Exam 14: The Work of Wind and Deserts

Equatorial regions receive the most heat,while polar regions receive the least.Therefore,what air pressures would you expect to be characteristic of these regions?

The transformation of formerly productive lands into deserts is called ____________________.

How do dunes build their characteristic asymmetrical profile?

Briefly describe the four main dune types and how they differ from each other?

Briefly explain how a rain-shadow desert forms.

What are deserts,and where are they located on Earth?

Buttes are isolated steep-sided,pinnacle-like hills formed when resistant cap rock is breached and less resistant underlying rocks are eroded.

Why do dunes form? How are they self-generating?

All dunes have crests oriented perpendicular to the direction of wind movement.

Define the Coriolis effect.Which direction does Coriolis deflect winds? What does the word "apparent" mean in the definition?

Wind-blown deposits of silt and clay are called:

The two types of sediment load transported by wind are ____________________ and ____________________ load.

A playa forms by ____________________ of a playa lake.

As in more humid regions,streams in deserts draw upon groundwater to replace water lost to evaporation and absorption into the ground.

The Coriolis effect causes winds to be deflected to the ____________________ of their direction of motion in the Northern Hemisphere and to the ____________________ of their direction of motion in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sandblasting in nature is caused by the process of saltation.

If a surface,like a road,only has silt- and clay-sized particles,the particles will only be picked up by wind if a car or other disturbance disturbs the road surface.

What are deflation hollows?

Explain how wind can be a significant intercontinental agent of erosion and deposition.

What are ventifacts? How are multiple facets formed on ventifacts? Where are they found?