Aeolian Landforms on the White Sea Coast: a Review of Classification and Spatial Distribution

Abstract—This research presents a classification and analysis of the spatial distribution of Holocene aeolian landforms on the White Sea Coast. The authors have identified five types of secondary dunes based on interpretation of detailed satellite images and topographic charts, as well as analysis of literature sources: foredune plains and beach ridge plains, cliff-top dunes, blowouts and parabolic dunes, transgressive dunefields, and sand sheets. The dunes formed mainly since the Middle–Late Holocene. They are confined to sandy coasts, where postglacial uplift rates did not exceed ~3 mm/year during the Middle–Late Holocene. The coastal dunes were formed in connection with sediments that entered the coastal zone with solid river runoff and from selective erosion of glacial sediments. The rhythmic patterns of the activation of aeolian processes in different parts of the White Sea Coast were asynchronous.