Kelso Dunes Research Articles

The role of eolian-fluvial interactions and dune dams in landscape change, late Pleistocene–Holocene, Mojave Desert, USA

AbstractThe formation of the Kelso Dunes in the eastern Mojave Desert, California, was a landscape-changing event triggered by an increase in sediment supply that followed the incision of Afton Canyon by the Mojave River ca. 25 ka. Eastward migration of sand dunes occurred along a well-defined eolian transport corridor. Dunes temporarily blocked washes resulting in substantial aggradation of eolian and fluvial sediments. Stratigraphic exposures reveal numerous fining-up sequences with interbedded eolian sands that provide evidence of dune dams and subsequent aggradation. Luminescence ages reveal that dune blocking and aggradation correspond to a regional pulse of alluvial fan sedimentation that occurred ca. 14–9 ka. Meanwhile, relative landscape stability occurred downstream of dune dams, resulting in the formation of a moderately developed soil on abandoned fluvial deposits. The next pulse of alluvial fan activity ca. 6–3 ka likely resulted in the breaching of the dune dams, followed by incision. Eolian system sediment state theory suggests that eolian activity in the Mojave Desert is closely tied to enhanced sediment supply, primarily related to the Mojave River–Lake Mojave system. Our data suggests that Intermittent Lake Mojave I, ca. 26–22 ka, triggered a large dune-building event that impounded massive amounts of sediment derived from alluvial fans deposited during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. Breaching of dune dams and sediment recycling may have also increased sediment supply that contributed to late Holocene eolian activity. This profound impact on the regional geomorphology highlights the critical importance of eolian-fluvial interactions in desert environments.

Descriptions of species of Acrobeles von Linstow, 1877 (Nematoda, Rhabditida,Cephalobidae) from Kelso Dunes, Mojave National Preserve, California, USA.

Populations of three rare species of the genus Acrobeles are described from the Kelso Dunes area, Mojave National Preserve, southern California. One population is identified as belonging to A. undulatus and is compared with the type population from Venezuela and one population from Iran. Males of this species are described for the first time. Another population identified as belonging to A. ornatus is compared with the type population from Colorado, USA. Specimens identified as belonging to A. dimorphus are compared with the type population from Namibia. Descriptions of the new material add morphological data important for species identification, broaden the diagnosis of Acrobeles and increase the distribution patterns of these three species.

Description of Drilocephalobus moldavicus Lisetskaya, 1968 (Rhabditida: Osstellidae) from Kelso Dunes, Mojave National Preserve, California, USA.

Specimens of Drilocephalobus moldavicus are described from the Kelso Dunes area, Mojave National Preserve, southern California. This is the first record of the genus in North America. The specimens of this population are characterized by a body length of 322-417 µm in females and 403 µm in the male; cuticle finely annulated; lateral field with five incisures, extending to phasmid and two incisures extending almost to tail terminus in both sexes; lip region helmet-shaped, offset from body contour; lips amalgamated; stoma with thin walls lacking sclerotizations; pharynx without distinct divisions, cylindrical, widening slightly at about 1/3 of its length and basally, without valves; spermatheca 14-19 µm long; postvulval uterine sac 25-27 µm long; spicules 23 µm long; and female tail conoid-elongate with rounded terminus.

A complex origin for the Kelso Dunes, Mojave National Preserve, California, USA: A case study using a simple geochemical method with global applications

The Kelso Dune field in southern California is intriguing because although it is of limited areal extent (~100km2), it has a wide variety of dune forms and contains many active dunes (~40km2), which is unusual in the Mojave Desert. Studies over the past eight decades have concluded that the dunes are derived primarily from a single source, Mojave River alluvium, under a dominant, westerly-to-northwesterly wind regime. The majority of these studies did not, however, present data to support the Mojave River as the only source. We conducted mineralogical and geochemical studies of most of the 14 geomorphically defined dune groups of the Kelso Dune field as well as potential sand sources, alluvial sediments from the surrounding mountain ranges. Results indicate that sands in the nine western dune groups have K/Rb and K/Ba (primarily from K-feldspar) compositions that are indistinguishable from Mojave River alluvium (westerly/northwesterly winds) and Budweiser Wash alluvium (southwesterly winds), permitting an interpretation of two sources. In contrast, sands from the five eastern dune groups have K/Rb and K/Ba values that indicate significant inputs from alluvial fan deposits of the Providence Mountains. This requires either rare winds from the east or southeast or, more likely, aeolian reworking of distal Providence Mountain fan sediments by winds from the west, at a rate greater than input from the Mojave River or other western sources. The results indicate that even a small dune field can have a complex origin, either from seasonally varying winds or complex alluvial-fan-dune interaction. Application of K/Rb and K/Ba in K-feldspar as a provenance indicator could be used in many of the world's ergs or sand seas, where dune origins are still not well understood or are controversial. Four examples are given from Africa and the Middle East where such an approach could yield useful new information about dune sand provenance.

