Testing models of linear dune formation
Role: Co-I
Team: Robert Craddock (PI; Smithsonian), Corbin Kling (Planet Labs), Adam Milewski (University of Georgia), Stephen Tooth (Aberystwyth University)
Funding: Smithsonian Institution
Linear dunes have been identified on all the terrestrial worlds with an appreciable atmosphere and cover more desert areas on Earth than any other type of dune. Current models of linear dune formation do not adequately how they form nor how they are maintained. Part of the difficulty in studying these features is that they are vast (hundreds of km in length) and form over long timescales. We are approaching this problem by conducting several survey transects of the entire Simpson Desert dune field in central Australia. Over several years, we are collecting high resolution elevation data using uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) to document fine scale changes in dune topography. We are also coring dunes to collect samples for geochemical and geochronological analyses.
Preliminary results show that linear dunes grow primarily through vertical accumulation of sediment, which helps them maintain their shape over time. This study provides insights into how such dunes form and persist in active wind environments, and suggests that similar dunes on other planetary bodies, such as Titan, might be ancient features still being reshaped by current wind processes.