The Effect of Air Density on Sand Transport Structures and the Adobe Abrasion Profile: A Field Wind-Tunnel Experiment Over a Wide Range of Altitude

Aeolian sand transport results from interactions between the surface and the airflow above. Air density strongly constrains airflow characteristics and the resulting flow of sand, and therefore should not be neglected in sand transport models. In the present study, we quantify the influence of air density on the sand flow structure, sand transport rate, adobe abrasion profiles, and abrasion rate using a portable wind-tunnel in the field. For a given wind speed, the flow’s ability to transport sand decreases at low air density, so total sand transport decreases, but the saltation height increases. Thus, the damage to human structures increases compared with what occurs at lower altitudes. The adobe abrasion rate by the cloud of blowing sand decreases exponentially with increasing height above the surface, while the wind erosion and dust emission intensity both increase with increasing air density. Long-term feedback processes between air density and wind erosion suggest that the development of low-altitude areas due to long-term deflation plays a key role in dust emission, and will have a profound significance for surface Aeolian processes and geomorphology.     

The relationship between modern meteorological elements and the southern border of the Tengger Desert

The modern southern border of the Tengger Desert protrudes southward at the east and west ends and recedes northward in the central part. However, no satisfactory explanation can be given for the shape of this border according to geomorphological elements. From the west to the east of the south of the Tengger Desert, there is a gradual change in precipitation, humidity, temperature, and mean wind speed, which differs from the abrupt modeled change in the desert’s southern border distribution. The indication is that these meteorological elements are not the main factors controlling the migration of the southern border of the Tengger Desert. The extreme and maximum wind speeds at the east and west ends of the Tengger Desert are stronger than those of the central part. Consequently, the sand dunes at both ends move faster than those of the central part, causing the southern border of the Tengger Desert to protrude southward at both ends and recede northward in the central part. As a result, winds occurring in winter and spring, especially the strong northwest winds in spring, are the main controlling factor for the migration of the southern border of the Tengger Desert.     

风沙野外监测

提出了监测古尔班通古特沙漠风沙的方案，研制了YMZX多功能全自动野外风沙监测仪。YMZX在风洞实验中集沙量有效率为98％，其旋转部分不接触沙表面，集沙仪随风向的变化而旋转，可在极易风蚀土壤上运行，这种集沙仪已安装在古尔班通古特沙漠北部和南部使用，获取了一批风沙监测资料，可用于风沙运动规律及防沙治沙研究。     

Wind Regimes Windward of a Shelterbelt Protecting Gravity Irrigated Crop Land from Moving Sand in the Gezira Scheme (Sudan)

Summary  The work reported on was part of a more comprehensive study dealing with threatening sand movement towards the northwestern part of the Gezira irrigation scheme, Sudan. An irrigated sand blocking shelterbelt Eucalyptus microtheca is used to prevent canals and gravity irrigated crop land to be further affected. The objective of this paper is to report on the wind data that were obtained, mainly windward of this belt, and to deal with their implications and those of the belt characteristics and deposited sand in interaction with the wind for combating local sand movements and further desertification. Outside the influence of the belt, wind speed over eroded land was increasingly higher than that over irrigated land with the growth of cotton. Both these values were considerably higher than those reported from the nearest meteorological stations. The two prevailing winds, of which the summer SW wind was perpendicular to the belt, had consistent annual patterns during three years of observation. Also the diurnal patterns were very reproducible. Wind speed within the belt, at 1 m height, showed fast reduction inwards above the deposited sand. Efforts to control moving sand in the source area should be joined with those made at the borders of agricultural land. Received August 20, 1997 Revised September 30, 1998     

沙尘天气下输沙率的野外观测与分析

2014年7月—2014年8月借助风速仪、微梯度集沙仪,通过野外监测系统获取的试验数据,对塔中地区2014年7月—2014年8月沙尘天气过程中贴地层输沙率进行分析,得出:0～85 mm高度内,随着风速的增大,35～85 mm无论是绝对的输沙量还是相对的输沙量都减少。0～85 mm高度内,各层输沙率最大值均出现在风速为8 m·s-1左右,波动较为显著;最小值出现在6.5 m·s-1左右,波动不明显;沙尘天气中,输沙率最大值出现在5～15 mm高度,最小值出现在35～85 mm高度。扬沙天气中,风速9.2 m·s-1时,输沙率最大值在0～5 mm处。沙尘暴天气,拐点风速为7.5 m·s-1,7.5 m·s-1时,输沙率增加不显著,7.5 m·s-1时,输沙率增加显著。通过微梯度集沙仪获得的上述试验数据是风沙工程设计的一个极重要工程参数,具有重要的实践意义。     

