Evaluation of a wind erosion model in a desert area of northern Asia by eddy covariance |
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Authors: | Gerardo Fratini Monia Santini Paolo Ciccioli Riccardo Valentini |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Forest Environment and Resources (DiSAFRi), Università della Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy;2. Istituto di Metodologie Chimiche, Area della Ricerca del C.N.R. di Roma, Monterotondo Scalo, Italy |
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Abstract: | For the first time, vertical fluxes of mineral dust measured by Eddy Covariance in two desert sites of Northern Asia have been used to test the performances of a wind erosion model in the field. Soil parameters required by the model were obtained through field and laboratory determinations. Model predictions and direct measurements have been compared. The main finding was that the direction of the horizontal wind relative to the orientation of nebkhas played a crucial role in determining the emission of particles in one of the investigated sites. Being unable to simulate such interaction, the model generally overestimated the actual emission. It provided, instead, reliable predictions (r2 = 0·87) when the wind direction was suitable in detaching loose erodible elements placed on nebkhas thanks to their normal orientation. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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Keywords: | wind erosion model particle eddy covariance Gobi desert dust sand storm |
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