Eolian sand deflation; a cause for gravel barrier islands in Arctic Alaska?

Barrier islands in arctic Alaska are composed of sandy gravel, whereas lower-latitude barrier islands are composed of predominantly sandy material. This pronounced grain-size difference needs explanation. Because wind-winnowing of island surfaces is effective during most of the yearly cycle, while s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geology (Boulder) 1979-10, Vol.7 (10), p.507-510
Main Authors: Reimnitz, E, Maurer, D. K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alaska
arctic environment
Arctic Ocean
Arctic region
barrier islands
Beaufort Sea
Cenozoic
clastic sediments
coarse-grained materials
geomorphology
grain size
gravel
Gubik Formation
landform evolution
latitude
North Slope
Pleistocene
Quaternary
Quaternary geology
rates
sedimentation
sediments
shore features
transport
United States
wind transport
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Summary:Barrier islands in arctic Alaska are composed of sandy gravel, whereas lower-latitude barrier islands are composed of predominantly sandy material. This pronounced grain-size difference needs explanation. Because wind-winnowing of island surfaces is effective during most of the yearly cycle, while sediment supply by waves is effective for about 2 mo at most, eolian sand deflation might be a mechanism to explain the coarse sediments of arctic barrier islands. In late winter, plumes of windblown sand are found on the fast ice downwind of barrier islands. More than 300 t (tonnes) of sand were removed by wind action from one small island near Prudhoe Bay in one winter; this loss suggests a deflation rate of 2 mm for that period.
ISSN:0091-7613
1943-2682
DOI:10.1130/0091-7613(1979)7<507:ESDACF>2.0.CO;2