Physics limits the size of sand dunes
MAR 03, 2009
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.023117
Nature News : The giant sand dunes that form in deserts around the world can only grow so big, according to a new study. Interactions with a thin atmospheric layer that floats kilometres above the ground stop the dunes from growing any larger âmdash; in the same way the surface of a river influences the size of patterns on its bed.
The study answers the question of why giant dunes don’t grow indefinitely, says Nick Lancaster, a geomorphologist at the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada, who was not involved in the work.
© 2009 American Institute of Physics
