Experiment on Dust Flux During Duststorm Periods over Desert Area

The present study investigates the characteristics of turbulent transfer and the conditions for dust emis- sion and transport using the dust concentration and micrometeorological data obtained during dust events occurring in the spring of 2004 over the Hunshandake desert area. The turbulent exchange coefficients and turbulent fluxes of momentum and heat are calculated. The relationships between dust flux, friction velocity,and wind speed are also explored. The results show that thermal turbulence is dominant during daytime of non-dusty days. The dynamic turbulence increases obviously and the sensible heat flux reduces by different degrees during dust events. There is an efficient downward transfer of momentum before duststorm occur- rence, and both the dynamic turbulence and the thermal turbulence are important in the surface layer. The dynamic turbulence even exceeds the thermal turbulence during severe duststorm events. The values of dust flux vary in the range of -5-5, -30-30, and -200-300 μg m-2 s-1 during non-dusty days, blowing dust, and duststorm events, respectively. A slight upward transport of dust is observed during non-dusty days. The dust flux gradually varies from positive to negative during duststorm periods, which indicates the time evolution of dust events from dust rising to stably suspending and then deposition. The dust flux is found to be proportional to u3*. The threshold values of wind speed and friction velocity are about 6 and 0.4 m s-1, respectively.