Definition
Any topographic deviation on the bedding surface of a sedimentary deposit that resembles a ripple of water.
A type of bedform
Subtypes
Subtypes of ripples include:
- (1)
Aeolian ripples (e.g., impact ripples, megaripples, fluid-drag ripples).
- (2)
Adhesion ripples (anti-ripplets, aeolian microridges, climbing ripples) (Fig. 1a): These ripples are formed by dry sand blowing across wet surface where grains are trapped by surface tension. Adhesion ripples are <1 cm wavelength subparallel ripples oriented perpendicular to wind direction exhibiting ripple crests slightly convex in upwind direction and slopes steeper in upwind than downwind direction. “With unidirectional winds, individual adhesion ripples climb upwind over each other, producing a set of pseudo-cross-lamination with foresets dipping downwind” (Kocurek and Fielder 1982). On Earth they are found on marine beaches, desert interdune flats, and playas (Pye and Tsoar 1990).
- (3)
Subaqueous ripples: They are transverse...
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References
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Hargitai, H., Kereszturi, A. (2014). Ripple. In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_319-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_319-1
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