Characteristics of dust emission from gobi surfaces

doi:10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2025.00068

Journal of Desert Research ›› 2025, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (3): 152-161.DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2025.00068

Characteristics of dust emission from gobi surfaces

Qingguo Zheng(), Chunlai Zhang(), Yajing Zhang, Xuesong Wang, Wenping Li, Fanrui Bu, Jiaqi Zhao, Xinran Cui, Zhishan Xia

National Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Disaster Risk Reduction / MOE Engineering Research Center of Desertification and Blown-Sand Control / Faculty of Geographical Science，Beijing Normal University，Beijing 100875，China

Received:2025-03-27 Revised:2025-05-10 Online:2025-05-20 Published:2025-06-30
Contact: Chunlai Zhang

Abstract

Abstract:

Dust emission from the gobi surface constitutes a significant natural geographical phenomenon in the arid regions of northwestern China. Current applications of dust emission models have inadequately accounted for the complex surface attributes of the gobi and exhibit insufficient simulation capabilities for dust particles across different size ranges. This study reveals that the PM₁₅ and PM_2.5emission fluxes from the gobi surface follow quadratic and quartic power functions with friction velocity， respectively， and show a linear positive correlation with sand transport rate. Dust emission efficiency decreases as friction velocity increases. The proportion of PM_2.5 in the total dust emission flux increases logarithmically with rising friction velocity and sand transport rate， while the proportion of PM_10-15 exhibits an opposite trend. Mobile sand patches in the gobi region significantly influence dust emission and transport. When no sand entrainment occurs on the surface， horizontal dust transport above the gobi surface primarily originates from windblown dust released by upwind mobile sand patches. The dust emission flux under conditions with patchily distributed mobile sand sources is double more than that without such sources. During surface wind erosion events， dust emissions from the gobi surface arise both from transported dust originating in mobile sand areas and from abrasion-induced release by saltating sand particles， with the latter dominating. In the absence of upwind mobile sand sources， gobi dust emissions are primarily controlled by wind velocity and the dust content in surface sediments.

Key words: gobi surface, wind erosion events, dust emission flux, dust transport

CLC Number:

P931.3

Qingguo Zheng, Chunlai Zhang, Yajing Zhang, Xuesong Wang, Wenping Li, Fanrui Bu, Jiaqi Zhao, Xinran Cui, Zhishan Xia. Characteristics of dust emission from gobi surfaces[J]. Journal of Desert Research, 2025, 45(3): 152-161.

Figures/Tables 8

Fig.1 Location of the study area and the surface conditions of observation points

Fig.2 Diagram of instruments and setup

Fig.3 Grain size composition of the gobi desert and aeolian sands

Fig.4 Temporal variation of surface wind speed， sand transport rate （A）， dust emission flux （B）， and horizontal flux （C） above the gobi surface

Fig.5 Relationship between dust emission， friction velocity， and sand transport rate

Fig.6 PM2.5 and PM10-15 emission flux variations and their proportion of total dust versus friction velocity

Fig.7 Variations in dust horizontal flux at different observation heights with friction velocity under upwind conditions with and without sand sources

Fig.8 Variations in dust emission flux with friction velocity under upwind conditions with and without sand sources

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Characteristics of dust emission from gobi surfaces

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