Aeolian saltation threshold: the effect of density ratio

Saltation threshold data from three wind tunnels and from hydraulic flumes are presented to show that the dimensionless threshold friction speed for small particles is a continuous function of particle-to-fluid-density ratio. In addition, the dimensionless threshold speed is a function of the grain-friction Reynolds number and an interparticle force term. The variation with density ratio seems to be due to the relative energy with which particles impact other particles to initiate saltation.     

Air density effects on aeolian sand movement: Implications for sediment transport and sand control in regions with extreme altitudes or temperatures

Aeolian sand transport results from interactions between the ground surface and airflow. Previous research has focused on the effects on sand entrainment and mass transport of surface features and wind velocity, but the influence of air density, which strongly constrains airflow characteristics and the resulting sand flow, has not been widely considered. In the present study, entrainment, saltation characteristics and transport rates were examined at nine experimental sites ranging in elevation from ?154 m below sea‐level (Aiding Lake) to 5076 m above sea‐level (Tanggula Mountain pass on the Qinghai–Tibetan plateau). At each site, a portable wind tunnel and high‐speed camera system were set up, and the friction wind velocity, threshold friction velocity and sand flow structure were observed systematically. For a given volumetric airflow, lower air density increases the wind velocity. Low air density also creates a high threshold friction velocity. The Bagnold wind erosion threshold model remains valid, but the value of empirical parameter A decreased with decreasing air density and ranged from 0·10 to 0·07, the smallest values reported in the literature. For a given wind velocity, increased altitude reduced total sand transport and creeping, but the saltation rate and saltation height increased. The present results provide insights into the fundamental mechanisms of the initiation and transport of sand by wind in regions with an extreme temperature or altitude (for example, alpine deserts and low‐lying lake basins) or on other planets, including Mars. These results also provide theoretical support for improved sand‐control engineering measures. The data and empirical equations provided in this paper improve the ability to estimate threshold and transport conditions for wind‐blown sand.     

Threshold of motion and settling velocities of mollusc shell debris: Influence of faunal composition

Bioclastic particles derived from mollusc shell debris can represent a significant fraction of sandy to gravelly sediments in temperate and cool‐water regions with high carbonate productivity. Their reworking and subsequent transport and deposition by waves and currents is highly dependent on the shape and density of the particles. In this study, the hydrodynamic behaviour of shell debris produced by eight mollusc species is investigated for several grain sizes in terms of settling velocity (measurements in a settling tube) and threshold of motion under unidirectional current (flume experiments using an acoustic profiler). Consistent interspecific differences in settling velocity and critical bed shear stress are found, related to differences in shell density, shell structure imaged by scanning electron microscopy and grain shape. Drag coefficients are proposed for each mollusc species, based on an interpolation of settling velocity data. Depending on the shell species, the critical bed shear stress values obtained for bioclastic particles fall within or slightly below empirical envelopes established for siliciclastic particles, despite very low settling velocity values. The results suggest that settling velocity, often used to describe the entrainment of sediment particles through the equivalent diameter, is not a suitable parameter to predict the initiation of motion of shell debris. The influence of the flat shape of bioclastic particles on the initiation of motion under oscillatory flows and during bedload and saltation transport is yet to be elucidated.     

Intermittent saltation

During a typical wind erosion event, large variations in wind strength produce temporal variations in saltation activity. The focus of this paper is on a special type of unsteady behaviour - intermittent saltation - a process characterized by bursts of blowing soil interspersed with periods of inactivity. We report here measurements from a field study designed to measure intermittent saltation during three separate 1-h periods. Our measurements show that natural wind erosion events consist of intermittent bursts of blowing soil often occupying a small fraction of the total time. We have managed to describe the level of intermittency by a simple and universal mathematical expression. We find that the level of intermittency is governed by whether typical wind fluctuations span the gap between the mean wind speed and threshold wind speed. We propose a nondimensional number which expresses the ratio of these velocity scales, called the relative wind strength, and find that the level of intermittency can be described by a simple distribution function of the relative wind strength.     

