The application of terrestrial laser scanning to aeolian saltation cloud measurement and its response to changing surface moisture

Saltation is the dominant form of aeolian transport of sand sized grains, yet its heterogeneous spatial and temporal distribution, and inherent feedback and interaction with the surface over which sand is transported, hinders large scale quantification. In this letter we present preliminary data on saltation cloud characteristics quantified using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS). These data, together with surface moisture and surface roughness patterns, elucidate the importance of saltation in the development of protodunes on a drying beach, and indicate the potential usefulness of TLS in examining aeolian processes in both beach and desert environments. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Aeolian sediment transport on a human‐altered foredune

Changes in wind speed and sediment transport are evaluated at a gap and adjacent crest of a 2 to 3 m high, 40 m wide foredune built by sand fences and vegetation plantings on a wide, nourished fine sand beach at Ocean City, New Jersey. Anemometer masts, cylindrical sand traps and erosion pins were placed on the beach and dune during two obliquely onshore wind events in February and March 2003. Results reveal that: (1) changes in the alongshore continuity of the beach and dune system can act as boundaries to aeolian transport when winds blow at an angle to the shoreline; (2) oblique winds blowing across poorly vegetated patches in the dune increase the potential for creating an irregular crest elevation; (3) transport rates and deflation rates can be greater within the foredune than on the beach, if the dune surface is poorly vegetated and the beach has not had time to dry following tidal inundation; (4) frozen ground does not prevent surface deflation; and (5) remnant sand fences and fresh storm wrack have great local but temporary effect on transport rates. Temporal and spatial differences due to sand fences and wrack, changes in sediment availability due to time‐dependent differences in surface moisture and frozen ground, combined with complex topography and patchy vegetation make it difficult to specify cause–effect relationships. Effects of individual roughness elements on the beach and dune on wind flow and sediment transport can be quantified at specific locations at the event scale, but extrapolation of each event to longer temporal and spatial scales remains qualitative. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Small‐scale variability in surface moisture on a fine‐grained beach: implications for modeling aeolian transport

Small‐scale variations in surface moisture content were measured on a fine‐grained beach using a Delta‐T Theta probe. The resulting data set was used to examine the implications of small‐scale variability for estimating aeolian transport potential. Surface moisture measurements were collected on a 40 cm × 40 cm grid at 10 cm intervals, providing a total of 25 measurements for each grid data set. A total of 44 grid data sets were obtained from a representative set of beach sub‐environments. Measured moisture contents ranged from about 0% (dry) to 25% (saturated), by weight. The moisture content range within a grid data set was found to vary from less than 1% to almost 15%. The magnitude of within‐grid variability varied consistently with the mean moisture content of the grid sets, following an approximately normal distribution. Both very wet and very dry grid data sets exhibited little internal variability in moisture content, while intermediate moisture contents were associated with higher levels of variability. Thus, at intermediate moisture contents it was apparent that some portions of the beach surface could be dry enough to allow aeolian transport (i.e. moisture content is below the critical threshold), while adjacent portions are too wet for transport to occur. To examine the implications of this finding, cumulative distribution functions were calculated to model the relative proportions of beach surface area expected to be above or below specified threshold moisture levels (4%, 7%, and 14%). It was found that the implicit inclusion of small‐scale variability in surface moisture levels typically resulted in changes of less than 1% in the beach area available for transport, suggesting that this parameter can be ignored at larger spatial scales. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Aeolian transport rates across raked and unraked beaches on a developed coast