Analysis of Desert Sand Dune Migration Patterns from Landsat Image Time Series for The Southern California Desert

Developers of renewable energy installations in southern California need to evaluate the risks to facility operations from proximity to active desert dunes. This study first validated Landsat image spectral data using ground-based data collection of aeolian sand migration rate measurements surveyed in Arizona as an accurate method for characterizing dune mobility. The predominant direction of measured sand dune movements was correctly mapped at this site from the satellite imagery, as well as the migration distances of the leading edges of sand dunes over the entire 1992-2010 monitoring period. Application of the Landsat image method to two dune systems in southern California demonstrated its usefulness for mapping sand migration patterns and rates. Between 1995 and 2014, Palen Dunes lost over half of its stable dune surface and increased its sand accumulation zone by nearly that same area coverage. In contrast, changes in the sand movement patterns at Kelso Dunes were not apparent, perhaps due in to its more constraining mountain landscape features. These results have an immediate application for understanding future sand transport and characterizing potential impacts to nearby utility-scale solar energy installations.

Description of a new species of Paracrobeles Heyns, 1968 (Nematoda, Rhabditida, Cephalobidae) from Kelso Dunes, Mojave National Preserve, California, USA

A new species of Paracrobeles, P. kelsodunensis sp. nov. is described from the Kelso Dunes area, Mojave National Preserve, southern California. Paracrobeles kelsodunensis sp. nov. is particularly characterised by a body length of 469–626 μm in females and 463–569 μm in males; lateral field with four incisures, extending almost to tail terminus; three pairs of asymmetrical lips, separated by U-shaped primary axils with two long guarding processes, each lip usually with four tines along its margin; three long labial probolae, deeply bifurcated, with slender prongs without tines; metastegostom with a strong anteriorly directed dorsal tooth; pharyngeal corpus anteriorly spindle-shaped, posteriorly elongate bulbous with dilated lumen; spermatheca 24–87 μm long; postvulval uterine sac 60–133 μm long; vulva in a sunken area; spicules 33–38 μm long; and male tail with a 5–8 μm long mucro. The generic diagnosis is emended on the basis of recently described species and a key to the species of Paracrobeles is provided.

From Las Vegas to Long Beach: Desert Pedology, Land Use, and Wild Lands Tour

On 30 Oct.–1 Nov. 2014, the Victorville MLRA Soil Survey Office; Dr. Bob Graham (University of California–Riverside, UCR), and Dr. Brenda Buck (University of Nevada–Las Vegas, UNLV) hosted the Desert Pedology, Land Use, and Wild Lands—Las Vegas to Long Beach two-day tour. The tour was planned and executed by Leon Lato and the rest of the Victorville MLRA Soil Survey, Region 8 team with a special thanks to Carrie Ann Houdeshell who originally initiated the effort before she transferred to her modelling position in Region 2. From Las Vegas, NV to the outskirts of the Los Angeles Basin, CA, there is a wide range of desert landscape, remote wilderness, unique vegetation, and soil formation. This area represents isolation and preservation and, at the same time, promises for the future of open space for renewable energy production, food and fiber production, watershed renovation, and alternative uses for new minerals for green infrastructure and modern technology. The tour started in Las Vegas at the University of Nevada with a lecture and lab tour from NCSS cooperator Dr. Brenda Buck. Her lecture on “Naturally Occurring Asbestos: Potential for Human Exposure, Southern Nevada, USA” was illuminating and a good start to understanding the issues of dust in the Mojave Desert and the southwestern U.S. to humans and the difficulties of studying the subject in an urbanizing environment. The group travelled on to California to the Mojave National Preserve (MNP). Dr. Mandy Williams of UNLV and Dustin Detweiler, NRCS ecological site specialist, started the field discussions with examples of biocrusts, ecological site descriptions, and the function of dust in these systems. Dr. Daniel Hirmas, Kansas University, explained his Ph.D. UCR thesis of Eolian deposits on mountains, and Leon Lato, NRCS soil survey project leader, Mojave National Preserve, led the discussion of the playa soil of Soda Dry Lake. The group stayed at the Desert Studies Center in Zzyzx, CA (named by Dr. Springer, owner of this famous 1930s health spa as the “last” word in health). On the second day, the group visited the basalt flows in the Cima volcanic field with Dr. Yvonne Katzenstein, which illustrated the potential of 1 to 3 m of dust (eolian fines) inflating the landscape over measured geologic time. A highlight of the tour was the taxonomic discussion and illustration of the new master V horizon by Dr. Robert Graham, UCR. This site shows how the V horizon developed from eolian deposits under a desert pavement surface. The vesicular pores and platy structure of the silt loam surface (V horizon) contrasts strongly with the gravelly-sandy material below. The final stop was at the eastern side of the Kelso Dunes with an explanation by Dr. Katherine Kendrick, USGS, on desert dust and dune processes. Pre-meeting SSSA Pedology Tour 2014 group picture on the eastern edge of the Kelso Dune field in MNP in an area stabilized by big galleta grass. Playa soil on Soda Dry Lake looking south at the Desert Studies Center in Zzyzx, CA—coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, hyperthermic Oxyaquic Udorthents. The tour brought together students, soil scientists, and soil taxonomists from China, Iraq, Syria, India, Europe, Canada, Australia, Africa, and throughout the U.S. Those who attended came away with a clearer understanding of the importance of the V master horizon and dust in desert environments as well as congenial memories of NRCS's work in the region. They enjoyed the spectacular weather including some overnight rain and relatively light desert breezes for the trip. Tour participants scrutinizing samples of the V horizon in MNP. Desert pavement with a V horizon in MNP—sandy-skeletal, mixed, thermic Typic Haplocalcids.