Aerodynamic entrainment threshold: effects of boundary layer flow conditions

Experimental data are presented demonstrating the influence of boundary layer flow conditions on aerodynamic entrainment of grains in the absence of intersaltation collisions. New methods are proposed for (1) the unambiguous determination of aerodynamic threshold for any grain population and (2) approximation of the probability density function (PDF) distributions of threshold shear velocity for aerodynamic entrainment. In wind tunnel experiments, the orderly spatial development of flow conditions within a developing boundary layer over the roughened surface of a flat plate constrains the aerodynamic threshold condition in terms of both mean and fluctuating values. Initial grain dislodgements and subsequent erosion from narrow strips of loose, finely fractionated ballotini were recorded photographically as wind speed was increased. Boundary layer parameters, including average threshold shear velocity (U_*t), were calculated using the momentum integral method. Direct observations show that sporadic oscillation of grains preceded dislodgement. At slightly higher velocities most grains rolled over their neighbours before entering saltation. Initial entrainment in spatially semi-organized flurries of 50 or more grains was followed by quiescent periods at airflow velocities close to threshold. These observations provide strong circumstantial evidence linking both the nature and spatial pattern of initial grain motions to sweep events during the fluid bursting process. For each grain fraction, values of U_*t were found to span an unexpectedly wide range and to decrease downwind from the leading edge of the plate as turbulence intensity increased. A probabilistic entrainment model is applied to the aerodynamic threshold condition so as to incorporate the effects of changing turbulent flow regimes over the plate. Analysis of strip erosion curves gives both an objective definition of the threshold condition and usable approximations of the PDF for U_*t required by the model and for future stochastic treatment of the threshold condition.     

Application of analytical hierarchy process (AHP) for flood risk assessment: a case study in Malda district of West Bengal,India

A field experiment was conducted from 2 May 2010 to 1 May 2012 in the Gurbantunggut Desert, the second largest desert in China, to investigate saltation activity and its threshold velocity, and their relations with atmospheric and soil conditions. The results showed that saltation activity occurred more frequently during 08:00–20:00 Local Standard Time in spring and summer, with air temperatures between 20.0 and 29.0 °C, water vapor pressures between 0.6 and 0.9 kPa, soil temperatures between 25.0 and 30.0 °C, and a soil moisture lower than 0.04 m³/m³. At 2 m height, the saltation threshold velocity varied between 11.1 and 13.9 m/s, with a mean of 12.5 m/s. Threshold velocity showed clear seasonal variations in the following sequence: spring (11.7 m/s) < autumn (12.7 m/s) < summer (13.6 m/s). Affected by soil conditions, aeolian sand transport was weak, with an average annual aeolian sand that transported across a section (1.0 m × 2.0 m) of less than 6.0 kg.     

Successive aeolian saltation: studies of idealized collisions

As observed by Bagnold and experimentally reconfirmed by other workers, the impact angles of saltating grains are remarkably constant over a wide range of conditions, lying between 10° and 16°. It can be shown that successive saltation contains a mechanism which very effectively confines impact angles to that range. This control mechanism is most effective at windspeeds less than about 15–30 m s^-1, depending on grain diameter and mass. The control mechanism is evaluated from model calculations of grain populations saltating over a level bed consisting of a layer of loose grains. The grains are assumed to be spherical and uniform in size and mass, also rigid and perfectly elastic. The model also describes distributions of maximum height of grain paths and of lift-off-angles. Compared to other processes involved in aeolian saltation, successive saltation is the only process with a high probability of transferring energy from horizontal into vertical grain movement. This fact, together with the calculations presented, strongly suggests that successive saltation plays a major role in saltation in air. Successive saltation of uniform grains is theoretically impossible if the ground over which saltation occurs is tilted by about 15° against wind direction. Values of tilt angles in this range are observed in nature as stoss-side angles of dunes and ripples, leading to the concept that stoss-sides are tilted up by deposition until successive saltation is subdued.     

