COMPLEMENTARY CLASSIFICATIONS OF
AEOLIAN DUNES BASED ON MORPHOLOGY,
DYNAMICS, AND FLUID MECHANICS

Sylvain Courrech Du Pont, D M Rubin, C Narteau, M G A Lapôtre, M Day,
P Claudin, I Livingstone, M W Telfer, J Radebaugh, C Gadal, et al.

► To cite this version:

Sylvain Courrech Du Pont, D M Rubin, C Narteau, M G A Lapôtre, M Day, et al. COMPLEMENTARY CLASSIFICATIONS OF AEOLIAN DUNES BASED ON MORPHOLOGY, DYNAMICS, AND FLUID MECHANICS. 8th International Planetary Dunes Workshop, May 2025, Alghero (Sar daigne), Italy. hal-05491925

HAL Id: hal-05491925

https://hal.science/hal-05491925v1

Submitted on 3 Feb 2026

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**COMPLEMENTARY CLASSIFICATIONS OF AEOLIAN DUNES BASED ON MORPHOLOGY, DYNAMICS, AND FLUID MECHANICS.** S. Courrech du Pont¹, D.M. Rubin², C. Narteau³, M.G.A. Lapôtre⁴, M. Day⁵, P. Claudin⁶, I. Livingstone⁷, M.W. Telfer⁸, J. Radebaugh⁹, C. Gadal¹⁰, A. Gunn¹¹, P.A. Hesp¹², S. Carpy¹³, C.S. Bristow¹⁴, A.C.W. Baas¹⁵, R.C. Ewing¹⁶, and G.F.S. Wiggs¹⁷, ¹Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes, Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Paris, France. ²Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, USA. ³Institut Physique du Globe de Paris, Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Paris, France, ⁴Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, USA. ⁵Dept. of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA. ⁶Laboratoire Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes, CNRS, ESPCI Paris, PSL Research University, Université Paris Cité, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France. ⁷The Graduate School, The University of Northampton, Northampton, UK. ⁸SOGEES, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK. ⁹Dept. of Geological Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, USA. ¹⁰Dept. of Mathematics and Manchester Centre for Nonlinear Dynamics, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. ¹¹School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Clayton, Australia. ¹²College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Australia. ¹³Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géosciences, CNRS, Nantes Université, Université Angers, Le Mans Université, France. ¹⁴Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Birkbeck University of London, London, UK. ¹⁵Dept. of Geography, King's College London, London, UK. ¹⁶Dept. of Geology and Geophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA. ¹⁷School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, UK.

Dunes form where winds blow over a bed of mobile sediment grains -- conditions that are common in our solar system. On Earth, dunes abound in arid continental interiors and along sandy coastlines. Dune fields have also been recognized on Venus, Mars, Saturn's moon Titan, and Pluto. In response to the different boundary conditions and other environmental forcings, dunes adopt a rich diversity of shapes, sizes, and behaviors. Thus, people around the globe and over centuries have developed a rich vocabulary to describe dunes and their complexity. As a result, existing dune nomenclature often includes redundant terms with differing definitions across scientific communities.

Previous studies have endeavored to link dune shape to environmental forcing, usually by means of correlation. Although instructive, correlation-based classifications can be misleading if not based on an underlying mechanics and if dune morphogenetic classes are not uniquely defined.

Here, we synthesize existing dune terminology and use the last two decades of research on dune morphodynamics to propose three complementary dune classification schemes based on: descriptive dune geomorphology (Fig. 1), morphodynamic processes (Fig. 2), and fluid mechanics and physics of sediment transport (Fig. 3), cf. all details in [1].

The first classification relates dune types to geomorphic setting, presence or absence of vegetation or obstacles, and dune shape (including planform shape, and cross-sectional symmetry or asymmetry). Dune classes can be further subdivided where the direction of sand transport is known independently.

The second classification relates dune types and shapes to bed properties (sand-covered vs partially starved bed) and wind forcing (directional variability

or the relative strengths and directions of wind modes) that together influence dune dynamics (growth, migration, elongation) and select the dominant processes by which dunes are shaped and oriented relative to the resultant transport direction.

The third classification relates, for different planetary environments, the range of possible dune sizes, from minimum to maximum wavelength, to flow regime (rough or smooth) and response of sediment transport, which influence the coupling between sand bed topography, fluid flow, and sediment transport. These characteristic lengths are useful scales for comparative geomorphology.

The three classification schemes provide complementary information. Together, they form a unified framework for geomorphologists, sedimentologists, geographers, physicists, and others to describe windblown sand dunes on Earth and beyond through their shape, dynamics, and size as a response to winds and boundary conditions.

**Acknowledgments:** This work began during a funded workshop at the Fondation des Treilles (www.les-treilles.com), France.

**Reference:** [1] Courrech du Pont S. et al. (2024) Earth-Sci. Rev. 255, 104772.
<figure><img src="image_2.png" /><figcaption>Fig. 1. Classification based on dune morphology.</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_3.png" /><figcaption>Fig. 3. Classification based on fluid mechanics and sediment transport.</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_4.png" /><figcaption>Fig. 2. Classification based on dune dynamics.</figcaption></figure>