Sastrugi dunes, and the resulting drifting snow shapes are also popularly referred to as "barchans". Inuit of Canada call them "kalutoqaniq". When winds slacken, the drifted formations consolidate via sublimation and recrystallization. Subsequent winds erode kalutoqaniq into the sculptured forms of sastrugi. Inuit call large sculpturings "kaioqlaq" and small ripples "tumarinyiq". Further erosion may turn "kaioqlaq" back into drifting "kalutoqaniq". An intermediate stage of erosion is "mapsuk", an overhanging shape. On the windward side of a ridge, the base erodes faster than the top, producing a shape like an anvil tip pointing upwind. Sastrugi are more likely to form on first-year
Surface wave Surface wave In physics, a surface wave is a mechanical wave that propagates along the interface between differing media. A common example is gravity waves along the surface of liquids, such as ocean waves. Gravity waves can also occur within liquids, at the interface between two fluids with different densities. Elastic surface waves can travel along the surface of solids, such as "Rayleigh" or "Love" waves. Electromagnetic waves can also propagate as "surface waves" in that they can be guided along a refractive index gradient or along an interface between two media having different dielectric constants. In radio transmission, a