A new aeolian sand trap design

A vertical rod sand trap has been constructed to acquire a volumetric measure of wind-blown sand. The design is simple, construction cost is minimal, and collection efficiency is quite high. This device can be used effectively for short-term monitoring of aeolian transport.     

Errors in measuring uniform aeolian sand flow by means of an adjustable trap

A vertical-slot sand trap was constructed incorporating a device to adjust the freedom of flow through the trap. Using a dune-sand of equivalent diameter 0.25 mm, measurements of sand transport were made with this flow so adjusted that no change of sand surface geometry detectable by eye occurred upstream of the trap; this was considered to be a correct procedure. Further measurements were taken with the flow through the trap deliberately set to be (a) more vigorous and (b) less vigorous than the correct setting. In the latter case very significant differences were observed in measured transport rates of sand compared with the ‘correct’measurements. The disparities are of interest because it is commonly assumed that sand grains have enough ‘penetration’to enter a slot trap freely despite a degree of stagnation upstream of it. This does not appear to be a prudent assumption and substantial errors may result from lack of attention to the provision of free air flow through the trap.     

Ancient and modern cold-climate aeolian sand deposition: A review

Although partly active aeolian sand sheets and dunes cover large areas in the zones of (dis)continuous permafrost, little precise information is available about the influence of cold-climate conditions on modern aeolian processes. This means that palaeoenvironmental reconstructions in the stabilised, mainly Late Pleistocene dune fields and cover sand regions in the ‘sand belts’ of the European Lowlands and the Northern Great Plains of the USA and Canada, are necessarily still based on ancient evidence. Cold-climate wind deposits are typically derived from areas of abundant sediment supply like unvegetated flood plains, glacial outwash plains, till plains and lake shores. The common parabolic and transverse dune forms resemble those observed in temperate regions. Although a variety of periglacial features has been identified in Late Pleistocene dune and cover sands none of them indicate that permafrost is crucial to aeolian activity. Specific structures in aeolian strata permit tentative interpretation of the moisture content of depositional sand surfaces, the nature of annual sedimentation cycles and the processes by which strata were deposited and/or contorted. But surprisingly little is known about the role of vegetation in the process of sand accumulation. Dunes are most informative with respect to reconstructions of past wind regimes, which offer important data for verification of palaeoclimatic simulations.     

Conditions favourable for the formation of warm-climate aeolian sand sheets

Aeolian sand sheets are areas of aeolian sand where dunes with slipfaces are generally absent. Sand sheets are ubiquitous to modern, warm-climate sand seas, generally occurring marginal to dune fields, although they may exist within the interior of a sand sea or independent of a dune field. Sand-sheet deposits are recognized in ancient aeolian sequences, where they may account for significant accumulations of low-angle aeolian stratification. We suggest that the occurrence of sand sheets instead of dunes indicates that conditions are outside the range within which dunes form or that one or more factors interfere with dune development while also favouring the accumulation of sand sheets. A study of six modern sand sheets in North America (located at Great Sand Dunes, Gran Desierto, Dumont, Algodones, Padre Island, and Colorado River delta) indicates that the factors favourable for sand-sheet development are: (1) a high water table, (2) surface cementation or binding, (3) periodic flooding, (4) a significant coarse-grained sediment population, and (5) vegetation. These factors are reflected in the nature of stratification and the accessory features of sand-sheet accumulations within the areas of modern sand sheets as well as in their ancient counterparts in the Triassic Dolores and Pennsylvanian-Permian Rico formations.     

Theoretical and measured aeolian sand transport on a barrier island, Louisiana, USA

Over the past 100 years, the Isles Dernieres, a low lying barrier island chain along the coast of central Louisiana, Usa , has undergone more than 1 km of northward beach face retreat with the loss of 70% of its surface area. The erosion results from a long term relative sea level rise coupled with day to day wind and wave action that ultimately favours erosion over deposition. At a site in the central Isles Dernieres, 8 days of wind and beach profile measurements during the passage of one winter cold front documented aeolian erosion and deposition patterns under both onshore and offshore winds. For offshore winds, the theoretical erosion rate, based on wind shear velocity, closely matched the measured erosion rate; for onshore winds, the theoretical rate matched the measured rate only after being corrected by a factor that accounted for beach face morphology. In late February 1989, a strong cold front moved into coastal Louisiana. That cold front stalled over the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in 4 days of strong northerly winds at a study site on the Isles Dernieres. During those 4 days, the wind moved sand from the backshore to the upper beach face. When the cold front finally moved out of the area, the wind shifted to the south and decreased in strength. The onshore wind then restored some of the upper beach face sand to the backshore while increased wave activity moved the rest into the nearshore. The theoretical estimate of 1·28 m³ m^?1 for the rate of sand transport by the northerly wind compares well with the measured backshore erosion rate of 1·26 m³ m^?1, which was determined by comparing beach profiles from the start and end of the period of northerly winds. The theoretical estimate of 0·04 m³ m^?1 for the rate of sand transport by the southerly wind, however, is notably less than the measured rate of 0·45 m³ m^?1. The large discrepancy between the two rates can be explained by a difference in the shear velocity of the wind between the beach face, where the erosion occurred, and the backshore, where the wind stress was measured. Using an empirical relationship for the wind shear drag coefficient as a function of coastal environment, the theoretical estimate for the rate of sand transport by the southerly wind becomes 0·44 m³ m^?1     

