Abstract
Aeolian sand transport results from interactions between the wind and the ground surface, and is a key link between microscale mechanisms responsible for the movement of individual grains of sand and macroscopic mechanisms that govern the flow of windblown sand. As a result, many studies have been performed to study aeolian transport, but a few studies have simultaneously compared the effects of the surface characteristics on aeolian transport in the same region. In this study, we designed three experimental areas to provide a comparison of the transport rates under different types of boundary layer conditions (shifting sand, straw checkerboard, and gravel), with different sediment availability but under the same wind regime. The study was conducted at the Shapotou Aeolian Experiment Site, Chinese Academy of Sciences, where we studied the sand transport rate and mass-flux-density profiles using synchronous experimental data. The surface characteristics dramatically affected aeolian transport. The mass-flux-density profile above the open shifting sand surface and straw checkerboard reached its maximum value near the surface, and followed an exponential-decay function. For the gravel surface, the maximum transport occurred at a certain height above the ground, but above that height, followed an exponential-decay curve. The transport rate was greatest above the open shifting sand, reaching up to 465 times the rate above the straw checkerboard, with intermediate values above the gravel surface. The average saltation height was highest above the gravel-covered surface, and lowest above the straw checkerboard surface.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson RS (1986) Erosion profiles due to particles entrained by wind: application of an eolian sediment transport model. Bull Geol Soc Am 97:1270–1278
Bagnold RA (1941) The physics of blown sand and desert dunes. Methuen, London
Barchyn TE, Martin RL, Kok JF, Hugenholtz CH (2014) Fundamental mismatches between measurements and models in aeolian sediment transport prediction: the role of small-scale variability. Aeolian Res 15:245–251
Bauer BO, Sherman DJ, Nordstrom KF (1990) Aeolian transport and measurement across a beach and dune at Castroville, California, in coastal dunes: form and process. Wiley, Hoboken, pp 39–55
Berg NH (1983) Field evaluation of some sand transport models. Earth Surf Proc Landf 8:101–114
Butterfield GR (1999) Near-bed mass flux profiles in aeolian sand transport: high-resolution measurements in a wind tunnel. Earth Surf Proc Landf 24(5):393–412
Dong ZB, Lü P, Zhang ZC (2012) Aeolian transport in the field: a comparison of the effects of different surface treatments. J Geophys Res. : Atmospheres 117:D09210
Dong ZB, Lu JF, Man DQ, Lü P, Qian GQ, Zhang ZC (2011) Equations for the near-surface mass-flux density profile of wind-blown sediments. Earth Surf Process Landf 36:1292–1299
Ellis JT, Li B, Farrell EJ (2009) Protocols for characterizing aeolian mass-flux profiles. Aeolian Res 1:19–26
Greeley R, Iversen JI (1985) Wind as a geological process. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 333 pp
Hasi E, Dong G, Wang G (1999) Morphodynamic study of reticulate dunes at southeastern fringe of the Tengger Desert. Sci China Ser D 42:208–215
Iversen JD, Rasmussen KR (1999) The effect of wind speed and bed slope on sand transport. Sedimentology 46:723–731
Lancaster N (1995) Geomorphology of desert dunes. Routledge, New-York, pp 28–29
Livingstone I, Warren A (1996) Aeolian geomorphology: an introduction. Addison Wesley, Harlow 211 pp
Lü P, Dong ZB (2010) The effects of atmospheric stability intensity on the movement of windblown sand. Environ Earth Sci 61(4):699–702
Lü P, Dong ZB (2014) The status of research on the development and characteristics of mass-flux-density profiles above wind-eroded sediments: a literature review. Environ Earth Sci 71:5183–5194
Lü P, Narteau C, Dong ZB, Zhang ZH, Correch du Pont S (2014) Emergence of oblique dunes in a landscape-scale experiment. Nat Geosci 7:99–103
McEwan IK, Willetts BB (1993) Numerical model of the saltation cloud. Acta Mech Suppl. 1:53–66
Nalpanis P, Hunt JCR, Barrett CF (1993) Saltating particles over flat beds. J Fluid Mech 251:661–685
Navarro M, Munoz-Perez JJ, Roman-Sierra J, Ruiz-Canavate A, Gomez-Pina G (2015) Characterization of wind-blown sediment transport with height in a highly mobile dune (SW Spain). Geol Acta 13:155–156
Nordstrom KF, Jackson NL (1992) Effect of source width and tidal elevation changes on eolian transport on an estuarine beach. Sedimentology 39:769–778
Pye K (1987) Aeolian dust and dust deposits. Academic Press, London, p 334
Pye K, Tsoar H (1990) Aeolian sand and sand dunes. Unwin Hyman, London, p 396
Qu JJ, Huang N, Ta WQ (2005) Structural characteristics of gobi sand-drift and its significance. Adv Earth Sci 20(1):19–23
Román-Sierra J, Munoz-Perez JJ, Navarro M (2013) Influence of sieving time on the efficiency and accuracy of grain-size analysis of beach and dune sands. Sedimentology 60:1484–1497
Shao Y (2008) Physics and modelling of wind erosion. Springer, p 20
Shao Y, Li A (1999) Numerical modeling of saltation in atmospheric surface layer. Bound-Layer Meteorol 91:199–225
Sherman DJ (1990) A method for measuring aeolian sediment transport rates. National Research Council, Ottawa
Sherman DJ, Lyons W (1994) Beach state controls on aeolian sand delivery to coastal dunes. Phys Geogr 15:381–395
Sherman DJ, Jackson DWT, Namikas SL (1998) Wind-blown sand on beaches: an evaluation of models. Geomorphology 22:113–133
Svasek JN, Terwindt JHJ (1974) Measurements of sand transport by wind on a natural beach. Sedimentology 21:311–322
Werner BT (1990) A steady-state model of wind-blown sand transport. J Geol 1:1–17
Williams G (1964) Some aspects of aeolian transport load. Sedimentology 3:257–287
Wu Z (1987) Aeolian geomorphology (in Chinese). Science Press, Beijing, p 316
Zingg, A.W., 1953. Wind tunnel studies of the movement of sedimentary material. In: Proceedings of the 5th hydraulic conference. Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research, Iowa City, pp 111–135
Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge the funding received from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants 41271021 and 41130533).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lü, P., Dong, Z. & Ma, X. Aeolian sand transport above three desert surfaces in northern China with different characteristics (shifting sand, straw checkerboard, and gravel): field observations. Environ Earth Sci 75, 577 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-016-5361-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-016-5361-7