Wind characteristics and aeolian transport were measured on a naturally evolving beach and dune and a nearby site where the beach is raked and sand‐trapping fences are deployed. The beaches were composed of moderately well sorted to very well sorted fine to medium sand. The backshore at the raked site was wider and the foredune was more densely vegetated and about 1 m higher than at the unraked site. Wind speeds were monitored using anemometers placed at 1 m elevation and sand transport was monitored using vertical traps during oblique onshore, alongshore and offshore winds occurring in March and April 2009. Inundation of the low backshore through isolated swash channels prevented formation of a continuously decreasing cross‐shore moisture gradient. The surface of the berm crest was dryer than the backshore, making the berm crest the greatest source of offshore losses during offshore winds. The lack of storm wrack on the raked beach reduced the potential for sediment accumulation seaward of the dune crest during onshore winds, and the higher dune crest reduced wind speeds and sediment transport from the dune to the backshore during offshore winds. Accretion at wrack seaward of the dune toe on the unraked beach resulted in a wider dune field and higher, narrower backshore. Although fresh wrack is an effective local trap for aeolian transport, wrack that becomes buried appears to have little effect as a barrier and can supply dry sand for subsequent transport. Aeolian transport rates were greater on the narrower but dryer backshore of the unraked site. Vegetation growth may be necessary to trap sand within zones of buried wrack in order to allow new incipient foredunes to evolve. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tide-induced variability in beach surface moisture: Observations and modelling

The moisture content w_s of a beach surface strongly controls the availability of sand for aeolian transport. Our predictive capability of the spatiotemporal variability in w_s, which depends to a large extent on water table depth, is, however, limited. Here we show that water table fluctuations and surface moisture content observed during a 10-day period on a medium-grained (365μm) planar (1:30) beach can be predicted well with the nonlinear Boussinesq equation extended to include run-up infiltration and a soil–water retention curve under the assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium. On the intertidal part of the beach the water table is observed and predicted to continuously fall from the moment the beach surface emerges from the falling tide to just before it is submerged by the incoming tide. We find that on the lower 30% of the intertidal beach the water table remains within 0.1–0.2 m from the surface and that the sand is always saturated (w_s≈20%, by mass). Higher up on the intertidal beach, the surface can dry to about 5% when the water table has fallen to 0.4–0.5 m beneath the surface. Above the high-tide level the water table is always too deep (>0.5 m) to affect surface moisture and, without precipitation, the sand is dry (w_s < 5 − 8%). Because the water table depth on the emerged part of the intertidal beach increases with time irrespective of whether the (ocean) tide falls or rises, we find no need to include hysteresis (wetting and drying) effects in the surface-moisture modelling. Model simulations suggest that at the present planar beach only the part well above mean sea level can dry sufficiently (w_s < 10%) for sand to become available for aeolian transport. ©2018 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Effects of Time-dependent Moisture Content of Surface Sediments on Aeolian Transport Rates Across a Beach,Wildwood, New Jersey,U.S.A.

A one-day field investigation on an unvegetated backbeach documents the importance of surface sediment drying to aeolian transport. Surface sediments were well sorted fine sand. Moisture content of samples taken in the moist areas on the backbeach varied from 2·9 to 9·2 per cent. Lack of dry sediment inhibited transport prior to 08:50. By 09:10 conspicuous streamers of dry sand moved across the moist surface. Barchan-shaped bedforms, 30 to 40 mm high and composed of dry sand (moisture content <0·10 per cent), formed where sand streamers converged. The surface composed of dry sand increased from 5 per cent of the area of the backbeach at 09:50 to 90 per cent by 12:50 Mean wind speeds were beetween 5·6 and 8·6 m s⁻¹ at 6 m above the backbeach. Corresponding shear velocities were always above the entrainment threshold for dry sand and below the threshold for the moist sand on the backbeach. Measured rates of sand trapped (by vertical cylindrical traps) increased during the day relative to calculated rates. The measured rate of sand trapped on the moist foreshore was higher than the rate trapped on the backbeach during the same interval, indicating that the moist foreshore (moisture content 18 per cent) was an efficient transport surface for sediment delivered from the dry portion of the beach upwind. Measured rates of sand trapped show no clear relationship to shear velocities unless time-dependent surface moisture content is considered. Results document conditions that describe transport across moist surfaces in terms of four stages including: (1) entrainment of moist sediment from a moist surface; (2) in situ drying of surface grains from a moist surface followed by transport across the surface; (3) entrainment and transport of dry sediment from bedforms that have accumulated on the moist surface; and (4) entrainment of sand from a dry upwind source and transport across a moist downwind surface. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessing aeolian beach‐surface dynamics using a remote sensing approach