Generating Consistent Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity Products Between ASTER and MODIS Data for Earth Science Research

Land surface temperature and emissivity (LST&E) products are generated by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Terra satellite. These products are generated at different spatial, spectral, and temporal resolutions, resulting in discrepancies between them that are difficult to quantify, compounded by the fact that different retrieval algorithms are used to produce them. The highest spatial resolution MODIS emissivity product currently produced is from the day/night algorithm, which has a spatial resolution of 5 km. The lack of a high-spatial-resolution emissivity product from MODIS limits the usefulness of the data for a variety of applications and limits utilization with higher resolution products such as those from ASTER. This paper aims to address this problem by using the ASTER Temperature Emissivity Separation (TES) algorithm, combined with an improved atmospheric correction method, to generate the LST&E products for MODIS at 1-km spatial resolution and for ASTER in a consistent manner. The rms differences between the ASTER and MODIS emissivities generated from TES over the southwestern U.S. were 0.013 at 8.6 μm and 0.0096 at 11 μm, with good correlations of up to 0.83. The validation with laboratory-measured sand samples from the Algodones and Kelso Dunes in CA showed a good agreement in spectral shape and magnitude, with mean emissivity differences in all bands of 0.009 and 0.010 for MODIS and ASTER, respectively. These differences are equivalent to approximately 0.6 K in the LST for a material at 300 K and at 11 μm.

Tracking Desertification in California Using Remote Sensing: A Sand Dune Encroachment Approach

Most remote sensing studies in deserts focus solely on vegetation monitoring to assess the extent of desertification. However, the application of sand dune encroachment into such studies would greatly improve the accuracy in the prediction criteria of risk-prone areas. This study applies the latter methodology for tracking desertification using sand dunes in the Kelso Dunes (in Newberry-Baker, CA, USA). The approach involves the comparison of spectral characteristics of the dunes in Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images over a 24-year period (1982, 1988, 1994, 2000, and 2006). During this 24-year period, two El Niño events occurred (1983 and 1993); it was concluded that despite the shift in predominant winds, the short-term variation in wind direction did not make a noticeable change in dune formation, but greatly influences vegetation cover. Therefore, relying solely on vegetation monitoring to assess desertification can lead to overestimations in prediction analysis. Results from this study indicate that the Kelso Dunes are experiencing an encroachment rate of approximately 5.9 m3/m/yr over the 24-year period. While quantifying the Kelso Dunes or any natural dynamic system is subject to uncertainties, the encroachment rate approach reflects the highly heterogeneous nature of the sand dunes (in regards to spectral variability in brightness) at Kelso Dunes and serves as an exemplar for future research.

Reply to comment by B. Andreotti et al. on “Solving the mystery of booming sand dunes”

This reply addresses three main issues raised in the comment of Andreotti et al. [2008]. First, the turning of ray paths in a granular material does not preclude the propagation of body waves and the resonance condition described by Vriend et al. [2007]. The waveguide model still holds in the dune for the observed velocities, even with a velocity increase with depth as implied by Andreotti et al. [2008]. Secondly, the method of initiation of spontaneous avalanching does not influence the booming frequency. The frequency is independent of the source once sustained booming starts; it depends on the subsurface structure of the dune. Thirdly, if all data points from Vriend et al. [2007] are included in the analysis (and not an average or selection), no correlation is observed between the sustained booming frequency and average particle diameter.

