Morphological, Physico-Chemical, and Mineralogical Properties of Abardej's Sand Dunes

Wind is the most important factor of erosion in arid regions. Movement of soil by wind is a complex phenomenon that is under the influence of some factors such as climatic and geomorphological conditions. This research was performed to identify dunes morphology، physical and chemical characteristics، and mineralogical specifications of Abardej''s sand dunes in southeast of Tehran province، Iran. At the first stage، different characteristics of the sand dunes were studied such as dunes morphology، kind of sands granulation، form of sand gravels، and so on. Based on these observations، the morphology of the dunes was transverse، indicating the existence of a dominant wind in one direction. Chemical analysis of Abardej''s dunes showed no important limitation for cultivation of plants. The main minerals of the dunes gravels were quartz، feldspar and calcite. Based on morphoscopic study، gravels of the sand dunes had steep angles. This result showed that the dunes had local sources. The sand gravels were almost shiny and halo، indicating that the dunes came from river - beds. The mean of sand gravels'' diameters was about 200 micron and about 20-25 percent of the gravels had diameters about 250 microns or more. This point، too، showed that the dunes had a local and nearby source.