A remote sensing technique for assessing beach surface moisture was used to provide insight into beach‐surface evolution during an aeolian event. An experiment was carried out on 21 October 2007 at Greenwich Dunes, Prince Edward Island National Park, Canada, during which cameras were mounted on a mast on the foredune crest at a height of about 14 m above the beach. Maps of beach surface moisture were created based on a calibrated relationship between surface brightness from the photographs and surface moisture content measured in situ at points spaced every 2.5 m along a transect using a Delta‐T moisture probe. A time sequence of maps of surface moisture content captured beach surface evolution through the transport event at a spatial and temporal resolution that would be difficult to achieve with other sampling techniques such as impedance probes. Erosion of the foreshore and berm crest resulted in an increase in surface moisture content in these areas as the wetter underlying sediments were exposed. Flow expansion downwind of the berm crest led to sand deposition and a consequent decrease in surface moisture content. Remote sensing systems such as the one presented here allow observations of the combined evolution of beach surface moisture, shoreline position, and fetch distances during short‐term experiments and hence provide a comprehensive rendering of sediment erosion and transport processes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling aeolian sand transport and morphological development in two beach nourishment areas

The aeolian sand transport model SAFE and the air flow model HILL were applied to evaluate cross‐shore changes at two nourished beaches and adjacent dunes and to identify the response of aeolian sand transport and morphology to several nourishment design parameters and fill characteristics. The main input of the model consisted of data on the sediment, tide and meteorological conditions, and of half‐yearly measured characteristics of topography, vegetation and sand fences. The cross‐shore profiles generated by SAFE–HILL were compared to measured cross‐shore profiles. The patterns of erosion and deposition, and the morphological development corresponded. In general, the rates of aeolian sand transport were overestimated. The impact of parameters that are related to beach nourishment (namely grain size, adaptation length and beach topography) on profile development was evaluated. Grain size affected the aeolian sand transport rate to the foredunes, and therefore the morphology. Adaptation length, which is a measure of the distance over which sediment transport adapts to a new equilibrium condition, affected the topography of the beach in particular. The topography of a beach nourishment had limited impact on both aeolian sand transport rate and morphology. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE INFLUENCE OF RAINFALL ON TRANSPORT OF BEACH SAND BY WIND

This paper deals with the effect of rainfall on the process of wind erosion of beach sands and presents results from both field and wind tunnel experiments. Although sediment transport by splash is of secondary importance on coastal dunes, splash–saltation processes can move sediments in conditions where no motion is predicted by aeolian processes. The effect of raindrop impact on the movement of soil particles by wind was measured on a sand beach plain using an acoustic sediment sampler. In general, an increase of particle movement by wind at the sensor heights was observed during rainfall. Rainfall also affected the wind erosion process during and after rain by changing the cohesive conditions of the surface. The influence of the surface moisture content on the initiation of wind erosion and on the vertical distribution of transported sand particles was studied in a wind tunnel. Moisture significantly increased threshold wind velocities for the initiation of sediment transport and modified vertical sediment profiles.     

The effects of surface moisture on aeolian sediment transport threshold and mass flux on a beach

This paper presents results from a study designed to explore the effects of beach surface moisture and fetch effects on the threshold of movement, intensity of sand transport by wind and mass flux. The experiment was carried out over a period of five weeks at Greenwich Dunes, Prince Edward Island, Canada in May and June 2002. Moisture content was measured with a Delta‐T moisture probe over a 50 m by 25 m grid established on the beach. Measurements of wind speed and direction were made with arrays of cup anemometers and a two‐dimensional sonic anemometer. Transport intensity was measured at a height of 2–4 cm above the bed using omnidirectional saltation probes which count the impact of saltating grains on a piezoelectric crystal. Anemometers and saltation probes were sampled at 1 Hz. Sand transport was measured with vertical integrating sand traps over periods of 10–20 minutes. Results show that where there is a considerable supply of dry sand the saltation system responds very rapidly (1–2 s) to fluctuations in wind speed, i.e. to wind gusts. Where sand supply from the surface is limited by moisture, mean transport rates are much lower and this reflects in both a reduction in the instantaneous transport rate and in a transport system that becomes increasingly intermittent. Threshold wind speed is significantly correlated with an increase in surface moisture content near the upwind end of the beach fetch, but the relationship is not significant at the downwind end where sediment transport is initiated primarily by saltation impact from upwind. Mass flux increases with increasing fetch length and the relationship is described best by a power function. Further work is necessary to develop a theoretical function to predict the increase in transport with fetch distance as well as the critical fetch distance. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Uneven surface moisture as a driver of dune formation on ephemeral lake beds under conditions similar to the present day: A model-based assessment from the Makgadikgadi Basin,northern Botswana

An association between salt pans or dry lake beds and distinctive crescentic lake-floor sand mounds (1–10 m high, tens to hundreds of metres wide) is commonplace in desert systems. In the Makgadikgadi Basin of northern Botswana, a debate about the formative processes of these landforms has persisted despite numerous morphometric, sedimentary and geochronological analyses, with mound landforms variously inferred to be aeolian dunes, subaqueous dunes, spring mounds or shoreline remnants. We propose a new formative mechanism which draws on the interaction between uneven moisture distribution on the pan surface and mobile aeolian sediments. We use a numerical model (ViSTA), which couples vegetation and aeolian sand transport dynamics, together with optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of a mound in the Makgadikgadi Basin to investigate the feasibility of this ‘sticky mound hypothesis’. We find that under a range of modelled environmental conditions, uneven moisture distribution on the pan surface can lead to the development and stabilization of crescentic aeolian dunes, with these dunes growing upwind from the point of initial deposition, corresponding with the chronological data gained from OSL dating of a mound feature. On removal of this moisture, the modelled dunes erode and dissipate. These findings suggest that the formative mechanism of the mounds could be dependent on the interaction between differential drying of the pan surface and the competence of the aeolian sediment transport system across the pan floor.     

Embryo dune development on a large,actively accreting macrotidal beach: Calais,North Sea coast of France

Sediment budget data from an 18‐month topographic survey were analysed with data from brief experiments on wind parameters, beach moisture contents, bedforms and sand mobilization in order to monitor conditions and patterns of embryo dune development over a flat 150–1000 m wide accreting upper beach. The surface conditions over the upper beach locally affect aeolian transport, but net dune development over time depends on sustained strong winds and their orientation. Incoming marine sand supplied by storms and onshore winds is reorganized by the dominant offshore to longshore winds into elongated embryo dunes over this upper beach, imprinting a regional morphology of long‐term longshore dune ridge development. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The influence of groundwater depth on coastal dune development at sand flats close to inlets

A cellular automata model is used to analyze the effects of groundwater levels and sediment supply on aeolian dune development occurring on sand flats close to inlets. The model considers, in a schematized and probabilistic way, aeolian transport processes, groundwater influence, vegetation development, and combined effects of waves and tides that can both erode and accrete the sand flat. Next to three idealized cases, a sand flat adjoining the barrier island of Texel, the Netherlands, was chosen as a case study. Elevation data from 18 annual LIDAR surveys was used to characterize sand flat and dune development. Additionally, a field survey was carried out to map the spatial variation in capillary fringe depth across the sand flat. Results show that for high groundwater situations, sediment supply became limited inducing formation of Coppice-like dunes, even though aeolian losses were regularly replenished by marine import during sand flat flooding. Long dune rows developed for high sediment supply scenarios which occurred for deep groundwater levels. Furthermore, a threshold depth appears to exist at which the groundwater level starts to affect dune development on the inlet sand flat. The threshold can vary spatially depending on external conditions such as topography. On sand flats close to inlets, groundwater is capable of introducing spatial variability in dune growth, which is consistent with dune development patterns found on the Texel sand flat.     

