Oman's Geography

Professor Andrew Warren FRGS – a Geomorphologist at University College, London. His research speciality is desert sand and dunes, with research in Sudan, Libya, Algeria, Niger, Nebraska, India, Australia, Israel, Egypt, Oman, and Namibia

  Your presentation at the event focused on the development of the sand dune in Oman. Where can I learn more about this – are there good web resources?

Wikipedia isn’t so good on dunes!

By far the best book is by R. A. Bagnold, The physics of blown sand and desert dunes, published by Methuen. It has been reprinted many times, and brilliant as it is, it is somewhat out of date.

Our own book, even though published in 1996, is also a bit out of date, but still current: Aeolian geomorphology: an introduction.

  You read out an Omani tribesman’s poem – relating to the poor condition of some off road vehicles when previously driven by tourists

Yes, the poem I quoted (and have probably bowdlerised) is:

My heart is leaping over the dunes
I am going to meet my relatives
Who are in the Emirates army
I want to be driving a Toyota
That hasn’t had its gearbox
Mashed up by careless drivers

  You described the formation of the dune, particular the curve of the dune – how is this created?

The plan-shape curve on barchans relates to how much coarse sand is rolled along the surface. Rolling sand is propelled by jumping (saltating) grains, which themselves are propelled by the wind, and therefore jump in the direction of the wind. 

The rolling grains being close to the surface, are much more sensitive to the slope on which they roll, and on a curved dune therefore veer downslope. The curve is therefore adjusted to carry the amount of rolling sand.

If you want to know more about this particular feature, some articles are suggested in the reading list. In addition, Wikipedia is good on kanat (“falaj” in Oman), ophiolites, and permo-Carboniferous glaciation).