An astronaut captured this image of the Oyyl Dune Field in Kazakhstan from the International Space Station. To the south and east of the dune field (right and lower parts Keep reading
Tag: sand dunes
How Dunes Form
On its face, the idea that sand and wind can come together to form massive mountainous dunes seems bizarre. But dunes — and their smaller cousins, ripples — are everywhere, Keep reading
Martian Flyover
Fly over a Martian crater in this incredibly detailed 8K video built from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter imagery. Like Earth’s deserts, Mars is largely shaped by wind, and we get some Keep reading
Ice and Dunes
Although dunes are usually associated with scorching climates, they can form in any desert, including in the frozen steppes of western Mongolia. This sunrise photo, taken by an astronaut aboard Keep reading
Dune Invasion
Migrating sand dunes can encounter obstacles both natural and manmade as they move. Dunes — both above ground and under water — have been known to bury roads, pipelines, and Keep reading
Blue Dunes
This false-color image shows a Martian dune field near the northern polar cap. The image itself covers an area 30 kilometers wide, but the dune field stretches over an area Keep reading
Dunes Avoid Collisions
The speed at which a dune migrates depends on its size; smaller dunes move faster than larger ones. That speed differential implies that small dunes should frequently collide into and Keep reading
The Sand Sea’s End
The northern extent of Africa’s Namib Sand Sea ends where the reddish dunes meet the Kuiseb River and the hard, rocky land on its other side. Within the sand sea, Keep reading
Dune Networks
In sandy deserts, winds can build a vast network of dunes whose shapes depend on the winds that built them. This photograph, taken by an astronaut aboard the International Space Keep reading
Surge Flows
Sandy beaches can be a great place to play with neat flows. In a recent video, Frank Howarth describes playing with beach rivers on the Oregon coast and observing a Keep reading