Title: Cross-stratification-parallel protosols (West Bengal, India)—An Eolian signature
Abstract: The periodic occurrence of paleosols along cross-stratifications are widely known in Pleistocene eolian dunes, particularly in coastal ones, and these are believed to have formed during pauses in the migration of the dunes over thousands of years. Protosols with the same relationship have been observed in subrecent dunes at Bakkhali beach, West Bengal, India. Calculation of the annual rate of migration of the dunes reveals that the protosols formed during a seasonal decline in wind velocity. Because comparable seasonal aerodynamic variability exists in many parts of the world, such annual protosols in eolian dunes are likely to be widespread, particularly in warm and humid areas. Cross-stratification-parallel paleosols, being unknown in aqueous bedforms, provide potential tools for recognizing eolian dune deposits in the rock record. Mature paleosols apparently require long-term climatic cycles, such as those witnessed in glacial ages and thus are not likely to be very common in the stratigraphic record, whereas the seasonal protosols are. Extreme subtleness of most other eolian features makes these paleosol-marked reactivation surfaces especially significant in recognition of ancient eolian dune deposits.
Publication Year: 1987
Publication Date: 1987-05-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 1
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