Analysis of the wind field and heat budget in an alpine lake basin during summertime fair weather conditions

Summary ?Observational data collected in the Lake Tekapo hydro catchment of the Southern Alps in New Zealand are used to analyse the wind and temperature fields in the alpine lake basin during summertime fair weather conditions. Measurements from surface stations, pilot balloon and tethersonde soundings, Doppler sodar and an instrumented light aircraft provide evidence of multi-scale interacting wind systems, ranging from microscale slope winds to mesoscale coast-to-basin flows. Thermal forcing of the winds occurred due to differential heating as a consequence of orography and heterogeneous surface features, which is quantified by heat budget and pressure field analysis. The daytime vertical temperature structure was characterised by distinct layering. Features of particular interest are the formation of thermal internal boundary layers due to the lake-land discontinuity and the development of elevated mixed layers. The latter were generated by advective heating from the basin and valley sidewalls by slope winds and by a superimposed valley wind blowing from the basin over Lake Tekapo and up the tributary Godley Valley. Daytime heating in the basin and its tributary valleys caused the development of a strong horizontal temperature gradient between the basin atmosphere and that over the surrounding landscape, and hence the development of a mesoscale heat low over the basin. After noon, air from outside the basin started flowing over mountain saddles into the basin causing cooling in the lowest layers, whereas at ridge top height the horizontal air temperature gradient between inside and outside the basin continued to increase. In the early evening, a more massive intrusion of cold air caused rapid cooling and a transition to a rather uniform slightly stable stratification up to about 2000 m agl. The onset time of this rapid cooling varied about 1–2 h between observation sites and was probably triggered by the decay of up-slope winds inside the basin, which previously countered the intrusion of air over the surrounding ridges. The intrusion of air from outside the basin continued until about mid-night, when a northerly mountain wind from the Godley Valley became dominant. The results illustrate the extreme complexity that can be caused by the operation of thermal forcing processes at a wide range of spatial scales. Received June 25, 2001; Revised December 21, 2001     

Diurnal variations of saltation activity at Tazhong: the hinterland of Taklimakan Desert

The Taklimakan Desert of China is a region of frequent sandstorms and, thus, is a major sand and dust source area. Tazhong, a small mining village, is located near the center of the Taklimakan Desert at a distance of 220 km from the desert margins. Near Tazhong, we conducted a 2-year field investigation designed to monitor the diurnal variation of saltation activity using fast-responding piezoelectric saltation sensors (Sensits). Results suggest that saltation activity tends to occur more frequently during daytime in all seasons, relatively high levels of saltation activity are maintained from around 11:30 to around 16:30 local standard time (LST), because of stronger wind speed, higher soil temperature and lower relative humidity. During the spring and summer seasons, the saltation activity can occur at any time of the day, while there are some periods with zero saltation seconds at night and in the early morning during autumn and winter seasons. The results confirm that sandstorms tend to occur more frequently during daylight hours, so it may be helpful to forecast and guard against the occurrence of blowing sand or sandstorms in the Taklimakan Desert.     

大同地区典型沙尘天气过程近地层气象要素演变特征的对比分析

利用2009年3月-2010年3月大同国家基准气候站20m气象梯度塔的风向、风速、气温、相对湿度的观测资料及PM10质量浓度数据、气溶胶散射系数数据,分析大同地区典型沙尘天气过程近地层气象要素演变特征。结果表明,风速在沙尘暴、扬沙的发生、发展过程中均较大,浮尘较小。气温在沙尘暴期间受冷空气的影响迅速减小,而在扬沙和浮尘天气条件下温度的变化主要取决于长短波辐射的强弱和沙尘气溶胶的辐射强迫。相对湿度在沙尘暴期间基本上呈递增态势,结束后比发生前相对湿度增大,在扬沙和浮尘天气条件下,相对湿度与温度完全呈现出反相关关系,且相对湿度均较小。PM10质量浓度在沙尘暴、扬沙、浮尘天气条件下依次递减。沙尘暴期间气溶胶散射系数明显增大。     

2019年冬季北京海陀山局地环流特征及机理分析

海陀山作为北京冬(残)奥会的主要室外赛场之一,其复杂的地形对风场的精细化预报提出了严峻的挑战,亟需开展加密的风场观测提高对复杂地形下局地环流特征及其影响机理的认识,并为提升赛区精细化预报与服务提供数据支撑.基于2019年度海陀山观测试验,利用加密自动气象站、激光测风雷达、涡动相关仪、云高仪等多源数据,对海陀山风场的水平...     

