Abstract:

Wind regime is one of the most important factors affecting the development of aeolian landforms. For wind-accumulated landforms （e.g.dunes）， wind also determines the dune types partly. In order to explore the relationship between aeolian landforms and wind， we analyzed the wind pattern in different regions of the Haerteng River for a whole year. The results show that the mean wind speed is 2.78 m·s^-1， and the sand-driving wind mainly occurs in spring and summer with a speed of 7.78 m·s^-1， and the average duration of sand-driving wind events is 4.1 h. Annual drift potential range from 122 to 254 VU， which generally belongs to the intermediate-low wind environment and the index of directional variability （RDP/DP） is mostly intermediate from 0.51 to 0.58. Regional wind regime is different and the western part is intermediate wind environment while central and eastern are low. From the west to the east， the dune types transform from simple （e.g. dome and barchan dunes） to complex （e.g. reticulate and star dunes） with the variation of wind direction and the dune morphology is consistent with wind pattern. Dunes move generally from west to east along the direction of sediment transport. Combined with wind regime and dune distribution， it is speculated that the aeolian landforms of the basin are formed by weathered debris from the eastern mountain that undergo river transportation and wind modification. This study is of great significance for comprehensive understanding the law of regional wind-sand landform differentiation and the relationship between wind regime and sand dunes. It also can provide basic data for further study about the interaction and evolution of dunes.

Key words: Haerteng River, wind regime, wind duration, sand drift potential, aeolian landforms