Aeolian Sand Transport

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Aeolian Sand Transport Sand can potentially help preserve archaeological features by direct burial and/or by mitigating gullying and other erosion. Sand can be deposited on archaeological features or within gullies via fluvial (river) or aeolian (wind) deposition. Most archaeological sites are above the highest contemporary river stage, so aeolian deposition is the most likely mechanism for preservation and/or erosion mitigation. River-sourced sand deposition is a time-dependent process, and the outer limit of that process may extend for many years after any individual HFE. Additionally, HFEs with targeted vegetation removal could produce a net sediment surplus at some sites. [1]

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Updates https://www.usbr.gov/uc/progact/amp/twg/2015-01-20-twg-meeting/Attach_03.pdf https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp1825 How many cultural sites are affected by aeolian sand transport? Of 358 river-corridor arch sites (RM 0-240), 76 (21%) are adjacent and upwind of sandbars receiving HFE sand and don't have some sort of topographic barrier between the sandbar and the arch site (Type 1 and Type 2a). Of these, 44 sites (12%) are currently blocked by vegetation from receiving aeolian sand. [2]

Links Cultural Resources Page Sediment Page Riparian Vegetation Page Presentations and Papers 2023 Caster et al. 2024, Do topographic changes tell us about variability in aeolian sediment transport and dune mobility? Analysis of monthly to decadal surface changes in a partially vegetated and biocrust covered dunefield: Geomorphology, v. 447, p. 1-16 Sankey et al. 2023. Archaeological sites in Grand Canyon National Park along the Colorado River are eroding owing to six decades of Glen Canyon Dam operations 2022 Project D: Geomorphic Effects of Dam Operations and Vegetation management on Archaeological Sites 2021 Sand Supply, Transport and Deposition Using Repeat Photography to Document Dam Operation Effects on Sand Supply, Aeolian Landscapes, and Terrestrial Ecology in the Colorado River Ecosystem [3] 2020 Geomorphic Effects of Dam Operations and Vegetation Management for Archaeological Sites 2019 Cook et. al, 2019, Managing sand along the Colorado River to protect cultural sites downstream of Glen Canyon Dam: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2019-3054 High Elevation Sand/Cultural Sites: The response of source-bordering aeolian dunefields to the 2012-2016 High Flow Experiments of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon Presentation 2018 GCMRC Science Updates PPT Kasprak et al., 2018, Quantifying and forecasting changes in the areal extent of river valley sediment in response to altered hydrology and land cover: Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment Solazzo, D., Sankey, J.B., Sankey, T.Ts., Munson, S.M., 2018. Mapping and measuring aeolian sand dunes with photogrammetry and LiDAR from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and multispectral satellite imagery on the Paria Plateau, AZ, USA: Geomorphology, v. 319, p. 174-185 Sankey et al., 2018, The response of source-bordering aeolian dunefields to sediment-supply changes 1--Effects of wind variability and river-valley morphodynamics: Aeolian Research Sankey et al., 2018, The response of source-bordering aeolian dunefields to sediment-supply changes 2--Controlled floods of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA: Aeolian Research 2017 East et al. 2017. Modern landscape processes affecting archaeological sites along the Colorado River corridor downstream of Glen Canyon Dam, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2017–5082, 22 p. Kasprak et al. 2017. Geomorphic process from topographic form: Automating the interpretation of repeat survey data in river valleys. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. Fluvial-aeolian sediment connectivity during the current HFE protocol: alteration on fluvial-aeolian sediment connectivity in Grand Canyon 2016 Collins et al. 2016. Relations between rainfall–runoff-induced erosion and aeolian deposition at archaeological sites in a semi-arid dam-controlled river corridor, Earth Surf. Process. Landforms East et. al. 2016. Conditions and processes affecting sand resources at archeological sites in the Colorado River corridor below Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper Linkages between controlled floods, eddy sandbar dynamics, and riparian vegetation along the Colorado River in Marble Canyon, Arizona, USA 2015 Conditions and Processes affecting sand resources at archaeological sites 2014 Gully annealing by Aeolian sediment: Field and remote-sensing investigation in Glen, Marble, and Grand Canyons (Sankey) 2013 Aeolian Landscapes and Archaeological Sites: 2012 Progress and New Work Plan (Project J) 2012 Aeolian Landscapes 2010 Aeolian Reworking of Sandbars from the March 2008 Glen Canyon Dam High-Flow Experiment in Grand Canyon Other Stuff Collin et al. 2016: Aeolian deposition was found at 4 sites (30%) where partial infilling occurred preventing further erosion. “Despite this promise for archaeological site preservation, our observations show that gully annealing can only occur under a specific set of conditions related to fluvial sand availability and wind transport direction.” "In this study, aeolian deposition, even with anthropogenic forcing via fluvial sand-bar building high flow dam releases, was found to be generally insufficient to offset the effects of precipitation-induced gullying." East et al. 2016: The problem: Landscapes downstream from Glen Canyon Dam contain archaeological resources that are affected by fluvial (river), aeolian (wind), and hillslope (gravity and rainfall-runoff) geomorphic processes. The question: Can Colorado River sediment enhance the preservation of river corridor archaeological resources in these landscapes through aeolian sand deposition and mitigation of gully erosion? The results: Relatively few archeological sites are now ideally situated to receive aeolian sand supply from sandbars deposited by recent controlled floods (HFEs) from Glen Canyon Dam (decreased from 98 sites in 1973 to 32 in 2012).[4]