Combining ground penetrating radar surveys and optical dating to determine dune migration in Namibia
Bristow, Charlie S. and Lancaster, N. and Duller, G.A.T. (2005) Combining ground penetrating radar surveys and optical dating to determine dune migration in Namibia. Journal of the Geological Society 162 (2), pp. 315-322. ISSN 0016-7649.
Abstract
Ground penetrating radar (GPR) profiles across a complex linear dune in the Namib Sand Sea have been used to image sets of cross-stratification and their bounding surfaces. A combination of radar facies analysis and radar stratigraphy has been used to interpret the radar profiles and define a relative chronology. Thick sets of cross-stratification indicate when the dune was most active, whereas thin sets of cross-stratification are interpreted to indicate the increased prevalence of wind reversals and lower rates of dune migration, with bounding surfaces formed during periods of stabilization, non-deposition or erosion. A drilling and dating campaign was designed on the basis of the dune stratigraphy as defined by the GPR survey. Sampling was targeted at large sets of cross-stratification formed when the dunes were most active, and avoiding bounding surfaces formed when the dune was stable or even eroded. The results from optical dating give ages between 0.34 ± 0.02 ka and 1.57 ± 0.07 ka, indicating a time-averaged dune migration rate of 0.12 m a−1 over the past 1600 years.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Natural Sciences |
Depositing User: | Sarah Hall |
Date Deposited: | 25 Jun 2019 08:37 |
Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 17:52 |
URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/27919 |
Statistics
Additional statistics are available via IRStats2.