Identification of sand sources and transport pathways at the Kelso Dunes, California, using thermal infrared remote sensing

The Kelso dune field is located in the eastern Mojave Desert, California, at the terminus of a sand-transport pathway, which has its primary source at the Mojave River Wash 50 km to the west. Initial examination of 1984 airborne thermal infrared multispectral scanner (TIMS) data showed significant spectral variations that indicate potential mineralogic heterogeneities within the active dunes. This result prompted the collection of a suite of 48 sand samples in 1990, and the acquiring of new TIMS data in 1995. This new data set was used to test a newly developed linear spectral retrieval algorithm in conjunction with a spectral library of end-member minerals. Results of this analysis produced images of end-member minerals that showed marked variations within the dunes. In addition, standard petrographic techniques revealed that the dunes contain mineralogic variations and were much less quartz rich (∼42%) than previously reported (∼70%–90%). Point-count results agreed with the spectral data to within an average of 5.3% for TIMS-derived and 3.1% for laboratory-derived mineralogic abundances. High concentrations of several of the end-member minerals on the surrounding alluvial fans indicate a potential nearby source for these minerals. Most evident is the presence of potassium feldspar from the fan that emanates from the Providence Mountains east of the dunes. This previously unidentified potential sand input is not visible with other remote sensing techniques and was confirmed with additional field sampling. Much of the quartz and some plagioclase feldspar, however, appear to have been transported from the Mojave River Wash source as previously reported. This study also validates the potential of using thermal remote sensing from future satellite-based instruments to globally monitor desert fringe areas susceptible to the changing conditions of sand encroachment.

Decomposition of AVIRIS spectra: extraction of surface-reflectance, atmospheric, and instrumental components

Presents techniques that use only information contained within a raw, high-spectral-resolution, hyperspectral Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) scene to estimate and remove additive components (atmospheric scattering and instrument dark current). These techniques allow normalization of multiplicative components (instrument gain, topography, atmospheric transmission) and enhancement, extraction, and identification of relative-reflectance information related to surface composition and mineralogy. The authors' derivation of additive components from raw AVIRIS data is based on an adaptation of Crippen's "regression intersection method (RIM)." As does RIM, the authors use pairs of surface units that are spectrally homogeneous, spatially extensive, and located in rugged terrain. However, their technique utilizes the long-wavelength spectral data of AVIRIS to derive and remove atmospheric scattering components for each unit. AVIRIS data from the Kelso Dunes and Granite Mountain areas of southern California served as spectrally contrasting, topographically modulated surfaces for illustration of this technique. For a given site and wavelength pair, subtraction of the wavelength-dependent additive component from individual bands will remove topographic shading in both sites in band-to-band ratio images. Normalization of all spectra in the scene to the average scene spectrum results in cancellation of multiplicative components and produces a relative-reflectance scene. Absorption features due to mineral absorptions that depart from the average spectrum can be identified in the relative-reflectance AVIRIS product. The validity of these techniques is demonstrated by comparisons between relative-reflectance AVIRIS spectra derived from application of this technique and those derived by using the standard calibration techniques of JPL. Calibrated spectra were extracted from an AVIRIS scene of the Upheaval Dome area of Canyonlands National Park, UT. Results show that surface-reflectance information can be extracted and interpreted in terms of surface mineralogy after application of these techniques to AVIRIS data.

Luminescence dating of mojave desert sands

Infra-red stimulated luminescence has been used to date periods of sand deposition in the Mojave Desert, California. Dates from the Cronese Basins, Kelso Dunes and Silver Lake are compared with published IRSL ages to provide evidence for discrete pulses of sand accretion during the late Pleistocene and Holocene, linked to both arid and pluvial climates. A critical factor in aeolian deposition throughout this area is shown to be the availability of sand from existing source areas.

Controls on aeolian activity: some new perspectives from the Kelso Dunes, Mojave Desert, California

The extent and intensity of aeolian processes in the Kelso aeolian geomorphic system of the Mojave Desert have varied in a complex way in time and space. Geomorphic, stratigraphic, and sedimentologic studies allow the identification of areas of relict, dormant, and active dunes. In this area, dune activity has been affected by sediment supply, climatic changes (including changes in the seasonal distribution as well as the amount of precipitation), and topographic position. Understanding of the factures that influence dune activity has been facilitated by knowledge of the history of aeolian activity and its relationship to regional environmental change.

