Got that...just exploring additional options.
Currently looking for camp mate with strong legs.
Loose Dust Trends
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OnceTheDustClears
- Posts: 1309
- Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 4:46 pm
I think BM moves the site between two locations, and they move it every two years, so they are only using two locations, not a different location every year. I think this process is explained on bm.com somewhere.
My personal, unscientific opinion is that the event adds to the dune formation. Even when covered with water in winter, I don't think those dunes completely settle back into the hard, compacted substrate. You could see that in 08. There were mounds with the classic cracked desert surface on top and soft sand underneath.
My personal, unscientific opinion is that the event adds to the dune formation. Even when covered with water in winter, I don't think those dunes completely settle back into the hard, compacted substrate. You could see that in 08. There were mounds with the classic cracked desert surface on top and soft sand underneath.
Shambala wrote:Let me say this about that. The site of Burning Man actually moves from year to year... ...In answer to your question, no, it's not getting dustier, it's just different from year to year.
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ygmir
- Posts: 30403
- Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2007 8:36 pm
- Burning Since: 2007
- Camp Name: qqqq
- Location: nevada county
perhaps also explained by frost heave.......makoona wrote:
My personal, unscientific opinion is that the event adds to the dune formation. Even when covered with water in winter, I don't think those dunes completely settle back into the hard, compacted substrate. You could see that in 08. There were mounds with the classic cracked desert surface on top and soft sand underneath.
YGMIR
Unabashed Nordic
Pagan
Unabashed Nordic
Pagan
Geologist here...
ANY activity on the playa will increase the amount of dust. If left untouched the playa stays fairly hard. In wet years the 'lake' will migrate around a bit with the prevailing winds and kind of flatten and level any loose material. As the playa dries the disolved salts crystalize and bind the dust/sand particals.
So if you have a bunch of activity and not much seasonal moisture then you get dust on the move in direct proportion to the amount of activity during the dry spell.
Dune formation is the natural behavior of the fine sand (dust).
The location of BM couldn't be worse. It is actually sited at a point on the playa where winds tend to get funneled through an area made narrower by the surrounding hills. It's probably the windiest spot for miles around. It is also where dunes are more likely to form when there is sufficient loose sediment (dust). Take a look at google earth and you'll see the constricted point where the local winds accelerate as a result.
Frost heave (or frost jacking) is due to the fact that water expands when it freezes. This causes heave. If there are repeated cycles of freezing and thawing with appropriate moisture levels in the top several inches of the playa, then jacking can happen. Jacking is when heave raises the surface as the water freezes and expands. When it thaws, the surface does not sink back all the way. If it freezes again it gets heaved a bit farther. Sometimes this can happen over and over resulting in the surface being jacked substantially higher than a single 'heave' event might cause. Several inches is possible. Come summer the soil grains are bonded by the salt crystals as mentioned above, BUT the top several inches is a honey comb of small voids left when the last ice crystals melt. This condition is more easily eroded than the typical hard playa crust. It turns to loose dust more easily. Playas of our type do not have a lot of frost jacking because they do not readily retain moisture in the top few inches.
So, yes, the dust and resulting dunes (aka playa snakes) are partially the result of increased activity on the playa, and BM is probably the biggest activity of them all. BUT any acticivity frees up dust. Simply driving on the playa or land sailing. Everybody shares some responsibility.
Pray for rain is the simple answer. The more rain during the winter, the better condition the playa during the summer.
Cheers
ANY activity on the playa will increase the amount of dust. If left untouched the playa stays fairly hard. In wet years the 'lake' will migrate around a bit with the prevailing winds and kind of flatten and level any loose material. As the playa dries the disolved salts crystalize and bind the dust/sand particals.
So if you have a bunch of activity and not much seasonal moisture then you get dust on the move in direct proportion to the amount of activity during the dry spell.
Dune formation is the natural behavior of the fine sand (dust).
The location of BM couldn't be worse. It is actually sited at a point on the playa where winds tend to get funneled through an area made narrower by the surrounding hills. It's probably the windiest spot for miles around. It is also where dunes are more likely to form when there is sufficient loose sediment (dust). Take a look at google earth and you'll see the constricted point where the local winds accelerate as a result.
Frost heave (or frost jacking) is due to the fact that water expands when it freezes. This causes heave. If there are repeated cycles of freezing and thawing with appropriate moisture levels in the top several inches of the playa, then jacking can happen. Jacking is when heave raises the surface as the water freezes and expands. When it thaws, the surface does not sink back all the way. If it freezes again it gets heaved a bit farther. Sometimes this can happen over and over resulting in the surface being jacked substantially higher than a single 'heave' event might cause. Several inches is possible. Come summer the soil grains are bonded by the salt crystals as mentioned above, BUT the top several inches is a honey comb of small voids left when the last ice crystals melt. This condition is more easily eroded than the typical hard playa crust. It turns to loose dust more easily. Playas of our type do not have a lot of frost jacking because they do not readily retain moisture in the top few inches.
So, yes, the dust and resulting dunes (aka playa snakes) are partially the result of increased activity on the playa, and BM is probably the biggest activity of them all. BUT any acticivity frees up dust. Simply driving on the playa or land sailing. Everybody shares some responsibility.
Pray for rain is the simple answer. The more rain during the winter, the better condition the playa during the summer.
Cheers
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Bob
- Posts: 6747
- Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2003 10:00 am
- Burning Since: 1986
- Camp Name: Royaneh
- Location: San Francisco
- Contact:
Mostly snow, and snowmelt from the Quinn River & side canyons, not rain, I believe.
http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/summary/Climsmnv.html
http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/summary/Climsmnv.html
Amazing desert structures & stuff: http://sites.google.com/site/potatotrap/
"Let us say I suggest you may be human." -- Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam
"Let us say I suggest you may be human." -- Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam