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Concept
Loess
Summary
A loess (US'lɛs,_'lʌs,ˈloʊ.əs, UKˈloʊ.əs,'lɜs; from Löss lœs) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loesses or similar deposits.
A loess is a periglacial or aeolian (windborne) sediment, defined as an accumulation of 20% or less of clay with a balance of roughly equal parts sand and silt (with a typical grain size from 20 to 50 micrometers), often loosely cemented by calcium carbonate. Usually, they are homogeneous and highly porous and have vertical capillaries that permit the sediment to fracture and form vertical bluffs.
Loesses are homogeneous; porous; friable; pale yellow or buff; slightly coherent; typically, non-stratified; and often calcareous. Loess grains are angular, with little polishing or rounding, and composed of quartz, feldspar, mica, or other mineral crystals. Loesses have been described as rich, dust-like soil.
Loess deposits may become very thick: at more than a hundred meters in areas of Northwestern China and tens of meters in parts of the Midwestern United States. Loesses generally occur as blanket deposits that cover hundreds of square kilometers. The deposits are often tens of meters thick. Loesses often have steep or vertical faces. Because the grains are angular, loesses will often stand in banks for many years without slumping. This type of soil has "vertical cleavage," and thus, it can be easily excavated to form cave dwellings, which is a popular method of making human habitations in some parts of China. However, loesses can readily erode.
In several areas of the world, loess ridges have formed that had been aligned with the prevailing winds during the last glacial maximum. These are called "paha ridges" in America and "greda ridges" in Europe. The formation of these loess dunes has been explained as a combination of wind and tundra conditions.
The word loess, with connotations of origin by wind-deposited accumulation, was introduced into English from the German Löss, which can be traced back to Swiss German and is cognate with the English word loose and the German word los.
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