Luminescence dating of sand from the Kelso Dunes, California

Abstract A relatively new luminescence dating technique, infra-red stimulated luminescence (IRSL), has been used to date dune sand from the Kelso Dunes, eastern Mojave Desert, California. This is the first time the technique has been applied to desert aeolian sands. The IRSL technique measures the time since sediment grains were last exposed to light, by sampling a highly light-sensitive signal which reduces rapidly to a negligible level when so exposed. The technique can be used to date very young samples. Of the ten samples dated, the surface sample gave an age of 40 ± 17 years, while subsurface samples gave high-precision middle and late Holocene dates. These results, obtained from the upper 8 m of the sand mass, indicate significant aeolian activity during the later part of the Holocene. Clustering of IRSL ages from the data so far available suggests that the aeolian activity may have been episodic.

New airborne imaging radar observations of sand Dunes: Kelso Dunes, California

High resolution multiple wavelength and polarization radar data of Kelso Dunes were acquired during the Mojave Field Experiment. They offer the opportunity to develop criteria for the selection of optimal wavelengths and polarizations for imaging of dune areas. The backscatter from unvegetated dune surfaces at all wavelenghts (C-, L-, and P-band) with direct (HH, VV) polarization is largely controlled by dune topography and incidence angle. These data (especially P-band) provide the best images of dune topography. The best discrimination between active and inactive dunes is obtained by cross-polarized C-band data (CVH, CHV) as a result of multiple scattering from vegetation and small-scale topography (e.g., shadow dunes).

Discrimination of active and inactive sand from remote sensing: Kelso dunes, Mojave desert, California

Landsat TM images, field data, and laboratory reflectance spectra were examined for the Kelso dunes, Mojave Desert, California to assess the use of visible and near-infrared (VNIR) remote sensing data to discriminate aeolian sand populations on the basis of spectral brightness. Results show that areas of inactive sand have a larger percentage of dark, fine-grained materials compared to those composed of active sand, ehich contain less dark fines and a higher percentage of quartz sand-size grains. Both areas are spectrally distinct in the VNIR, suggesting that VNIR spectral data can be used to discriminate active and inactive sand populations in the Mojave Desert. Analysis of laboratory spectra was complicated by the presence of magnetite in the active sands, which decreases their laboratory reflectance values to those of inactive sands. For this application, comparison of TM and laboratory spectra suggests that less than 35% vegetation cover does not influence the TM spectra.

Phytogeography of Sand Dunes in the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts

A floristic survey of twenty stabilized and unstabilized sand dunes in the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts was conducted over a 9-year period. The relative ages of dunes were determined by the number of endemic, psammophytic and azonal taxa at each dune. The relationships among older dunes were then analysed by two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) and Sorensen's coefficient of similarity (CC,) applied to the psammophytic taxa. These relationships were used to propose routes of psammophyte migration during the Holocene, taking into account climatic change and physiographic complexity in the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts. A total of 166 taxa was documented, representing eightyeight genera and twenty-seven families of vascular plants. Approximately 95% of the taxa was indigenous. Eureka, Big and Kelso dunes were the oldest dunes included in the

Geomorphic and hydrologic implications of the rapid incision of Afton Canyon, Mojave Desert, California

Afton Canyon is a >150-m-deep canyon that formed as a result of overflow and drainage of Lake Manix, an ∼215 km2 late Wisconsin pluvial lake in the central Mojave Desert. Because the canyon age is within the range of conventional radiocarbon dating, it is possible to provide a time-based chronology of events and resultant landscape changes due to a >120 m base-level drop. Analysis of erosion volumes upstream of Afton Canyon and a review of public and private well logs downstream of the canyon mouth indicate that late Wisconsin surfaces are deeply buried downstream of Afton Canyon. Burial depths are ∼55 m at the mouth of Afton Canyon, 27 m in the Cronese basin, and 18 m at Crucero. The well logs also indicate that Soda Lake was far more areally extensive prior to late Wisconsin time. Stratigraphic and geomorphic evidence suggests that Afton Canyon was cut rapidly sometime after 14,230 ±1325 yr B.P. The rapid draining of Lake Manix and subsequent basin dissection have important implications for late Quaternary lake fluctuations in Death Valley, base-level changes and resultant alluvial-fan adjustments in the Cronese basin, the sand source for the Kelso Dunes, and the absence of old artifacts in the Cronese basin and the Mojave River wash region.

A Flora of the Higher Ranges and the Kelso Dunes of the Eastern Mojave Desert in California

A Flora of the Higher Ranges and the Kelso Dunes of the Eastern Mojave Desert in California