Ventifact

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A ventifact (also wind-faceted stone, windkanter

winds, and where there is a steady but not overwhelming supply of sand
.

Wind-carved "mushroom" shaped rocks are the centerpiece of White Desert National Park, Egypt

Ventifacts can be abraded (

mushrooms
.

Individual stones, such as those forming desert pavement, are often found with grooved, etched, or polished surfaces where these same wind-driven processes have slowly worn away the rock.

Ventifacts are typically of three types - • Einkanters having one polished side (excluding the bottom part) (German word ‘ein’ means ‘one’) • Zweinkanters having two polished sides (excluding the bottom part)(German word ‘zwei’ means ‘two’) • Dreinkanters having three polished surface (excluding the polished surface at bottom) those meet up at sharp angles(German word ‘drei’ means ‘three’) [3]

When ancient ventifacts are preserved without being moved or disturbed, they may serve as a paleo-wind indicators. The wind direction at the time the ventifact formed will be parallel to grooves or striations cut into the rock.

Ventifacts have also been discovered on

rocks have caused significant damage to the wheels of the Curiosity rover.[4] An example of a Martian ventifact was named Jake Matijevic. By analyzing its shape, it was possible to reconstruct the main wind direction which sculpted the rock.[5]

See also

  • Arkenu structures – pair of geological features in Libya
  • Blowout (geomorphology) – Depressions in a sand dune ecosystem caused by the removal of sediments by wind
  • Dune – Hill of loose sand built by aeolian processes or the flow of water
  • Yardang – Streamlined aeolian landform
  • Ventifact Knobs
     – Geographic feature in Antarctica, Antarctica

References

  1. ^ Klaus K. E. Neuendorf, Glossary of Geology, p. 723
  2. ISBN 978-1402057199
    .
  3. ISBN 978-0-582-08704-0
    .
  4. ^ NASA, Premature Wear of the MSL Wheels, 2017-09-26
  5. ^ Patrick Zasada (2013) Entstehung des Mars-Gesteins "Jake Matijevic". Sternzeit, issue 2/2013: pp. 98–101. (German language).

External links

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