Related papers: Sand transverse dune aerodynamics: 3D Coherent Flo…
The simplest type of dune is the transverse one, which propagates with invariant profile orthogonally to a fixed wind direction. Here we show numerically and with a linear stability analysis that transverse dunes are unstable with respect…
Dunes are bedforms found on sandy terrains shaped by fluid flow on Earth, Mars, and other celestial bodies. Despite their prevalence, understanding dune dynamics at the grain scale is challenging due to the vast number of grains involved.…
Breaching of earthen or sandy dams/dunes by overtopping flow and waves is a complicated process with strong, unsteady flow, high sediment transport, and rapid bed changes in which the interactions between flow and morphology should not be…
Wind-driven sand transport generates atmospheric dust, forms dunes, and sculpts landscapes. However, it remains unclear how the sand flux scales with wind speed, largely because models do not agree on how particle speed changes with wind…
Sand fences are widely applied to prevent soil erosion by wind in areas affected by desertification. Sand fences also provide a way to reduce the emission rate of dust particles, which is triggered mainly by the impacts of wind-blown sand…
Early-stage bedforms develop into mature dunes through complex interactions between wind, sand transport and surface topography. Depending on varying environmental and wind conditions, the mechanism driving dune formation and, ultimately,…
Wind-blown sand, or "saltation", ejects dust aerosols into the atmosphere, creates sand dunes, and erodes geological features. We present a comprehensive numerical model of steady-state saltation that, in contrast to most previous studies,…
Barchans are crescent-shaped sand dunes forming in aride regions with unidirectional wind and limited sand supply. We report analytical and numerical results for dune shapes under different environmental conditions as obtained from the…
Wind topographically forced by hills and sand dunes accelerates on the upwind (stoss) slopes and reduces on the downwind (lee) slopes. This secondary wind regime, however, possesses a subtle effect, reported here for the first time from…
A porous fence can be used as a shelter to reduce wind-induced erosion and the dispersion of dust particles from sand piles. Although many experimental and numerical studies have been carried out to analyze the effect of a porous fence on…
Sand dunes are often covered by vegetation and biogenic crusts. Despite their significant role in dune stabilization, biogenic crusts have rarely been considered in studies of dune dynamics. Using a simple model, we study the existence and…
In several desert areas, the slow motion of sand dunes can be a challenge for modern human activities and a threat for the survival of ancient places or archaeological sites. However, several methods exist for surveying the dune fields and…
Sand dunes are ubiquitous in nature, and are found in abundance on Earth and other planetary environments. One of the most common types are crescent-shaped dunes known as barchans, whose mid-line could be assumed to behave as 2D dunes. In…
We present a minimal model for the formation and migration of aeolian sand dunes. It combines a perturbative description of the turbulent wind velocity field above the dune with a continuum saltation model that allows for saturation…
Emergence and growth of sand dunes results from the dynamic interaction between topography, wind flow and sediment transport. While feedbacks between these variables are well studied at the scale of a single and relatively small dune, the…
Coastal dune management often alters crest and lee geometry, yet quantifying the transport impact of small shape changes is difficult without heavy models. This paper presents a streamlined, field-anchored CFD workflow (AirSketcher) that…
In zones of loose sand, wind-blown sand dunes emerge due the linear instability of a flat sedimentary bed. This instability has been studied in experiments and numerical models but rarely in the field, due to the large time and length…
We present in this paper a simplification of the dune model proposed by Sauermann et al. which keeps the basic mechanisms but allows analytical and parametric studies. Two kinds of purely propagative two dimensional solutions are exhibited:…
The high dimensionality and complex dynamics of turbulent flows in urban street canyons present significant challenges for wind and environmental engineering, particularly in addressing air quality, pollutant dispersion, and extreme wind…
In landscape-scale experiments at the edge of the Gobi desert, we show that various dune types develop simultaneously under natural wind conditions. Using 4 years of high-resolution topographic data, we demonstrate that, depending on sand…