TEXTURAL ATTRIBUTES OF RECENT AEOLIAN DEPOSITS IN DIFFERENT SUB-BASINS OF THE THAR-DESERT, INDIA

Textural properties of recent aeolian deposits in five distinctive agg radational sub-basins located on the south-west-north-east and east-we st transects in the Indian Thar Desert are analysed for regional corre lations and sedimentologic evolutionary trends. Modern aeolian sands i n the Thar are dominated by fine to very fine grained (M 2.5 to 3.5 ph i), quartzose clastics. These are very well to moderately well sorted and have strongly fine to fine skewed and very leptokurtic to extremel y leptokurtic textural characteristics. Progressive down-wind fining o f grain size is inferred in the western Thar desert. Sorting and skewn ess attributes of recent aeolian sands show discernible improvement in direct proportion to the decrease in mean grain size. Nature and avai lability of source material appear to exert stronger influence in dete rmining the resultant and inherited textural properties of the recent aeolian accumulations. (C) 1996 Academic Press Limited