Wind erosion – preparation of maps showing the direction of eroding winds

Abstract

First the consequences of wind activity in the Swedish mountains are discussed. The most important one is snow drift, but wind erosion of the ground is also important in some areas. Wind activity, however, has not been much studied in the Swedish mountains, and a lot of problems concerning the subject have not so far been discussed at all. The author has dealt with two of these problems: the distribution of wind eroded surfaces, and the direction of the eroding wind. The method of mapping the wind direction by means of the erosion features on the ground is discussed. The most important features are scars in the vegetation, distribution of lichens on boulders, and shrub vegetation on lee sides. Two maps from the Swedish mountains are presented, and a third map from Axel Heiberg Island, Arctic Canada. The influence of gravity winds seems to be high in all the maps. The main purpose of the paper is to test the method. This is done by seeing if the wind arrows, based on the individual observations, give a reasonable picture when compared with our general knowledge of wind systems in mountains in cold climates.