喀什地区近43年沙尘暴、扬沙天气

根据喀什地区11个气象观测站的地面气象记录月报表，分析了1961～2003年沙尘暴和扬沙天气现象资料，给出了近43年喀什地区沙尘暴和扬沙天气的时空分布特征及其历史演变特征。结果表明：喀什地区沙尘暴和扬沙发生频率较高，大部分县市是沙尘暴的多发区和易发区、扬沙的高频区和多发区；沙尘暴和扬沙平原地区主要发生春季中后期及夏初，山区主要发生在春季；沙尘暴历史演变总体以减少为主，扬沙平原地区逐渐减少，相反高山站塔什库尔干呈增加态势，沙尘暴和扬沙的减少均是在波动中减少的。     

基于逐时数据的南疆沙尘天气精细化特征研究

利用2006—2019年南疆地区55个国家站的逐日观测和自动站小时数据资料,研究沙尘发生的精细化特征及沙尘暴起沙风速指标阈值。结果表明：南疆沙尘中心位于塔里木盆地中部至其南缘的民丰和且末一线,表现为中部多,东部西部少的分布特点,浮尘和沙尘暴的中心在民丰,而扬沙中心在塔中站;沙尘天气季节差异明显,秋、冬季沙尘最少,以浮尘为主,春、夏季是沙尘天气的高发季节,浮尘日与扬沙日数接近,约为沙尘暴的2倍,沙尘暴、扬沙的季节差异比浮尘天气更为明显;沙尘日变化呈白天多于夜间,下午多于上午的分布特点,18—20时是南疆地区出现沙尘暴、扬沙天气的高频时段;扬沙和沙尘暴的平均持续时间短,一般不超过3 h,巴州东南部平均持续时间最长;南疆不同地区沙尘天气发生的最小风速差异较大,存在区域性规律,而极大风速分布呈东部大于西部,北部大于南部,塔里木盆地中部和南部最小,春季的极大风速平均值大于夏季,差值较小的地区在和田地区,春季的极大风速离散度也较夏季大,各站极大风速的最小值范围在1.6—9.8 m·s^-1之间。     

Transport of Snow by the Wind: A Comparison Between Observations in Ad��lie Land, Antarctica, and Simulations Made with the Regional Climate Model MAR

For the first time a simulation of blowing snow events was validated in detail using one-month long observations (January 2010) made in Adélie Land, Antarctica. A regional climate model featuring a coupled atmosphere/blowing snow/snowpack model is forced laterally by meteorological re-analyses. The vertical grid spacing was 2 m from 2 to 20 m above the surface and the horizontal grid spacing was 5?km. The simulation was validated by comparing the occurrence of blowing snow events and other meteorological parameters at two automatic weather stations. The Nash test allowed us to compute efficiencies of the simulation. The regional climate model simulated the observed wind speed with a positive efficiency (0.69). Wind speeds higher than 12 m s ^?1 were underestimated. Positive efficiency of the simulated wind speed was a prerequisite for validating the blowing snow model. Temperatures were simulated with a slightly negative efficiency (?0.16) due to overestimation of the amplitude of the diurnal cycle during one week, probably because the cloud cover was underestimated at that location during the period concerned. Snowfall events were correctly simulated by our model, as confirmed by field reports. Because observations suggested that our instrument (an acoustic sounder) tends to overestimate the blowing snow flux, data were not sufficiently accurate to allow the complete validation of snow drift values. However, the simulation of blowing snow occurrence was in good agreement with the observations made during the first 20 days of January 2010, despite the fact that the blowing snow flux may be underestimated by the regional climate model during pure blowing snow events. We found that blowing snow occurs in Adélie Land only when the 30-min wind speed value at 2 m a.g.l. is >10 m s ^?1. The validation for the last 10 days of January 2010 was less satisfactory because of complications introduced by surface melting and refreezing.     

