Large-scale stabilized dunes on the High Plains of Colorado: Understanding the landscape response to Holocene climates with the aid of images from space

Journal Article · Sat Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1992 · Geology; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1992)020<0145:LSSDOT>2.3.CO;2· OSTI ID:6951336

Forman, S L ^[1]; Goetz, A F.H.; Yuhas, R H ^[2]

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1. Ohio State Univ., Columbus (United States)
2. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder (United States)

Principal-component analysis of Landsat Thematic Mapper images from eastern Colorado reveals stabilized dune fields that are composed of single and compound parabolic dunes, some longer than 10 km. These dunes have been reactivated at least four times in the past 10,000 yr, at ca. 9500 to 5500 yr B.P., 5500 to {gt}4800 yr B.P., 4800 to {gt}1000 yr B.P., and {lt}1000 yr B.P., during droughts that probably exceeded the dry conditions during the 1930s. Dune orientations indicate that these landforms were molded by winds from the northwest, which now dominate during the winter and spring with the passage of Pacific air masses. This study underscores the sensitivity of the landscape of the High Plains to drought conditions, which may become more prevalent because of the anticipated effects of greenhouse warming.

• OSTI ID: 6951336
• Journal Information: Geology; (United States), Vol. 20:2; ISSN 0091-7613
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
COLORADO
DUNES
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
PALEOCLIMATOLOGY
REMOTE SENSING
AERIAL MONITORING
CLIMATE MODELS
DROUGHTS
GEOMORPHOLOGY
GREENHOUSE EFFECT
LANDSAT SATELLITES
STRATIGRAPHY
TOPOGRAPHY
WIND
CLIMATIC CHANGE
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
FEDERAL REGION VIII
GEOLOGY
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MONITORING
NORTH AMERICA
PALEONTOLOGY
SATELLITES
USA
580000* - Geosciences
540150 - Environment
Atmospheric- Site Resources &amp; Use Studies- (1990-)