Abstract
The formation of red beds has long interested geologists and pedologists1–3. It has been suggested that the nature and degree of reddening in dune sands can be a useful indicator of the relative age and environmental history of the sands; several authors have concluded that dune sands undergo progressive reddening with time4–7, and James and Stanley8 considered that coastal dunes might actually be mapped on the basis of colour. However, quantitative data regarding the rate of reddening in different environmental conditions are generally lacking. I present here radiocarbon evidence from north-east Australia which suggests that red weathering profiles have developed in stabilized dunes of Holocene age in humid tropical conditions within the past 7,500 yr.
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Pye, K. Rate of dune reddening in a humid tropical climate. Nature 290, 582–584 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/290582a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/290582a0
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