Deflated rims along the Xiangshui River on the Xiliaohe Plain, Northeast China: A case of active fluvial–aeolian interactions

Abstract

Riverine source-bordering sand dunes, as a result of active fluvial–aeolian interactions, are a pronounced feature on the semiarid Xiliaohe Plain, Northeast China. By means of satellite imagery analysis, and both field survey and observation, this paper presents a new type of riverine source-bordering sand dunes — deflated rims, on the downwind margins of the Xiangshui River. They largely result from the deflation of escarpments on the downwind side of valley by local prevailing winds of NW direction, not from the reworking of point bars on floodplain by wind. In general, a rim is primarily composed of three distinct zones: 1) the upwind frontal escarpment zone with variable plan-form shape, gradient and relief, which is formed by either active lateral erosion by river or significant erosion by wind and transient slope runoff; 2) the deflation zone with gentle slopes of 8–18° and small-scale aeolian bedforms, i.e. ripples of fine sand, ridges of coarse sand; and 3) the downwind dynamic deposition zone with distinctive bedforms with variable superficial texture and slip faces. The sand mass on rims derives overwhelmingly from underlying loose late Quaternary sediments, is sufficient and sustainable by successive retreats of the escarpment, and is gradually transported downwind by pulse motions of bedforms, coupled with high wind events. Essentially, deflated rims are a starting point and the incipient phase of mature riverine dunefields. The superimposed bedforms on rims are fundamentally governed by windflow dynamics, sand sediments and antecedent bedform, exhibiting in turn the manner and intensity of rim development. Consequently, the upwind river valley and downwind deflated rim can jointly stimulate marked wave-like motion of both windflow and aeolian bedforms at different scales, especially when high wind events occur. This study sheds some light on the understanding of the origin and development of riverine source-bordering dunefields, and offers new insights into the mechanisms of fluvial–aeolian interactions on drylands worldwide.