Estimation of some aeolian saltation transport parameters: a re-analysis of Williams' data

A new method for analysing observed aeolian sand transport rate profiles of the kind obtained by Williams is presented. The method involves a mathematical model of aeolian saltation. Detailed information about the saltation process can be calculated from the transport rate profile by means of this model. The method is used to perform a re-analysis of Williams' trap data. Among the main findings of this analysis is that the grain borne shear stress appears to be a smaller fraction of the total shear stress than assumed by Bagnold & Owen in their theories of aeolian saltation. Other findings are that the probability distribution of the jump height of the grains does not depend much on the wind speed once the saltation is established, and that the vertical component of the mean launch velocity decreases with the grain size. It is approximately inversely proportional to the grain diameter. Our estimates of the landing angles indicate that estimates of the impact angles obtained from photographically recorded trajectories are too small due to biased sampling. The influence of grain shape on the transport characteristics is mainly due to changes in the grains' ability to jump when hitting the bed. It is found that angular grains have a lower mean jump height than spherical grains.     

Thresholds of aeolian sand transport: establishing suitable values

This paper assesses the practical use and applicability of the time fraction equivalence method (TFEM; Stout & Zobeck, 1996) of calculating a wind speed threshold for sand grain entrainment in field situations. A modification of the original method is used and is applied to 1 Hz measurements of wind speed and sand transport on a beach surface. Calculated grain entrainment thresholds are tested in terms of the percentage of sand transport events that they explain. It was found that the calculated thresholds offered a poor representation of the occurrence of saltation activity, explaining only about 50% of the measured transport events. Results are discussed in terms of system response time, wind speed measurement height, undetected events and sampling period. A shear velocity threshold for grain entrainment was also calculated, but this also failed to explain a high proportion of the sand transport events. The best results (67–91% of transport events explained) were found by calculating a threshold based on time‐averaged (≈ 40 s) wind velocity measurements. The applicability of a single threshold to a natural grain population is discussed. A natural surface is likely to possess a range of thresholds varying over short time scales in response to parameters such as grain rearrangement and changes in moisture conditions. The results show that calculated thresholds based on 40 s time‐averaged data consistently explain a high proportion of the recorded sand transport events. This is because such a time‐averaged approach accounts for higher frequency variability inherent in the sand transport system.     

Grain scale simulations of loose sedimentary beds: the example of grain-bed impacts in aeolian saltation

Sediment transport by wind is one of many processes of interest to the geomorphologist in which grain to grain contacts play an important role. In order to illustrate the modelling of collections of frictional, inelastic sedimentary grains with the particle dynamics method (PDM), we use the grain impact process in aeolian saltation as a specific example. In PDM, all the forces on each particle are evaluated at a sequence of small time-steps, and the Newtonian equations of motion are integrated forward in time. Interparticle forces at grain contacts are treated as springs with prescribed stiffness (normal force) and by a Coulomb friction law (tangential force); particle inelasticity is represented by spring damping. The granular splash resulting from saltation impacts is assessed for sensitivity to the choice of grain properties, and the integration time-step. We find that for the range of impact speeds and impactor masses relevant to aeolian settings, grain splashes are relatively insensitive to grain stiffness, grain inelasticity and grain friction, and that the pattern of ejection from the bed is largely controlled by bed microtopography. A large set of impact realizations involving a variety of impact points on a small set of target beds is used to collect the appropriate statistics for describing the stochastic splash process. The splash function representing these statistics is then available for use in calculations over longer time-scales, such as the evolution of the saltation curtain. The details given here will enable the interested reader to adapt PDM modelling to other types of clastic sedimentary systems.     

Inter‐annual variability of southerly winds in a coastal area of the Atacama Desert: implications for the export of aeolian sediments to the adjacent marine environment

The analysis of the aeolian content of marine cores collected off the coast of the Atacama Desert (Mejillones Bay, Chile) suggests that marine sediments can record inter‐annual to inter‐decadal variations in the regional southerly winds responsible for particle entrainment at the surface of the nearby desert. However, the establishment of a simple and direct correlation between the sediment and wind records is complicated by the difference of time scales between the erosion and accumulation processes. The aim of this work is to: (i) assess the inter‐annual variability of the surface winds responsible for the sand movements; and (ii) determine whether the integration over periods of several months completely smoothes the rapid changes in characteristics of the transported and deposited aeolian material. To accomplish this aim, 14 years of 10 m hourly wind speed, measured at the Cerro Moreno (Antofagasta) Airport between 1991 and 2003 and at the Orica Station between 2000 and 2004, were analyzed. For each year, the wind speed statistical distribution can be represented by a combination of two to three Weibull functions. Winds of the lowest Weibull mode are too weak to move the sand grains at the surface of the pampa; this is not the case for the intermediate mode and especially for the highest speed mode which are able to erode the arid surface and transport particles to the bay. In each individual year of the period of study, the highest speed mode only accounted for a limited number of strong erosion events. Quantitative analysis of the distribution of the friction velocities and of their impact on erosion using a saltation model suggests that, although all wind speeds above threshold produce erosion events, values around 0·45 m sec^?1 contribute less to the erosion flux. This gap allows separation of the erosion events into low and high saltation modes. The correlation (r = 0·997) between the importance of the third Weibull mode and the extent of higher rate saltation indicates that the inter‐annual variability of the erosion at the surface of the pampa, as well as the transport of coarse particles (>100 μm), are directly related to inter‐annual variations in the prevalence of the strongest winds. Finally, a transport and deposition model is used to assess the possible impact of the wind inter‐annual variability on the deposition flux of mineral particles in the bay. The results suggest that inter‐annual differences in the wind speed distributions have a quantifiable effect on the intensity and size‐distribution of this deposition flux. This observation suggests that a detailed analysis of the sediment cores collected from the bay could be used for reconstructing the inter‐annual variability of past winds.     

Development of deflation lag surfaces

A series of wind tunnel tests were carried out to investigate the development of deflation lags in relation to the non-erodible roughness element concentration. Glass spheres (18 mm in diameter) were placed along the complete length of the wind tunnel working section in regular staggered arrays using three different spacings (d=18, 30 and 60 mm) and completely covered with a 0.27-mm erodible sand. A pre-selected free stream velocity above threshold (8m s^?1) was established above the surface and the sediment transport measured at 2-s intervals using a wedge-shaped trap in which an electronic balance is incorporated. Throughout each test, the emerging lag surface was periodically photographed from above at two locations upwind of the trap. The photographs were electronically scanned and analysed to calculate the lag element coverage and location, as well as mean height and frontal area for each time period. Test results indicate that lag development has a profound effect on both the sediment flux and wind profile characteristics. Initially, there is an increase in sediment flux above that for a rippled sand bed because of increased erosion around and reduced kinetic energy loss in highly elastic collisions with the emerging roughness elements. With further emergence, a dynamic threshold is reached whereupon the sediment flux decreases rapidly, tending towards zero. At this point, the supply of grains to the air stream through fluid drag follows a reduction in aerodynamic roughness and, therefore, surface shearing stress. At least as important is the lesser potential for grain ejection at impact because of reduced momentum imparted from the air stream during saltation. Although recent shear stress partitioning models indicate when particle movement may commence on varying surfaces, our experimental results demonstrate that this partitioning has a further direct bearing upon the saltation flux ratio.     

The initiation of particle movement by wind

When air blows across the surface of dry, loose sand, a critical shear velocity (fluid threshold, ut), must be achieved to initiate motion. However, since most natural sediments consist of a range of grain sizes, fluid threshold for any sediment cannot be defined by a finite value but should be viewed as a threshold range which is a function of the size, shape, sorting and packing of the surface sediment. In order to investigate the initiation of particle movement by wind a series of wind-tunnel tests was carried out on a range of pre-screened fluvial sands and commercially available glass beads with differing mean sizes and sorting characteristics. A sensitive laser-monitoring system was used in conjunction with a high speed counter to detect initial grain motion and to count individual grain movements. Test results indicate that when velocity is slowly increased over the sediment surface the smaller or more exposed grains are first entrained by the fluid drag and lift forces either in surface creep (rolling) or in saltation (bouncing or hopping downwind). As velocity continues to rise, larger or less exposed grains may also be moved by fluid drag. On striking the surface saltating grains impart momentum to stationary grains. This impact may result in the rebound of the original grain as well as the ejection of one or more stationary grains into the air stream at shear velocities lower than that required to entrain a stationary particle by direct fluid pressure. As a result, there is a cascade effect with a few grains of varying size initially moving over a range of shear velocities (the fluid threshold range) and setting in motion a rapidly increasing number of grains. Results of the tests showed that the progression from fluid to dynamic threshold, based on grain movement, can be characterized by a power function, the coefficients of which are directly related to the mean size and sorting characteristics of the sediment.     

