Pleistocene and Holocene aeolian sediments of different location and geological history: A new insight from rounding and frosting of quartz grains

Rounding and frosting of quartz grains in aeolian sediments of the known stratigraphic position and unique geological setting was explored in Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, and Polish localities and in Fuerteventura Island. The aim of the study is to characterize the variability of the spatial pattern of rounding and frosting of quartz grains in the sandy (0.5-0.8 mm) fraction and to evaluate the factors influencing it. The relationships between rounded and non-abraded, as well as matt- and shiny-type quartz grains were calculated for 159 samples and evaluated against the aeolian subenvironment, substratum and presumed age of the locations. The obtained relations do not confirm meridional changeability of textural features previously observed in Poland and suggest a larger impact of the substratum on textural features of cold-environment aeolian sediments.