Aeolian Dust and Dust Deposits

Preface1 The General Nature and Significance of Windborne Dust 1.1 The Nature of Aeolian Dust 1.2 Sources of Dust 1.3 Previous Studies of Aeolian Dust and Dust Deposits 1.4 The Importance of Aeolian Dust and Loess2 Mechanisms of Fine-Particle Formation 2.1 Release of Particles from Fine-Grained Parent Rocks 2.2 Glacial Grinding 2.3 Frost Weathering 2.4 Fluvial Comminution 2.5 Aeolian Abrasion 2.6 Salt Weathering 2.7 Combined Salt and Frost Action 2.8 Chemical Weathering 2.9 Insolation Weathering 2.10 Fine Particles of Biological Origin 2.11 Formation of Clay Pellets 2.12 The Relative Importance of Different Particle Formation Mechanisms3 Dust Entrainment, Transport and Deposition 3.1 Particle Forces 3.2 Particle Entrainment 3.3 Dispersion of Dust Deflated from the Earth's Surface 3.4 Dispersion of Dust from Volcanic Eruptions 3.5 Dust Deposition4 Dust Sources, Sinks and Rates of Deposition 4.1 Global Dust Sources 4.2 Types of Terrain Favourable for Dust Deflation 4.3 Global Dust Sinks 4.4 Dust Concentrations in the Air 4.5 Annual Frequency of Modern Dust Storms 4.6 Rates of Dust Deposition Estimated from Ocean Cores 4.7 Rates of Continental Dust Deposition5 Dust-Transporting Wind Systems 5.1 Dust Devils 5.2 Downdraught Haboobs 5.3 Dust Storms Associated with Steep Pressure Gradients and Low-Level Troughs 5.4 Dust-Transporting Wind Systems in West Africa 5.5 Dust Storms Associated with Depressions and Cold Fronts 5.6 Long-Range Transport of Dust by Jet Streams 5.7 Transport of Dust Over the British Isles and Continental Europe 5.8 Fohn and Valley Winds6 Grain Size, Mineralogy and Chemical Composition of Aeolian Dust 6.1 Grain Size of Suspended Dust above a Wind-Eroded Surface 6.2 Grain Size of Aeolian Dust Transported Over Relatively Short Distances 6.3 Grain Size of Far-Travelled Dust 6.4 Mixtures of Local and Far-Travelled Dust 6.5 Mineral Composition of Dust 6.6 Chemical Composition of Dust 6.7 Oxygen Isotope Ratios of Quartz in Dust 6.8 Magnetic Differentiation of Atmospheric Dusts7 Implications of Dust Deflation, Transport and Deposition 7.1 Deflation Problems 7.2 Prediction of Soil Erosion by Wind 7.3 Problems Associated with the Transport of Sand and Dust 7.4 Implications of Dust Deposition8 Dust Deposition in the Oceans 8.1 The Effect of Dust Deposition on the Composition of Modern Ocean Sediments 8.2 Oceanic Dust Deposition During the Late Cenozoic 8.3 Record of Quaternary Dust Deposition Preserved in Ice Cores9 Loess 9.1 Definition of Loess 9.2 Loess Distribution 9.3 Thickness and Morphology of Loess Deposits 9.4 Physical and Chemical Properties of Loess 9.5 Loess Landforms 9.6 Theories of Loess Origin 9.7 Stages in the Formation of Loess 9.8 Quaternary History of Loess DepositionReferencesIndex