Abstract
The dusky brown to black coating of rock varnish dominates bare rock surfaces of many desert landforms (Oberlander, 1994). Thicknesses less than even 0.020 mm (or 20 micrometres, μ m) are enough to darken light-colored rock types (Fig. 21.1). The gradual pace of change on many desert landforms permits the slow accretion of rock varnish at rates of a few micrometres per thousand years (Dorn, 1998; Liu and Broecker, 2000). Just about any rock type will accumulate varnish, in so long as rock-surface erosion is slow enough to permit varnish accretion.
Original language | English (US) |
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Title of host publication | Geomorphology of Desert Environments |
Publisher | Springer Netherlands |
Pages | 657-673 |
Number of pages | 17 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781402057182 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2009 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Science(all)
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)