Simple infrared techniques for measuring beach surface moisture

Knowledge of surface moisture on beaches is vital for aeolian process studies because moisture increases transport thresholds and limits mass flux. A number of beach surface moisture measurement techniques have been employed in the field, including sample extraction, commercial soil moisture sensors, and remote sensing techniques. Each method has significant limitations in the context of aeolian process studies. This study was designed to test infrared optic techniques for measuring beach surface moisture. A simple infrared sensor (narrow‐band radiometer) was developed to measure beach surface moisture content. The accuracy and practical usability of the narrow‐band radiometer were assessed in comparison to a commercial handheld spectroradiometer. Field calibrations conducted at Cape San Blas, Florida and Padre Island, Texas indicated that the narrow‐band radiometer performed quite well. The R² values exceeded 0·98 in each case, and the standard error averaged about 1% moisture content compared with gravimetric moisture contents determined from 1·5 mm deep surface scrapes. The performance of the two instruments was found to be comparable, with the narrow‐band radiometer slightly outperforming the spectroradiometer. In practical applications, the narrow‐band radiometer also has logistical advantages and is better suited to measure large numbers of points. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using geostatistics to elucidate temporal change in the spatial variation of aeolian sediment transport

Little is known about the spatial and temporal scales of variation in aeolian processes. Studies that aim to investigate surface erodibility often sample aeolian sediment transport at the nodes of a regular grid of arbitrary size. Few aeolian transport investigations have the resources to obtain sufficient samples to produce reliable models for mapping the spatial variation of transport. This study reports the use of an innovative nested strategy for sampling multiple spatial scales simultaneously using 40 sediment samplers. Reliable models of the spatial variation in aeolian sediment transport were produced and used for ordinary punctual kriging and stochastic simulated annealing to produce maps for several wind erosion events over a 25 km² playa in western Queensland, Australia. The results support the existence of a highly dynamic wind erosion system that was responding to possibly cyclic variation in the availability of material and fluctuations in wind energy. The spatial scale of transport was considerably larger than the small scale expected of the factors controlling surface erodibility. Thus, it appears that transport cannot be used as a surrogate of erodibility at the scale of this investigation. Simulation maps of transport provided considerably more information than those from kriging about the variability in aeolian sediment transport and its possible controlling factors. The proposed optimal sampling strategy involves a nested approach using ca 50 samplers. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using wind run to predict sand drift

Conventional aeolian sand transport models relate mass transport rate to wind speed or shear velocity, usually expressed and empirically tested on a 1-s time scale. Projections of total sand delivery over long time scales based on these models are highly sensitive to any small bias arising from statistical fitting on empirical data. We analysed time series of wind speed and sand transport rate collected at 14 independent measurement stations on a beach during a prior field experiment. The results show that relating total sand drift to cumulative above-threshold wind run yields models which are more statistically robust when fitted on empirical data, generating smaller prediction errors when projected to longer time scales. Testing of different power exponents indicates that a linear relationship between sand drift and above-threshold wind run yields the best results. These findings inspire a speculative novel phenomenological model relating the mass flow of air in the boundary layer to the mass transport of sand over the surface. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Decadal behaviour of a washover fan,Skallingen Denmark

In this study, the decadal evolution of a washover fan on the west coast of Denmark is examined from its initial generation in 1990 until 2015. Since its inception, the bare and flat washover fan surface has recovered and accreted slowly due to re-activation by overwash during surges and due to aeolian activity and dune formation, stimulated by vegetation growth. The volume of sand on the washover has increased steadily at an average rate of about 23 m³/yr per unit length of shoreline, and a total of 175,000 m³ of sand is now deposited on the fan, while at the same time the shoreline has receded by some 250 m. The evolution can be divided into three stages: 1) An initiation phase when storm surge levels and energetic wave conditions caused a breach in the foredunes and overwash processes formed a washover fan with a relatively low elevation above mean sea level; 2) An initial recovery phase during which waves supplied sand to the fan during frequent overwash activity and winds transported this sand into marginal dunes surrounding the fan; and 3) A later recovery phase when the surface of the fan had accreted to a level where vegetation could survive and trap sediment into new foredune growth across the fan. The rate of accretion has been overall linear but scales with neither annual overwash frequency, nor with aeolian transport potential. Instead, the linear accretion is more closely related to the steady onshore migration of nearshore bars that weld to the beach and provide a sand supply for transfer to the fan. The fan evolution demonstrates the importance of washover fans in preserving barrier resilience during transgressional phases caused by increasing mean sea level. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fingered flow: The creator of sand columns in dune and beach sands

