An example of liquefaction-induced interdune sedimentation from the early Jurassic Navajo Sandstone, USA

The authors propose that liquefaction in the Jurassic erg caused localized subsidence of a minor portion of a dry interdune surface to a position several meters below the contemporary water table. A succession of hyperpycnal sand flows, lacustrine evaporites, and eolian sheet and dune deposits filled this depression prior to the advance of large dunes across the site. The process/response dynamics evident in this outcrop suggest that deformation may have exercised significant, non-systematic control over depositional architectures in areas of the erg prone to liquefaction. Similar dynamics are unknown from modern desert environments and their intrinsic scale defies laboratory simulation; therefore, close investigation of these ancient features is essential for exploring the full range of depositional controls that may be encountered in other ancient eolianites on Earth and in eolian accumulations on other planets.