Evaluation of aeolian sand transport equations using intertidal zone measurements, Saunton Sands, England

Sand transport rates were measured using a vertical sand trap along the intertidal zone of a beach in North Devon, England, together with simultaneous monitoring of the wind speed on the beach and moisture levels in the surface layers of sand. The results of 88 sand trap samples in a wide range of wind speeds showed that moisture levels up to 14%, in the top 1–2 mm of the beach sand, have no discernible effect on the transport rates. Transport rates measured from areas of the beach where the moisture was below this level are compared with the rates predicted by seven expressions based on theoretical and wind tunnel research together with the empirical results of other published research. Measured transport rates range from 0.0001 to 0.22 kg m^-1 s^-1. The results indicate that expressions based on a power relation between the wind speed and the transport rate, and which include a threshold velocity term, provide the best estimates of the observed transport rates.     

Characteristics of particle size for creeping and saltating sand grains in aeolian transport

Creep and saltation are the primary modes of surface transport involved in the fluid‐like movement of aeolian sands. Although numerous studies have focused on saltation, few studies have focused on creep, primarily because of the experimental difficulty and the limited amount of theoretical information available on this process. Grain size and its distribution characteristics are key controls on the modes of sand movement and their transport masses. Based on a series of wind tunnel experiments, this paper presents new data regarding the saltation flux, obtained using a flat sampler, and on the creeping mass, obtained using a specifically designed bed trap, associated with four friction velocities (0·41, 0·47, 0·55 and 0·61 m sec^?1). These data yielded information regarding creeping and saltating sand grains and their particle size characteristics at various heights, which led to the following conclusions: (i) the creeping masses increased as a power function (q = ?1·02 + 14·19u_*³) of friction wind velocities, with a correlation (R²) of 0·95; (ii) the flux of aeolian sand flow decreases exponentially with increasing height (q = a exp(–z/b)) and increases as a power function (q = ?26·30 + 428·40 u_*³) of the friction wind velocity; (iii) the particle size of creeping sand grains is ca 1·15 times of the mean diameter of salting sand grains at a height of 0 to 2 cm, which is 1·14 times of the mean diameter of sand grains in a bed; and (iv) the mean diameter of saltating sand grains decreases rapidly with increasing height whereas, while at a given height, the mean diameter of saltating sand grains is positively correlated with the friction wind velocity. Although these results require additional experimental validation, they provide new information for modelling of aeolian sand transport processes.     

A wind tunnel study of aeolian sand transport on a wetted sand surface using sands from tropical humid coastal southern China

This article reported a wind tunnel test of sediment transport related to surface moisture content and wind velocity using sands from tropical humid coastal area. A 1 mm-thick portion of surface sand was scraped using a self-made sediment sampler, and the gravimetric moisture content was determined. Sand transport was measured via a standard vertical sand trap with a 60 cm height. The result shows that the sand transport profile above the wet surface can be expressed with an exponential equation. In general, the influence of moisture content on sand transport profile mainly focuses on the bottom of the blowing sand cloud. Meanwhile, with moisture content increased, total sand transport dropped, and a relatively larger proportion is transported at greater heights. The vertical movement of particles on higher moisture surface (0.587% < M < 1.448%) is more sensitive to moisture content variation as compared to those on low wet surface (M < 0.587%), total sand transport rate tends to be rather low (0.99 g cm⁻¹ s⁻¹) when M > 1.448%. The total sand transport rate varying with moisture content is divided into three regions of differing gradient at the moisture contents of 0.587 and 1.448%. The gradient of the curve reflected the different influences of the various water forms in surface sediments. The higher moisture surface (M > 1.448%) merely functions as a transport plain for the saltation material. Surface moisture content was the dominant control factor for saltation activity between the moisture contents of 0.587 and 1.448%, wind velocity could resume control saltation after the surface dried to the extent (M < 0.587%).     

