ABSTRACT
This book in two volumes, and with a foreword by the renowned Professor M.A.J. Williams, draws on evidence from coastal and inland regions, including desert dunes, wind-blown dust, river and lake sediments, glacial moraines, plant and animal fossils, isotope geochemistry, soils and prehistoric archaeology to better understand the genesis and development of dunes systems in selected northern hemisphere sand dunes from Asia, Africa and the Middle East regions.
The collection of research papers and case studies that are presented in this book provide the reader with a wealth of information about the distribution and types of sand dunes and an insight into the complexity of sand dune formation, migration and management. Research in many countries across the northern hemisphere shows that dunes, whether coastal or inland, are under pressure around the world. Much of the pressure comes from human activities, and the anthropogenic disturbance, when coupled with global warming and alterations to the amount, frequency and temporal distribution of precipitation could lead to more serious management challenges in the future.
There is much that we still need to find out about the origin, genesis and development of sand dunes so that they can be managed better. The difficult and complex questions being repeatedly raised can be answered only by interdisciplinary endeavours. Geomorphologists, geologists, palaeontologists, climatologists, ecologists, and others, can work together on research projects that better define the origin, evolution and development of dunes, both inland and along the coasts.
Many chapters in this book attempt to reconstruct past climatic changes in deserts and their margins at a variety of scales in space and time in the expectation that such information might assist in preparing us for future global warming and drying.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part 1|86 pages
Methodologies for the Study and Utilization of Sand Dunes
chapter Chapter 1|9 pages
A Synoptic View of Northern Hemisphere Deserts and Sand Dunes
chapter Chapter 4|12 pages
Applications of ICESat-2 Laser Altimeter Data for Sand Dunes Morphology and Dynamics Studies
chapter Chapter 6|8 pages
Algerian Sahara Sand Dune (Western Erg) Characterization An Experimental Study
part 2|23 pages
Dune Landscapes of China—Origin and Evolution
chapter Chapter 9|15 pages
Formation, Evolution and Forcing Mechanism of Feathered Sand Dunes in the Kumtag Desert, China
chapter Chapter 11|11 pages
Morphology, Distribution and Formation of the Nebkhas on Gobi and Desert in China
chapter Chapter 13|16 pages
High-Altitude Aeolian Desertification and Sand Dunes on the Tibetan Plateau, China
chapter Chapter 14|30 pages
Characteristics, Dynamics, and Provenance of Sand Dunes in the Hexi Corridor, China
part 3|193 pages
Morphology and Distribution of Dune Landscapes on the Indian Subcontinent