You have just driven a truck through a sandstorm and discover that the paint has been stripped from the lower parts of the truck, but the upper parts have been barely scratched. What process is responsible, and why is it restricted to the lower parts of the truck?
What evidence might you find in an ancient sandstone that would point to its eolian origin?
Compare the heights to which sand and dust are carried in the atmosphere and explain the differences or similarities.
Trucks continually have to haul away sand covering a coastal highway. What do you think might be the source of the sand? Could its encroachment be stopped?
What features of a desert landscape would lead you to believe it was formed mainly by streams, with secondary contributions from eolian processes?
Which of the following would be a more reliable indication of the direction of the wind that formed a barchan: cross-bedding or the orientation of the dune’s shape on a map? Why?
What factors determine whether sand dunes will form on a stream floodplain?
There are large areas of sand dunes on Mars. From this fact alone, what can you infer about conditions on the Martian surface?
What aspects of an ancient sandstone would you study to show that it was originally a desert sand dune?
What kinds of landscape features would you ascribe to the work of the wind, to the work of streams, or to both?
How does desert weathering differ from or resemble weathering in more humid climates?
What evidence would cause you to infer that dust storms and strong winds were common in glacial times?