A transparent aqueous-saturated sand surrogate for use in physical modeling

This paper presents the geotechnical properties of a new family of synthetic transparent soils made of fused quartz, saturated with a matched refractive index water-based sucrose solution, suitable for modeling the behavior of sand in small-scale model tests. The dry density ranged between 1,134 and 1,358 kg/m³. The peak angle of friction was found to range from 46° to 57°. The average hydraulic conductivity was 1.7 × 10^?5 cm/s. The compressibility index (C _c) ranged from 0.34 to 0.57. The main advantage of fused quartz over available sand surrogates made of silica gel is that its solid structure better models the behavior of natural sand. The matching pore fluids are inert and non-toxic, which facilitates their use in educational settings. The availability of a safe and easy-to-use transparent sand permits measurement of three-dimensional deformation patterns and flow characteristics in controlled research experiments. The introduction of an aqueous solution permits the use of two immiscible pore fluids, one made of mineral oil and the other made of a sucrose solution, for modeling multiphase flow problems, as well as coupled flow-deformation problems.     

Nature, origin and age of Holocene aeolian sand on Muckish Mountain, Co. Donegal, Ireland

Dissected sand sheets and flow-aligned sand shadows occur near the summit of Muckish Mountain, Co. Donegal. The sand is of medium to fine size and moderately sorted to moderately well sorted. Sand transport by northerly winds is indicated by the location and morphology of the deposits. The source of the sand is a series of friable quartzite beds immediately below the northern edge of the summit plateau. Minor additions of gravel and very coarse sand, derived from the disintegration of plateau clasts, were probably also incorporated within the deposits by aeolian action, although surface wash associated with heavy rain or snowmelt may have mobilized these particles. The absence of diagnostic aeolian transport textures on quartz grain surfaces reflects the short distance/duration of transport. ¹⁴C dates indicate two phases of sand sheet accumulation: one between c. 5,300 ande. 2,650 B.P. and again after c. 1,910–1,760B.P. The sand shadows have formed within the last hundred years in response to the construction of small cairns across the plateau. Sand sheet dissection suggests erosion is currently occurring, but this began prior to the late nineteenth century. Present-day sand accumulation is also apparent from the widespread scatter of grains trapped by surface Vegetation. The sand represents the first recognition of aeolian deposition in the uplands of Ireland.     

Relationship of spatial heterogeneity for vegetation and aeolian sand soil properties on longitudinal dunes in Gurbantunggut Desert, China

On longitudinal dunes in the southern Gurbantunggut Desert, the vegetation was investigated, and the texture, water content, organic matter, total nitrogen, salt content and pH of aeolian sand soil were measured. By means of geostatistical methods, the spatial heterogeneity for vegetation and aeolian sand soil properties was analyzed. The vegetation pattern and aeolian sand soil properties were moderately to strongly spatially heterogeneous as a whole, with a spatially dependent range of 8.8–74.8 m. Because both of them had a nest structure of grading system, their spatial heterogeneity needed to be described by the fractal dimensions at different sampling scales. The autocorrelated spatial range A ₀ and fractal dimensions of the cover of vegetation and the diversity of herberious synusium were similar to these of soil water contents (SM). The coarse grain size (φ1) and sorting (σ) of soil, the diversity of herbaceous synusium and the cover of vegetation had a closer dependent range A₀, being 37.8–57.8 m. The trends of spatial variation for organic matter and total nitrogen contents were very similar to that of vegetation cover. The spatial heterogeneities of soil pH and salt content were mainly restricted by terrain and basically not related to vegetation.     

水泥改良风积砂负温动力性能与流变特征研究

为研究水泥掺量对风积砂改良效果影响及不同负温、频率下的改良风积砂动力特征,开展了单轴、动力循环加载和蠕变试验。通过单轴试验获得了不同水泥掺量的改良风积砂7、28 d单轴抗压强度,并结合冻胀量随时间变化规律确定了最优水泥掺量;通过动力循环试验测定了不同次数的滞回曲线,确定了改良风积砂动弹性模量衰减、动损伤和阻尼比的演化规律;通过流变试验确定了能够描述滞回曲线流变特征的西原模型参数,建立了屈服前后滞回曲线的演化方程,并给出了每个循环内的时间划分标准。研究发现：（1）电镜观测显示水泥在风积砂颗粒间形成絮状连接结构,增加颗粒间的黏结强度,有效抑制动力损伤发展;（2）负指数模型可以描述改良风积砂动弹性模量衰减特征,阻尼比随加载次数增加逐渐变大,最终趋于某一定值,掺入水泥可以有效控制阻尼比发展;（3）提出了考虑围压影响的改进西原模型,根据实际加载特征建立了滞回曲线的加载方程,最小二乘原理可以对流变参数进行识别。     

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.     