Sodar performance and preliminary results after one year of measurements at Adelie land coast, east Antarctica

Dumont d'Urville, on the Antarctic coast, is an area well known for the presence of strong katabatic winds blowing from the Antarctic plateau toward the sea almost all year. Since January 1993, a three-axis Doppler sodar has been operating in this area to investigate the variability of the boundary layer structure and dynamics. In this paper, the capabilities, behavior and advantages of using this ground-based remote-sensing system in Antarctica are evaluated after one year of measurements. This instrument may play an important role in boundary layer studies in remote regions where other profiling techniques (e.g., kitoons, slow ascent balloons) are difficult and expensive. All year long, except in summer when the signal-to-noise ratio was dramatically reduced by the noise of a large group of Adelie penguins, reliable measurements were available up to 900 m. The reliability of the vertical wind velocity has been checked and the influence of the local topography on the flow pattern has been evaluated. Some preliminary results regarding the statistical analysis of the horizontal and vertical velocities and an overview of the main physical processes are also shown. The statistical analysis of the wind speed shows that the wind blows from the 30 ° angular sectors centered at 90 °, 150 °, 180 °, and 0 °. The winds from 90 ° and 150 ° constitute the main local circulation and have, most of the time, the characteristics of a katabatic flow, whereas the winds blowing from 180 °, arising from the surface temperature difference between the sea and the land, are land breezes. Strong winds coming from the ocean (0 °), attributable to the inland penetration of depressions, have been observed in May, October, and November. Finally, some examples of the observed thermal structures, as depicted in the facsimile recording, are shown.     

The Electric Field During Blowing Snow Events

A model is proposed to determine the electric field strength in blowing snow. To test this model, the electric field strength was measured over an 80-day period during the Canadian Arctic Shelf Exchange Study (CASES) in 2004. The electric field strength at 0.5 m correlates well with the difference between 10-m wind speed and a threshold wind speed, although there is a large amount of variation between the electric fields generated during different blowing snow events. Although the model predicts that the electric field should be proportional to particle number density, the correlation is weak. The correlation of wind speed and electric field strength suggests that particles become charged primarily due to friction-induced temperature difference as they impact upon the surface. The strength of the electric field is likely influenced by a large number of other factors that are difficult to measure. However, the model predicts electric field strengths in excess of 25 kV m⁻¹ near the surface, which would have a significant effect on particle motion.     

Joint multifractal description of the relationship between wind patterns and land surface air temperature

Land surface air temperature (SAT), registered at 1.25–2 m above the ground, is influenced by wind patterns. As a consequence, some phenomena such as urban heat islands and the formation of ground-level air pollutants are affected. Detailed understanding of the effects of wind circulations on SAT is convenient to improve the knowledge of these phenomena. Thus, the joint multifractal analysis has been applied to describe time series recorded at Cordoba (southern Spain) from 2001 to 2008 revealing the presence of seasonal patterns related with warm and cold winds blowing from the SW (later spring and summer) and NE (later autumn and winter), respectively, that provoke different heterogeneity in SAT values. In addition, the extreme high SAT values seem to be related with summer SW winds. However, the presence of rare low SAT values produced by NE winds is less relevant.     

Characteristics of Spatiotemporal Distribution of Sea Surface Wind along the East Coast of Guangdong Province

We analyzed the frequency distribution characteristics of wind speeds occurring at different offshore sites within a range of 0–200 km based on the sea surface wind data captured via buoys and oil platforms located along the east coast of Guangdong Province. The results of the analysis showed that average wind speed measured for each station reached a maximum in winter while minima occurred in summer, corresponding to obvious seasonal variation, and average wind speed increased with offshore distance. The prevailing wind direction at the nearshore site is the easterly wind, and the frequency of winds within 6–10 m s^–1 is considerable with that of winds at > 10 m s^–1. With the increase of the offshore distance, the winds were less affected by the land, and the prevailing wind direction gradually became northerly winds, predominately those at > 10 m s^–1. For areas of shorter offshore distance (< 100 km), surface wind speeds fundamentally conformed to a two-parameter Weibull distribution, but there was a significant difference between wind speed probability distributions and the Weibull distribution in areas more than 100 km offshore. The mean wind speeds and wind speed standard deviations increased with the offshore distance, indicating that with the increase of the wind speed, the pulsation of the winds increased obviously, resulting in an increase in the ratio of the mean wind speed to the standard deviation of wind speed. When the ratio was large, the skewness became negative. When a relatively great degree of dispersion was noted between the observed skewness and the skewness corresponding to the theoretical Weibull curve, the wind speed probability distribution could not be adequately described by a Weibull distribution. This study provides a basis for the verification of the adaptability of Weibull distribution in different sea areas.     

