Abstract
Aeolian sand landforms in the Yarlung Zangbo River valley can be divided into 4 classes and 21 types. The river valley has favourable environment conditions for the development of aeolian sand landforms. Simulation of MM4 mid-scale climate model showed that the near-surface flow field and wind vector field during the winter half year in the river valley are generally favourable for the aeolian sand deposition and as a whole they also affect the distribution mneu and sites of aeolian sand landforms. Sand dunes and sand dune grouup in the river valley developed mainly in three ways, namely windward retarding deposition, leeward back flow deposition and bend circumfluence deposition. Through alternating positive-reverse processes of sand dune formation under wind actions and sand dune vanishing under water actions, sand dunes developed fmm primary zone thmugh main-body zone then to vanishing zone where climbing dunes and falling dunes are declining and are even disappearing.
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Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 49471009) and Xi’an State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology (Grant No. 9401)
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Li, S., Dong, G., Shen, J. et al. Formation mechanism and development pattern of aeolian sand landform in Yarlung Zangbo River valley. Sci. China Ser. D-Earth Sci. 42, 272–284 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02878964
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02878964