Geomorphic Investigations of Newly Identified Linear Dunes in Western Wisconsin, USA
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Date
2018-04Author
Running, Garry L.
Jansen, Erica
Coonen, Kayla
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Show full item recordAbstract
The purpose of this poster is to present results of research conducted in western Wisconsin (Buffalo, Chippewa,
Southern Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin, Pierce and St. Croix Counties). Our analysis of high resolution LiDAR-derived
DEMs and soil texture data (sandy, gravel-free soil parent materials) revealed ~375 linear dunes (interpreted based
on morphology), one of many sandy eolian (wind-deposited) landforms previously unknown in the study area we
are investigating (sand sheets, deflation hollows, parabolic dunes, sand ramps, and eolian dammed drainages).
Linear dunes were identified and mapped independently by three team members. The dunes are 40 to 2,600 m
long, up to ~100 m wide, and ~1.5 to 3 m high. They also exhibit a preferred WNW to ESE orientation suggesting
formation under a WNW paleowind. Preliminary age control indicates they formed from ~13 ka to 11 ka during
the terminal late-Pleistocene. Their age and orientation is consistent with paleowind reconstructions based on
loess distributions across the study area. Further investigations to better constrain their age, describe their
internal stratigraphy (to conirm our paleowind reconstruction), and their relationship to sand stringers, similar
landforms widely observed in similar landscape settings in southeastern Minnesota and elsewhere in the western
Great Lakes region, are ongoing.
Subject
Posters
Sand dunes
Soil chemistry
Permanent Link
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/79904Description
Color poster with text, images, maps, and graphs.