The statistical analysis of the sand grain size distribution of Al- Ubay-lah barchan dunes, Northwestern Ar-Rub-Alkhali desert, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The paper analyses the statistical parameters of the sand grain size distribution of Al-Ubaylah barchan dunes applying the sieving technique and Folk and Ward, and Trask's equation. The results of the sieving analysis divulged that nearly over 90% of the sand particles fall in the size ranging between 1.50o and 3.o. Insignificant amount of sand grains also fall in the size ranging from 0.0o to 1.50o and from 3.0o to 4.0o respectively. The statistical analysis reveals that the sand is characteristically fine grained, moderately to moderately well sorted with an average diameter of 2.4o and a standard deviation of 0.64o. The sand distribution is positively fine skewed and mesokurtic to leptokurtic in nature. No significant variation in the statistical parameters (median, mean, sorting, skewness and kurtosis) of the sand grains samples used in this research is detected. The sand grain size distribution of all the samples can also be considered symmetrical and unimodal in nature. Those abovementioned characteristics are found to be nearly similar to that of other Saudi dune deserts. The miscroscopic investigation undertaken by this researcher displays that quartz represents often more than 99% of the samples. Felsic, mafic and calcium carbonates minerals represent less than 1% of the mineralogical constituents. The sand grains are subrounded to subangular and iron and calcium carbonates coated.