Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurfd-2-1005-2014
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurfd-2-1005-2014
28 Aug 2014
 | 28 Aug 2014
Status: this preprint was under review for the journal ESurf but the revision was not accepted.

Trail formation by ice-shoved "sailing stones" observed at Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park

R. D. Lorenz, J. M. Norris, B. K. Jackson, R. D. Norris, J. W. Chadbourne, and J. Ray

Abstract. Trails in the usually-hard mud of Racetrack Playa in Death Valley National Park attest to the seemingly-improbable movement of massive rocks on an exceptionally flat surface. The movement of these rocks, previously described as "sliding stones", "playa scrapers", "sailing stones" etc., has been the subject of speculation for almost a century but is an exceptionally rare phenomenon and until now has not been directly observed. Here we report documentation of multiple rock movement and trail formation events in the winter of 2013–2014 by in situ observation, video, timelapse cameras, a dedicated meteorological station and GPS tracking of instrumented rocks. Movement involved dozens of rocks, forming fresh trails typically of 10s of meters length at speeds of ~5 cm s−1 and were caused by wind stress on a transient thin layer of floating ice. Fracture and local thinning of the ice decouples some rocks from the ice movement, such that only a subset of rocks move in a given event.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.
R. D. Lorenz, J. M. Norris, B. K. Jackson, R. D. Norris, J. W. Chadbourne, and J. Ray
 
Status: closed
Status: closed
AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment
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Status: closed
Status: closed
AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment
Printer-friendly Version - Printer-friendly version Supplement - Supplement
R. D. Lorenz, J. M. Norris, B. K. Jackson, R. D. Norris, J. W. Chadbourne, and J. Ray
R. D. Lorenz, J. M. Norris, B. K. Jackson, R. D. Norris, J. W. Chadbourne, and J. Ray

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