Aeolian Sediment Flux and Grain Size over the Top Area of A Star Dune near the Crescent Moon Spring of Dunhuang under Westerly Winds

doi:10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2016.00144

JOURNAL OF DESERT RESEARCH ›› 2016, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (6): 1503-1511.DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2016.00144

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Aeolian Sediment Flux and Grain Size over the Top Area of A Star Dune near the Crescent Moon Spring of Dunhuang under Westerly Winds

Bian Kai^1,2, Zhang Weimin¹, Tan Lihai¹, Gao Yang¹

1. Dunhuang Gobi and Desert Ecology and Environment Research Station;Gansu Center for Sand Hazard Reduction Engineering and Technology, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China;
2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

Received:2016-10-08 Revised:2016-11-11 Online:2016-11-20 Published:2016-11-20

Abstract

Abstract: The large volume and complex morphology of star dunes lead to difficulties in field observations of aeolian processes over their dune sides, and thus few studies of wind-blown sand over the star dune has been conducted. This paper focused on characteristics of aeolian sand flux profiles over the windward slopes of a star dune in north of the Crescent Moon Spring during westerly winds through a newly-developed sand trap, including 8 runs with duration 18-95 min and average wind speeds of 7.46-14.15 m.s^-1 at height of 2 m. Results revealed that sand flux profiles over the windward slopes of the star dune were similar to those over the flat sandy surface in the same area, that is, sand transport rates decreased exponentially with the increase of height. Sand transport over the star dune slopes was concentrated on the height of 20-30 cm. The characteristic values of the sand flux profile (λ) was mainly larger than 1,and increased with the average wind speed at the height of 2 m, so star slopes were eroded. The transported sands in the wind-blown sand were mainly composed of fine sands, and fine sands were transported to the area near the dune top, where deposited sands were mainly composed of fine sands.

Key words: star dune, dune slope, sand flux profile, grain size, Dunhuang

CLC Number:

P931.3

Bian Kai, Zhang Weimin, Tan Lihai, Gao Yang. Aeolian Sediment Flux and Grain Size over the Top Area of A Star Dune near the Crescent Moon Spring of Dunhuang under Westerly Winds[J]. JOURNAL OF DESERT RESEARCH, 2016, 36(6): 1503-1511.

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Aeolian Sediment Flux and Grain Size over the Top Area of A Star Dune near the Crescent Moon Spring of Dunhuang under Westerly Winds

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