The source of sand for the Killpecker sand-dune field,southwestern Wyoming

The primary source of sand for the Killpecker sand-dune field is the Laney Member of the Green River Formation (Eocene) and not the glaciofluviatile deposits to the west as previously believed. This contention is based on data from heavy-mineral analyses, grainsize parameters and outcrop locations of possible sand sources. The heavy-mineral assemblage of the dune field includes in order of decreasing frequency epidote, greenbrown hornblende, blue-green hornblende, magnetite, garnet, zircon and a variety of other heavy minerals in minor amounts. Earlier studies based on moment measures from sieved sands indicated that textural parameters such as positive skewness define the eolian environment. Textural parameters in this study were determined by graphic measures from settling-tube curves which had been calibrated both for glass beads and sieved natural sand. The use of textural parameters such as positive skewness to define eolian environments is not supported by the data of this study. Skewness was found to be linearly dependent on mean grain size with a critical value of $\text{?1.7 φ}$ (0.31 mm) separating positively and negatively skewed samples. Sand coarser than 1.7 φ (smaller or negative φ) was positively skewed and sand finer than 1.7 φ was negatively skewed.     

A theoretical model for aeolian impact ripples

New insights into the grain-bed impact process arising from both numerical and physical experiments involving single grain impacts lead to a more complete conceptual model of the aeolian saltation process that in turn allows a simple model of aeolian impact ripples to be developed. The saltating population may be idealized as consisting of (1) long trajectory, high impact-energy, constant impact-angle ‘successive saltations’, and (2) short trajectory, low impact-energy ‘reptations’. It is argued that the spatial variations in mass flux due to the reptating population lead to the growth and translation of impact ripples. Using the sediment continuity equation, an expression for the spatial variation in the ejection rate of reptating grains from a sinusoidally perturbed bed, and a probability distribution for the reptation lengths, a simple stability analysis demonstrates that the flat bed is unstable to small amplitude perturbations. A fastest-growing wavelength emerges that is roughly six times the mean reptation length, and is only weakly dependent upon the detailed shape of the probability distribution of reptation lengths. The results match well with the observed initial wavelengths in wind tunnel experiments.     

A wind tunnel study of the parameters for aeolian sand transport above a wetted sand surface using sands from a tropical humid coastal region of southern China

In this study, wind tunnel tests were performed to determine the relationships between sediment transport, the surface moisture content, and wind velocity using beach sands from a tropical humid coastal area of China. The variation in the properties of the creep proportion, relative decay rate as a function of height, and average saltation height in the flux profile were determined. Sand transport was measured using a standard vertical sand trap. The creep proportion (i.e., the proportion of the particles that move along the surface rather than undergoing saltation) and relative decay rate decreased and more particles were ejected to higher positions as moisture content and wind velocity increased. The creep proportion ranged between 0.12 and 0.33, and averaged 0.22. The creep proportion and relative decay rate decreased abruptly at moisture contents between 0.587 and 1.448%; the latter value was close to 1.591%, the moisture content at a matric potential of ?1.5 MPa. This moisture content limit may indicate a change in the form of soil water from adsorbed films on particle surfaces to capillary forces created by inter-particle water bridges. The surface moisture content therefore appears to decisively determine the degree of the restraint on particle entrainment by the wind. The average heights, below which 25, 50, 75, and 90% of sand transport occurred, increased with increasing moisture content (except at 0.231% moisture content) and wind velocity. The mean saltation height at various wind velocities increased linearly with increasing moisture content.     

敦煌月牙泉域风积沙含水层渗透速度示踪试验

通过渗水应急治理措施,月牙泉湖水域长期萎缩状态得到了遏制.但是由于长期补水,月牙泉域地下水流场、水质及周边地质环境产生了变化.通过月牙泉湖周围1km地区利用钼酸铵作示剂进行地下水流示踪试验,对泉域风积沙潜水含水层地下水流动方向、渗透速度进行探索性试验研究.试验结果表明月牙泉湖周围地下水流方向由西向东流入月牙泉湖,随后向东北方向径流流出,速度为24.25～27.60m/min.     

路基边坡坡度设计的新方法

通过力学分析,导出了砂类土边坡坡度取值的解析公式,建立了直接由解析公式确定边坡坡度的新方法--公式法.在与现行规范法对比的基础上,阐明了公式法的实用价值.     

Influence of vegetation on aeolian sand transport rate from a backshore to a foredune at Hasaki, Japan

The influence of vegetation on aeolian sediment transport rate in the region from a backshore to a foredune was investigated at the Hasaki Coast in Japan, where an onshore wind was predominant and the creeping beach grasses Carex kobomugi and Calystegia soldanella were major species. The comparison of cross-shore distributions of the cross-shore component of aeolian sand transport rate with and without vegetation, which were estimated on the basis of the beach profile changes and a mass conservation equation, showed that the creeping grasses influenced the aeolian sand transport rate. The landward aeolian sand transport rate rapidly decreased landward from the seaward limit of vegetation when the grasses grew. The aeolian sand transport rate reduced by 95% with a vegetation cover of 28%. On the other hand, when the grasses were absent, the landward aeolian sand transport rate did not decrease near the seaward vegetation limit, but near the foot of the foredune.