ee·oh·lee·uhn | /iˈoʊ li ən/
Aeolus was the Greek god of wind, giving us the umbrella term aeolian (or eolian) for all things related to the wind. Within the context of the natural world, it describes landscapes formed or eroded by the wind as well as any wind-generated sound. A howling gale and the soft susurrus of a light breeze passing through the canopy are aeolian sounds. There is also an aeolian musical scale and aeolian harps – sculptures that are played by the wind. As a noun, it refers to a chain of volcanic islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily and the ancient Greek region of Aeolia – also known as Thessaly.
Aeolian landscapes have been identified as far afield as Venus and Mars – for we Earthlings, sand dunes are likely to be our most familiar wind-sculpted environments. Other typically aeolian landforms include ventifacts (rocks shaped by wind-driven sand or ice crystals), blowout dunes (the hollows left by wind scooping out loose surface material), and the wonderful sounding yardangs (a Turkish word describing wind-eroded ridges). Somewhat surprisingly, there is even a kind of aeolian rock called aeolianite, which is formed when windblown sediment consolidates.
Aeolian dust, alternatively known as the illicit sounding fugitive dust, refers to windborne particles. Composed mainly of mineral powders from arid environments like deserts, aeolian dust can be a real menace. Intense sandstorms such as the haboobs that bedevil North Africa and the Middle East can quickly overwhelm the unwary – reducing visibility to zero and making it hard to breathe. Dust from such storms can travel immense distances. When living in London, I vividly remember walking out to find our black Volkswagen coated in a fine layer of beige powder. It turned out to be fugitive dust, blown north for over 3,000 kilometres from the Sahara.
Introduction Aeolian Alpenglow Apricity Asperous
Benthos Crepuscular Crispate Crown shyness
Desire lines Dreich Endragoned Edgelands
Frondescence Fumarole Gluggaveður Gossamer
Karst Komorebi Lawrence Long acre
Machair Monkey’s wedding Moonglade
Psithurism Quartz Rakuyou Roaring forties
Snag Soft estate Specular, diffuse and pellucid
Spoondrift Steam fog Swash zone Sylvan
Tellurian and thalassic Terracettes Uliginous