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Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms pp 1–6Cite as

Bedform

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Definition

A bedform is a depositional feature whose genesis is through the action of a forcing fluid (e.g., air or water) resulting in the movement of the granular material, manifesting into characteristic surface morphology indicative of the flow parameters in operation.

Description

Deposits of sand and granule-size particles transported principally in saltation in flowing fluids organized into a regularly repeated pattern which forms on a solid surface because of the shearing action of a fluid. Bedforms can be aeolian or subaqueous, erosional, or depositional surface features. Fluids in which they form can be wind, water stream, or dense mixtures of particles and gases (e.g., volcanic or impact-induced base surges) (Wilson 1972; Greeley et al. 2006).

Morphometry/Morphology

On Earth, 2D bedforms are defined as having straight crestlinesand constant crest-trough depths relative to surrounding surface level. In cross section, 2D bedforms have identical foresets and bounding surfaces...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Sciences, University of Ulster, Cromore Road, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, BT52 1SA, UK

    Derek Jackson

  2. Planetary Science Research Group, Eötvös Loránd University, Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, Budapest, Hungary

    Henrik Hargitai

Authors
  1. Derek Jackson
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  2. Henrik Hargitai
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Derek Jackson .

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Jackson, D., Hargitai, H. (2014). Bedform. In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_17-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_17-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9213-9

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Bedform
    Published:
    15 October 2014

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_17-3

  2. Original

    Bedform
    Published:
    17 June 2014

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_17-2

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