Spatial variability in aeolian abrasion: Ibex Dune Field, Death Valley National Park

ABSTRACT Wind‐driven sediment transport drives significant landscape evolution in arid regions. Wind‐blown sand can form large dunes, or can erode exposed surfaces via abrasion. Previous works on aeolian abrasion have focused on the geomorphological features resulting from abrasion (for example, ventifacts and yardangs) through both field and wind‐tunnel experiments. However, relatively little attention has been given to how abrasion varies spatially as sand flux converges on a sand sink, such as a dune field. This work studied an arid landscape using field measurements and collected weather data to quantitatively measure how abrasion varies in space around the Ibex Dune Field. From March 2021 to October 2022, the wind conditions at two separate locations in the region were monitored, saltating sand flux was captured using fully rotating sediment traps, ventifacts were mapped along several transects, and abrasion‐related mass loss on mounted gypsum plaster samples was measured. These results suggest that the magnitude of abrasion is approximately inversely proportional to the distance away from the dune field, increasing in magnitude as sands converge and fluxes increase at the dune field sink. Comparison between modern winds and ventifact orientations suggests that additional complexity, not aeolian processes alone, may be shaping the morphology of surface cobbles.