ABSTRACT
Coastal dunes have been mentioned only briefly so far because the processes leading to dune formation, and destruction, are discussed in more detail in this chapter. In deserts, the products of exfoliation resulting from insolation, chemical weathering and the abrasive action of wind-blown sand are transported and redeposited by wind and, less frequently, by water. Particular attention will be focused here on the action of wind in moving sand grains. The entrainment and transportation of loose particles by wind also occurs on sandy coasts exposed to prevailing onshore winds and over outwash plains adjacent to glaciers and ice-caps in high latitudes where katabatic and cyclonic winds predominate. Only brief reference will be made to very fine-grained sediments, such as silt and clay particles. Thus, for the purpose of this chapter, the term aeolian pertains to wind-transported deposits and to the erosive action of wind.