Sand columns, sand cones, sand mushrooms and other striking sand forms are frequently observed in the Dutch and German beach and dune sands. This paper aims to clarify the mechanism of sand column formation. Recently it has become evident that homogeneous beach and dune sands often become irregularly wetted by infiltrating rainwater. In otherwise dry sandy soils, wet preferential flow paths (‘fingers’) may develop. At two test sites the volumetric soil moisture content varied between 0·2 and 12·0 per cent. The wet fingers represent the premature state of sand columns. When the dry sand in between these fingers is blown away by the wind, the more resistant wet sand of the fingers will remain in its place and appear as sand columns at the surface. As a result of wind and erosive sand drifts, striking sand forms may be formed.     

The fetch effect on aeolian sediment transport on a sandy beach: a case study from Magilligan Strand,Northern Ireland

Experiments were conducted on Magilligan Strand, Northern Ireland, to assess the influence of the fetch effect on aeolian sediment transport. During each experiment surface sediments were uniformly dry and unhindered by vegetation or debris. The leading edge of erodible material was well defined, with the limit of wave up‐rush demarcating the wet–dry boundary; the work was conducted during low tides. A number of electronic and integrating traps were utilised, with two ultrasonic anemometers used to measure wind direction and velocity at 1 Hz. The combination of 1^o direction data and trap locations resulted in a range of fetch distances, from 2 to 26 m. Data integrated over 15‐minute intervals (corresponding to the integrating trap data) revealed a distinct trend for all the experiments. An initial rapid increase in the transport rate occurred over a short distance (4–9 m). This maximum transport rate was maintained for a further 5–6 m before a steady decay in the flux followed, as fetch distance increased. A measured reduction in wind speed (6–8%) across the beach suggests a negative feedback mechanism may be responsible for the diminishing transport rate: the saltating grains induce energy dissipation, thus reducing the capability of the wind to maintain transport. For one experiment, the presence of compact sediment patches may also have contributed to the reduction of the transport rate. The decay trend calls into question the utility of the fetch effect as an important parameter in aeolian studies that seek to understand sediment budgets of the foredune‐beach zone. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Morphologic and sedimentologic patterns of active aeolian dune‐fields on the east coast of Maranhão,northeast Brazil

The eastern portion of the Maranhão coast is characterized by large active dune‐fields located in a tropical setting. This article combines the analysis of dune‐field morphologic patterns with the classical analysis of grain size and heavy minerals to study the sedimentary dynamics of the active aeolian system in this region. Based on the heavy mineral analysis, the main sedimentary suppliers feeding the system are the westward alongshore drift bringing sand from the coast east of the Parnaíba River mouth and the river itself. The absence of well‐defined variation patterns of the two morphometric parameters studied, dune spacing and crest length, reflects complex sedimentary dynamics and transport pathways, inside the aeolian system, despite the unidirectional wind. During the wet season, the interdune plains are flooded and the system is intensely reworked by intermittent drainages. During the dry season, the deposits formed by the drainages and interdune lakes become temporary internal sedimentary sources for the system. Due to this combined aeolian‐fluvial transport, the sediment source area has a planar geometry, with contributions from the beach and interdune plains, and not linear as expected in a typical case of source only in the beach. The areal limits of the dune‐fields is the main boundary condition controlling the dune‐field patterns, as dune spacing and crest length, by changing the sedimentary inflow–outflow balance and interactions between migration dunes. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.