新疆百里风区风廓线观测分析

利用2009年3月25日至4月8日在新疆百里风区十三间房气象站观测取得的风廓线资料,分析了该地区低空风场的平均日变化、逐日变化以及强风天气条件下大气风场特征。研究表明:①十三间房地区观测期间纬向风主要盛行西风气流,经向风以北风为主,在大风天气条件下经向北风气流明显大于同时间纬向西风气流。②受七角井山口狭管效应的影响,该地区1500m高度以下水平风速总体大于其上风速。③日、夜平均廓线分析表明,夜间风速大于白天,但二者随高度的变化趋势基本相同,1500m以下,水平风速随高度的升高呈减小趋势,1500m以上,随高度升高呈增大趋势。④Airda3000Q型边界层风廓线雷达可获得时间和空间分辨率较高的风场资料,通过分析其探测到的水平风廓线资料,可清晰地监测大风天气的发生和变化过程。     

The feasibility of estimating large-scale surface wind fields for the summer MONEX using cloud motion and ship data

Cloud motion data were compared to ship observations over the Indian Ocean during the summer monsoon, 1 May to 31 July 1979, with the objective of using the cloud data for estimating surface wind and ultimately the wind stress on the ocean. The cloud-ship comparison indicated that the cloud motions could be used to estimate surface winds within reasonable accuracy bounds, 2.6 m s^-1 r.m.s. speeds and 22° to 44° r.m.s. directions (22° r.m.s. for winds < 10 m s^-1). A body of statistics is presented which can be used to construct an empirical boundary layer with the eventual goal of producing a stress analysis for the summer MONEX from cloud motion data.     

塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地起沙阈值计算解析

临界起沙风速是判别风沙活动能否发生的关键指标,其变化受到地表状况及大气环境的综合影响。为了进一步认识临界起沙风速在野外条件下的变化规律,选取塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地塔中作为研究区,在综合考虑地表土壤粒径、土壤湿度、空气密度等因素的基础上,利用经验公式计算了该地区每月的临界起沙风速。得出：（1）塔中地区2 m高度的临界摩擦速度值介于0.24～0.36 m/s,均值为0.31 m/s;（2）塔中地区2 m高度的临界起沙风速值介于3.9～5.9 m/s,均值为5.1 m/s;（3）塔中地区起沙阈值,最高值出现在夏季,次高值出现在冬季,春季最小。     

Extraordinary blowing snow transport events in East Antarctica

In the convergence slope/coastal areas of Antarctica, a large fraction of snow is continuously eroded and exported by wind to the atmosphere and into the ocean. Snow transport observations from instruments and satellite images were acquired at the wind convergence zone of Terra Nova Bay (East Antarctica) throughout 2006 and 2007. Snow transport features are well-distinguished in satellite images and can extend vertically up to 200 m as first-order quantitatively estimated by driftometer sensor FlowCapt?. Maximum snow transportation occurs in the fall and winter seasons. Snow transportation (drift/blowing) was recorded for ~80% of the time, and 20% of time recorded, the flux is >10^?2 kg m^?2 s^?1 with particle density increasing with height. Cumulative snow transportation is ~4 orders of magnitude higher than snow precipitation at the site. An increase in wind speed and transportation (~30%) was observed in 2007, which is in agreement with a reduction in observed snow accumulation. Extensive presence of ablation surface (blue ice and wind crust) upwind and downwind of the measurement site suggest that the combine processes of blowing snow sublimation and snow transport remove up to 50% of the precipitation in the coastal and slope convergence area. These phenomena represent a major negative effect on the snow accumulation, and they are not sufficiently taken into account in studies of surface mass balance. The observed wind-driven ablation explains the inconsistency between atmospheric model precipitation and measured snow accumulation value.