The Erosion caused by wind
Wind erodes surface materials by two processes: deflation and abrasion. Deflation is the process by which wind removes dry, loose sand, silt and clay from the land surface, especially in arid and semi-arid regions.
The finest materials are carried in suspension long distances before being deposited. Such particles will remain in suspension as long as the strength of the upward currents of air exceeds the tendency of the particles to fall down to the surface.
In case the wind velocity is more than 16 km per hour, surface sand grains will be put into motion. The larger particles too large to be carried in suspension will bounce along the ground.
This transportation process is called saltation. By this process other particles are dislodged and added to the wind’s load or driven forward on the ground. This is called surface sand creep.
There is another process called traction. This process involves still larger particles which are rolled or dragged along the ground by the wind.
The particles carried in suspension by the wind are the suspended load, while those particles that hump and jump along the ground as well as those that are rolled or dragged in traction make up the wind’s bed load.
Abrasion is the second way in which the wind erodes the surface. It operates on a limited scale.
The process of abrasion is the mechanical wearing effects on rocks by the cutting tools that are harder than the particles of the abraded surface. Quartz particles are the most effective tools of abrasion by wind.
