Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Contribution of groundwater to the formation of sand dunes in the Badain Jaran Desert, China

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Journal of Arid Land Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The tallest sand dune worldwide is located in the Badain Jaran Desert (BJD), China, and has been standing for thousands of years. Previous studies have conducted limited physical exploration and excavation on the formation of sand dunes and have proposed three viewpoints, that is, bedrock control, wind dominance, and groundwater maintenance with no unified conclusion. Therefore, this study analyzed the underlying bedding structure of sand dunes in the BJD. Although the bedrock of sand dunes is uplifted and wind controls the shape of dunes, the main cause of dune formation is groundwater that maintains the deposition of calcareous sandstone and accumulation of aeolian sand. According to water transport model and vapor transports in the unsaturated zone of sand dunes, capillary water transport height is limited with film water constituting the main form of water in dunes. Chemical properties and temperature of groundwater showed that aquifers in different basins receive relatively independent recharge from deep sources in the crater. Result of dune formation mechanism is of considerable importance in understanding groundwater circulation and provides a new perspective on water management in arid desert areas.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Assouline S, Kamai T. 2019. Liquid and vapor water in vadose zone profiles above deep aquifers in hyper-arid environments. Water Resources Research, 55(5): 3619–3631.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Assouline S, Tyler S W, Selker J S, et al. 2013. Evaporation from a shallow water table: Diurnal dynamics of water and heat at the surface of drying sand. Water Resources Research, 49(7): 4022–4034.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bai Y, Wang N, Liao K, et al. 2011. Geomorphological evolution revealed by aeolian sedimentary structure in Badain Jaran Desert on Alxa Plateau, Northwest China. Chinese Geographical Science, 21: 267–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen J, Li L, Wang J, et al. 2004. Groundwater maintains dune landscape. Nature, 432: 459–460.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen J, Zhao X, Sheng X, et al. 2006. Formation mechanisms of megadunes and lakes in the Badain Jaran Desert, Inner Mongolia. Chinese Science Bulletin, 51: 3026–3034.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen J, Jiang Q. 2015. Research progress of ground water deep circulation. Water Resources Protection, 31(6): 8–17, 66. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheng D, Wang W, Li W, et al. 2010. The unsaturated hydraulic parameters for aeolian sand. Agricultural Science & Technology, 11(10): 1–3. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Dong C, Wang N, Chen J, et al. 2016. New observational and experimental evidence for the recharge mechanism of the lake group in the Alxa Desert, north-central China. Journal of Arid Environments, 124: 48–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dong Z, Qian G, Luo W, et al. 2009. Geomorphological hierarchies for complex mega-dunes and their implications for mega-dune evolution in the Badain Jaran Desert. Geomorphology, 106(3–4): 180–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dong Z, Qian G, Lv P, et al. 2013. Investigation of the sand sea with the tallest dunes on Earth: China’s Badain Jaran Sand Sea. Earth-Science Reviews, 120: 20–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edmunds W M, Guendouz A H, Mamou A, et al. 2003. Groundwater evolution in the continental intercalaire aquifer of southern Algeria and Tunisia: Trace element and isotopic indicators. Applied Geochemistry, 18(6): 805–822.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gates J B, Edmunds W M, Ma J, et al. 2008. Estimating groundwater recharge in a cold desert environment in northern China using chloride. Hydrogeology Journal, 16: 893–910.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gong Y, Tian R, Li H. 2018. Coupling effects of surface charges, adsorbed counterions and particle-size distribution on soil water infiltration and transport. European Journal of Soil Science, 69(6): 1008–1017.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grandjean G, Paillou P, Dubois-Fernandez P, et al. 2001. Subsurface structures detection by combining L-band polarimetric SAR and GPR data: Example of the Pyla Dune (France). IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 39(6): 1245–1258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gu W, Chen J, Wang J, et al. 2004. Challenge from the appearance of vadose water within the surface layer of megadunes Badain Jaran Dune desert, Inner Mongolia. Advances in Water Science, 15(6): 695–699. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunn A, Casasanta G, Di Liberto L, et al. 2022. What sets aeolian dune height? Nature Communication, 13: 2401, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30031.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hakimi Y, Orban P, Deschamps P, et al. 2021. Hydrochemical and isotopic characteristics of groundwater in the Continental Intercalaire aquifer system: Insights from Mzab Ridge and surrounding regions, north of the Algerian Sahara. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 34: 100791, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2021.100791.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hesse P. 2011. Sticky dunes in a wet desert: Formation, stabilisation and modification of the Australian desert dunefields. Geomorphology, 134(3–4): 309–325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu F, Yang X. 2016. Geochemical and geomorphological evidence for the provenance of aeolian deposits in the Badain Jaran Desert, northwestern China. Quaternary Science Reviews, 131: 179–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu W, Wang N, Zhao L, et al. 2015. Surface energy and water vapor fluxes observed on a megadune in the Badain Jaran Desert, China. Journal of Arid Land, 7(5): 579–589.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jia F, Qin Z, Han Z. 1993. Basic characteristics of groundwater in basalt of China. Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology, 20(4): 30–32. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Jiang Q, Chen J. 2015. Analysis on water balance of deep cycle groundwater supplying Tianchi Lake of Changbai Mountain. Water Resources Protection, 31(5): 7–13. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Jin K, Rao W B, Tan H B, et al. 2018. H-O isotopic and chemical characteristics of a precipitation-lake water-groundwater system in a desert area. Journal of Hydrology, 559: 848–860.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kulkarni H, Deolankar S B, Lalwani A, et al. 2000. Hydrogeological framework of the Deccan basalt groundwater systems, west-central India. Hydrogeology Journal, 8: 368–378.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lancaster N, Kocurek G, Singhvi A, et al. 2002. Late Pleistocene and Holocene dune activity and wind regimes in the western Sahara Desert of Mauritania. Geology, 30(11): 991–994.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lebeau M, Konrad J M. 2010. A new capillary and thin film flow model for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated porous media. Water Resources Research, 46(12): W12554, doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2010WR009092.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu B, Ma Z, Xu J, et al. 2009. Comparison of pan evaporation and actual evaporation estimated by land surface model in Xinjiang from 1960 to 2005. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 19: 502–512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu W, Jiang H, Shi C, et al. 2016. Chemical and strontium isotopic characteristics of the rivers around the Badain Jaran Desert, northwest China: Implication of river solute origin and chemical weathering. Environmental Earth Sciences, 75: 1119, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-016-5910-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lorenz R D, Radebaugh J. 2009. Global pattern of Titan’s dunes: Radar survey from the Cassini prime mission. Geophysical Research Letters, 36(3): L03202, doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL036850.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luo X, Jiao J J, Wang X S, et al. 2016. Temporal 222Rn distributions to reveal groundwater discharge into desert lakes: Implication of water balance in the Badain Jaran Desert, China. Journal of Hydrology, 534: 87–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma F, Chen J, Zhan L, et al. 2022. Coastal upward discharge of deep basalt groundwater through developed faults: A case study of the Subei Basin, China. Journal of Environmental Management, 306: 114469, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.114469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma N, Wang N, Li Z, et al. 2011. Analysis on climate change in northern and southern marginal zones of Badain Juran Desert during 1960–2009. Arid Zone Research, 28(2): 242–250. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ma N, Wang N, Zhao L, et al. 2014. Observation of mega-dune evaporation after various rain events in the hinterland of Badain Jaran Desert, China. Chinese Science Bulletin, 59: 162–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meng N, Wang N, Zhao L, et al. 2022. Wind regimes and associated sand dune types in the hinterland of the Badain Jaran Desert, China. Journal of Arid Land, 14(5): 473–489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parteli E J, Herrmann H J. 2007. Dune formation on the present Mars. Physical Review E, 76(4): 41307, doi: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.76.041307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ping L, Narteau C, Dong Z, et al. 2014. Emergence of oblique dunes in a landscape-scale experiment. Nature Geoscience, 7: 99–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qian G, Dong Z, Luo W, et al. 2011. Grain size characteristics and spatial variation of surface sediments in the Badain Jaran Desert. Journal of Desert Research, 31(6): 1357–1364. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Qian R Y, Liu L B. 2015. Internal structure of sand dunes in the Badain Jaran Desert revealed by GPR. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, 9(1): 159–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ren J. 1999. A study of chemical characteristics of snow, precipitation and surface water in the basin of the glacier No. 29 in Danghe Nanshan, Qilian Mountains. Journal of Glaciolgy and Geocryology, 21(2): 151–154. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sadeghi M, Shokri N, Jones S B. 2012. A novel analytical solution to steady-state evaporation from porous media. Water Resources Research, 48(9): 12060, doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2012wr012060.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Genuchten M T. 1980. A closed form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 44(5): 892–898.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang N, Ma N, Chen H, et al. 2013. A preliminary study of precipitation characteristics in the hinterland of Badain Jaran desert. Advances in Water Science, 24(2): 153–160. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang T. 1990. Formation and evolution of Badain Jaran Desert, China. Journal of Desert Research, 10(4): 29–40. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Webster A G. 1919. On the angle of repose of wet sand. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 5(7): 263–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wei G, Zhang C, Li Q, et al. 2022. Grain-size composition of the surface sediments in Chinese deserts and the associated dust emission. CATENA, 219: 106615, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2022.106615.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu Y, Wang N, Zhao L, et al. 2014. Hydrochemical characteristics and recharge sources of Lake Nuoertu in the Badain Jaran Desert. Chinese Science Bulletin, 59: 886–895.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yan M, Wang G, Dong G, et al. 2001. Study on mega dunes development and environmental change in Badain Jaran Desert. Journal of Desert Research, 21(6): 361–366. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang X. 2000. Landscape evolution and precipitation changes in the Badain Jaran Desert during the last 30,000 years. Chinese Science Bulletin, 45(11): 1042–1047.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang X, Williams M A J. 2003. The ion chemistry of lakes and late Holocene desiccation in the Badain Jaran Desert, Inner Mongolia, China. CATENA, 51: 45–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang X, Ma N, Dong J, et al. 2010. Recharge to the inter-dune lakes and Holocene climatic changes in the Badain Jaran Desert, western China. Quaternary Research, 73(1): 10–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang X, Scuderi L A. 2010. Hydrological and climatic changes in deserts of China since the Late Pleistocene. Quaternary Research, 73(1): 1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang X, Scuderi L, Liu T, et al. 2011. Formation of the highest sand dunes on Earth. Geomorphology, 135(1–2): 108–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Z, Liang A, Zhang C, et al. 2021. Gobi deposits play a significant role as sand sources for dunes in the Badain Jaran Desert, Northwest China. CATENA, 206: 105530, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2021.105530.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao J, Zhang C, Dong Z, et al. 2011. Particle size composition and formation of the mega-dune in the Badain Jaran Desert. Acta Geologica Sinica, 85(8): 1389–1398. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao J, Ma Y, Luo X, et al. 2017. The discovery of surface runoff in the megadunes of Badain Jaran Desert, China, and its significance. Science China Earth Sciences, 60: 707–719.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu B Q. 2023. Paleo-atmospheric precipitation recharged to groundwater in middle-latitude deserts of Northern China. Atmosphere, 14: 774, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14050774.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (61771183). The authors are grateful for the help of Mr. SU Zhiguo for isotopic analyses of samples.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China

    Wang Wang & Yitong Zhang

  2. School of Computer and Information, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China

    Jiaqi Chen

  3. Water Science Research Institute, Hohai University, Nanjing, 211100, China

    Jiansheng Chen

  4. College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China

    Tao Wang & Lucheng Zhan

  5. Water Affairs Integrated Service Centre of Alagxa League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Alagxa League, 750300, China

    Xiaohui Ma

Authors
  1. Wang Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jiaqi Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jiansheng Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tao Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Lucheng Zhan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Yitong Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Xiaohui Ma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Conceptualization: CHEN Jiaqi, CHEN Jiansheng; Methodology: MA Xiaohui; Formal analysis: CHEN Jiansheng, WANG Wang; Writing - original draft preparation: WANG Wang; Writing - review and editing: WANG Tao, ZHAN Lucheng, ZHANG Yitong; Funding acquisition: CHEN Jiaqi; Supervision: CHEN Jiansheng.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jiaqi Chen.

Ethics declarations

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, W., Chen, J., Chen, J. et al. Contribution of groundwater to the formation of sand dunes in the Badain Jaran Desert, China. J. Arid Land 15, 1340–1354 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-023-0032-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-023-0032-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation