Taklimakan Desert, China, this paper provided detailed insight into variability of the grain size of surface sand on nebkhas. The results showed that: a) Grain-size distributions on shield-shaped Karelinia caspica Nebkhas under natural condition had the larger spatial variability in comparison with the others. b) Grain size on nebkhas regularly showed the spatial variation. Grain size was increasingly larger along the windward slope upward, and then became finer along the leeward slope downward. c) The grain-size sortings of different positions on shield-shaped Alhagi sparsifolia Nebkhas under new reclaimed land were the best.

• Periodical: Advanced Materials Research (Volumes 1092-1093)
• Pages: 1275-1282
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.1092-1093.1275
• Online since: March 2015
• Authors: Jie Xue, Jia Qiang Lei*, Sheng Yu Li, Cui Wang, Jie Zhou, Dong Lei Mao
• Keywords: Distribution, Grain Size, Nebkhas, Taklimakan Desert, Variability

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