The effect of surface moisture on the entrainment of dune sand by wind: an evaluation of selected models

Abstract Reliable predictions of wind erosion depend on the accuracy of determining whether erosion occurs or not. Among the several factors that govern the initiation of soil movement by wind, surface moisture is one of the most significant. Some widely used models that predict the threshold shear velocity for particle detachment of wet soils by wind were critically reviewed and evaluated. Wind‐tunnel experiments were conducted on pre‐wetted dune sand with moisture contents ranging from 0·00 to 0·04 kg kg^?1. Sand samples were exposed to different wind speeds for 2 min. Moisture content was determined gravimetrically before and after each experiment, and the saltation of sand particles was recorded electronically with a saltiphone. Shear velocities were deduced from the wind speed profiles. For each moisture content, the experiments were repeated at different shear velocities, with the threshold shear velocity being determined by least‐squares analysis of the relationships between particle number rates and shear velocity. Within the 2‐min test runs, temporal changes in particle number rates and moisture contents were detected. A steep increase in the threshold shear velocity with moisture content was observed. When comparing the models, large differences between the predicted results became apparent. At a moisture content of 0·007 kg kg^?1, which is half the moisture content retained to the soil matrix at a water tension (or matric potential) of ?1·5 MPa, the increase in ‘wet’ threshold shear velocity predicted with the different models relative to the dry threshold shear velocity ranged from 117% to 171%. The highest care should therefore be taken when using current models to predict the threshold shear velocity of wet sediment. Nevertheless, the models of Chepil (1956; Proc. Soil Sci. Soc. Am., 20, 288–292) and Saleh & Fryrear (1995; Soil Sci., 160, 304–309) are the best alternatives available.     

Steady state saltation in air

Coupled equations of motion for steady state saltation over an infinite plane are derived and solved for a simplified model of the grain-surface impact process. Experimentally observed features of the wind velocity profile in saltation are qualitatively reproduced, including a diminution of the sub-saltation layer mean wind speed, as the friction speed increases. In this model the surface impact velocity of the saltating grains remains relatively constant over a wide range of free-stream shear stresses, and the grain mass flux increases with friction speed u_f* less rapidly than u_f³.     

The study of relative density in some dune and beach sands

A new method was developed for the measurement of relative density in natural sand deposits. The method is based on hardening sand in the field, so that undisturbed samples can be obtained, and the later removal of the organic hardener in the laboratory. In the study of two coastal dunes use was made of “peels” which reveal in detail the internal structure of the sand. A definite relationship was established between relative density of the dune sand, its internal structure and mode of deposition. Very high relative densities, approaching and even exceeding 100%, were found in sand deposited by accretion on the top of the dunes. Low to very low relative densities were measured in slip deposits formed by avalanching of sand on the leeward slope of the dunes. High densities in accretion deposits are attributed to sand movement by saltation taking place during the accumulation of the sand and the very high kinetic energies expended during this transportation process. Low densities in the slip deposits are attributed to the process of avalanching which involves minimum energy expenditure. A more or less constant relative density of around 80% was found in the stretch of beach sand studied.     

Threshold of sediment motion under unidirectional currents

Carefully selected data for the threshold of sediment movement under unidirectional flow conditions have been utilized to re-examine the various empirical curves that are commonly employed to predict this threshold. After a review of the existing data, we employed only that data obtained from open channel flumes with parallel sidewalls where flows were uniform and steady over flattened beds of unigranular, rounded sediments. Without these restrictions, an unmanageable amount of scatter is introduced. This selected data is used to develop a modified Shields-type threshold diagram that extends the limits of the original diagram by three orders of magnitude in the grain-Reynolds number. The equally general but more easily employed Yalin diagram for sediment threshold is also examined. Although the Shields and Yalin diagrams are general in that they apply to a wide range of different liquids, in both cases somewhat different curves are obtained for threshold under air than for the liquids. The often used empirical curves of the friction velocity u_*, the velocity 100 cm above the bed u₁₀₀, the bottom stress θ_t, and Shields’ relative stress θ_t, all versus the grain diameter D, are limited in their ranges of application to certain combinations of grain density, fluid density, fluid viscosity and gravity. These conditions must be selected before the curves are generated from either the more general Shields or Yalin curves. For example, on the basis of the data selected for use in this paper, empirical threshold relationships for quartz density material in water are where the velocity u₁₀₀ measured 100 cm above the sediment bed is given in cm/sec and the grain diameter D is in cm. The limitations on any of the threshold relationships are severe. These limitations should be properly understood so that the empirical curves and relationships are not improperly employed.     

