Abstract
Tazhong is the hinterland and a sandstorm high-frequency area of the Taklimakan Desert. However, little is known about the detailed time-series of aeolian sand transport in this area. An experiment to study the sand-dust horizontal flux of near-surface was carried out in Tazhong from January to December 2009. By measuring the sand-dust horizontal flux throughout sixteen sand-dust weather processes with a 200-cm tall Big Spring Number Eight (BSNE) sampler tower, we quantitatively analyzed the vertical variation of the sand-dust horizontal flux. And the total sand-dust horizontal flux of different time-series that passed through a section of 100 cm in width and 200 cm in height was estimated combining the data of saltation movement continuously recorded by piezoelectric saltation sensors (Sensit). The results indicated that, in the surface layer ranging from 0–200 cm, the intensity of sand-dust horizontal flux decreased with the increase of the height, and the physical quantities obeyed power function well. The total sand-dust horizontal flux of the sixteen sand-dust weather processes that passed through a section of 100 cm in width and 200 cm in height was about 2,144.9 kg, the maximum of one sand-dust weather event was about 396.3 kg, and the annual total sand-dust horizontal flux was about 3,903.2 kg. The high levels of aeolian sand transport occurred during daytime, especially from 13:00 to 16:00 in the afternoon. We try to develop a new method for estimation of the detailed time-series of aeolian sand transport.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baas A C W. 2004. Evaluation of saltation flux impact responders (Safires) for measuring instantaneous aeolian sand transport intensity. Geomorphology, 59: 99–118.
Bagnold R A. 1941. The Physics of Blown Sand and Desert Dunes. New York: Methuen.
Bauer B O, Namikas S L. 1998. Design and field test of a continuously weighing, tipping-bucket assembly for aeolian sand traps. Earth Surface Processes Landforms, 23: 1173–1183.
Butterfield G R. 1991. Grain transport rates in steady and unsteady turbulent airflows. Acta Mechanica, 1: 97–122.
Chen W, Yang Z, Zhang J, et al. 1996. Vertical distribution of wind-blown sand flux in the surface layer, Taklamakan Desert, Central Asia. Physical Geography, 17: 193–218.
Chepil W S. 1946. Dynamics of wind erosion: V. Cumulative intensity of soil drifting across eroding fields. Soil Science, 61: 257–263.
Davidson-arnott R G D, Mac-Quarrie K, Aagaard T. 2005. The effect of wind gusts, moisture content and fetch length on sand transport on a beach. Geomorphology, 68: 115–129.
Dong Z B, Man D Q, Luo W Y, et al. 2010. Horizontal aeolian sediment flux in the Minqin area, a major source of Chinese dust storms. Geomorphology, 116: 58–66.
Dong Z B, Qian G Q., Luo W Y, et al. 2006. Analysis of the mass flux profiles of an aeolian saltating cloud. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 111, D16111. doi: 10.1029/2005 JD006630.
Ellis J T, Morrison R F, Priest B H. 2009. Detecting impacts of sand grains with a microphone system in field conditions. Geomorphology, 105: 87–94.
Fryrear D W. 1986. A field dust sampler. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 41: 117–120.
Fryrear D W. 1991. Soil losses by wind erosion. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 59: 668–672.
Fryrear D W, Saleh A. 1993. Field wind erosion: vertical distribution. Soil Science, 155: 294–300.
Gillette D A, Fryrear D W, Xiao J B, et al. 1997. Large-scale variability of wind erosion mass flux rates at Owens Lake: I. Vertical profiles of horizontal mass fluxes of wind-eroded particles with diameter greater than 50 μm. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 102: 25977–25987.
Jackson D W T. 1996. A new instantaneous aeolian sand trap design for field use. Sedimentology, 43: 791–796.
Kawamura R. 1951. Study on sand movement by wind. Report of Institution of Science and Technology. Tokyo: University of Tokyo.
Liu T S. 2009. Loess and Arid Environment. Hefei: Anhui Science and Technology Press.
McTainsh G, Strong C. 2007. The role of aeolian dust in ecosystems. Geomorphology, 89: 39–54.
Nickling W G. 1978. Eolian sediment transport during dust storms: Slims River Valley, Yukon Territory. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 15: 1069–1084.
Qian Z A, Song M H, Li W Y. 2002. Analyses on distributive variation and forecast of sand-dust storms in recent 50 years in North China. Journal of Desert Research, 2: 106–111.
Sensit Company. 2007. Technical Description for the New Model H11-LIN. Portland: Sensit Company, 13–14.
Shao Y, McTainsh G H, Leys J F. 1993. Efficiency of sediment samplers for wind erosion measurement. Australian Journal of Soil Research, 31(4): 519–531.
Stout J E. 1989. Performance of a windblown-particle sampler. Transactions of the ASAE, 32(6): 2041–2045.
Stout J E, Warren A, Gill T E. 2009. Publication trends in aeolian research: an analysis of the bibliography of aeolian research. Geomorphology, 105: 6–17.
Sun J M, Liu T S. 2006. The age of the Taklimakan Desert. Science, 312: 1621.
Udo K. 2009. New method for estimation of aeolian sand transport rate using ceramic sand flux sensor (UD-101). Sensors, 9: 9058–9072.
Van-donk S J, Huang X, Skidmoren E L, et al. 2003. Wind erosion from military training lands in the Mojave Desert, California, USA. Journal of Arid Environments, 54: 687–703.
Vories E D, Fryrear D W. 1991. Vertical distribution of wind-eroded soil over a smooth, bare field. Transactions of the ASAE, 34(4): 1763–1768.
Wang S G, Dong G R, Chen H Z, et al. 2000. Advances in studying sand-dust storms of China. Journal of Desert Research, 4: 349–356.
Wang X, Ma Y, Chen H W, et al. 2003. Analysis on the climatic characteristics of sandstorms in south Xinjiang. Journal of Desert Research, 2: 147–151.
Wang T. 2011. Sand control project in China. Beijing: Science Press, 86–93.
Zhang Z C, Dong Z B, Zhao A G. 2011. The characteristics of aeoliansediment flux profiles in the south-eastern Tengger Desert. Sedimentology, 58: 1884–1894.
Zhao T L, Gong S L, Zang X Y, et al. 2006. A simulated climatology of Asian dust aerosol and its transpacific transport. Part I: Mean climate and validation. Journal of Climate, 19: 88–103.
Zhao X. 1993. Damages and countermeasures of catastrophic sandstorm occurred in Gansu province. Journal of Desert Research, 13: 1–7.
Zhou Z J, Wang X W, Niu R Y. 2002. Climate characteristics of sandstorm in China in recent 47 years. Journal of Applied Meteorological Science, 2: 193–200.
Zingg A W. 1953. Wind tunnel studies of the movement of sedimentary material. 5th Hydraulic Conference Proceedings. Iowa: Iowa Institute of Hydraulic.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yang, X., He, Q., Ali, M. et al. Near-surface sand-dust horizontal flux in Tazhong—the hinterland of the Taklimakan Desert. J. Arid Land 5, 199–206 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-013-0159-x
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-013-0159-x