Entrainment threshold of cohesionless sediment grains under steady flow of air and water

Existing formulations for bed sediment entrainment under steady flow are incapable of explaining two well-documented observational facts: (i) water flow requires considerably higher dimensionless shear stresses to move the bed grains than air flow; and (ii) under open channel flow, steep granular beds are more stable than beds with milder slopes. These two facts, together with recent direct measurements of forces acting on bed grains giving time-mean negative drags ( Schmeeckle et al. , 2007 ), question the conventional models of forces used so far. Here, fluid forces acting on bed particles are treated in a new way in order to take into consideration the fundamental interference effects, thus obtaining appropriate magnitude estimates that exhibit good agreement with direct force measurements by Schmeeckle et al. (2007) . Impulsive pressure fluctuations generated by turbulence are shown to be capable of dislodging the bed grains by saltation under air flow, whereas they can only produce a rocking effect under water flow, thus explaining the first anomaly. On the other hand, previous work by the authors allows a direct estimate of space averaged time-mean drag and lift forces exerted on bed grains. Both components have the same order of magnitude but, contrary to the common belief, the mean lift is downward, which provides an explanation for the second anomaly. Finally, spatial disturbances of pressure, both positive and negative, appear to generate maximum, persistent, local forces considerably greater than mean forces, thus allowing an explanation for the observed negative time-mean drag. A new formula for predicting incipient motion of sediment under open channel flow is derived, which incorporates all dynamically significant effects and gives very good agreement with observation for the entire range of bed slopes.     

Aerodynamic grain‐size distribution of blown sand

Aeolian sand entrainment, saltation and deposition are important and closely related near surface processes. Determining how grains are sorted by wind requires a detailed understanding of how aerodynamic sand transport processes vary within the saltating layer with height above the bed. Grain‐size distribution of sand throughout the saltation layer and, in particular, how the associated flux of different grain size changes with variation in wind velocity, remain unclear. In the present study, a blowdown wind tunnel with a 50 cm thick boundary layer was used to investigate saltating sand grains by analyzing the weight percentage and transport flux of different grain‐size fractions and the mean grain size at different wind velocities. It was found that mean grain size decreases with height above the sand bed before undergoing a reversal. The height of the reversal point ranges from 4 to 40 cm, and increases with wind velocity following a non‐linear relationship. The content of the finer fractions (very fine and fine sand) initially increases above the sand bed and then decreases slightly with height, whereas that of the coarser fractions (medium and coarse sand) exhibits the opposite trend. The content of coarser grains and the mean grain size of sand in the saltation layer increase with wind velocity, indicating erosional selectivity with respect to grains in multi‐sized sand beds; but this size selectivity decreases with increasing wind velocity. The vertical mass flux structure of fine sand and very fine sand does not obey a general exponential decay pattern under strong wind conditions; and the coarser the sand grain, the greater the decrease rate of their transport mass with height. The results of these experiments suggest that the grain‐size distribution of a saltating sand cloud is governed by both wind velocity and height within the near‐surface boundary layer.     

洋山港海域现代沉积物运移趋势

地形、物源和水动力条件是洋山港海域现代沉积环境的主要控制因素，粉粒和粘粒是现代沉积物的主要组成部分，潮流是起动和搬运现代沉积物的主要动力，悬移是现代沉积物最主要的搬运方式，跃移是次要搬运方式，现代沉积物的起动和沉积过程交替频繁。研究区现代沉积物长期净运移趋势表明：研究区东部的黄泽洋向洋山港海域的输沙趋势显著；洋山港岛链峡道深槽的形成，系由峡道东部和西部的现代沉积物各向峡道两端分异运移所致；小洋山—唐脑山—线将是今后港区泥沙淤积的主要部位之一。