Related papers: A simple model for a transverse dune field
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:…
Crescentic shape dunes, known as barchan dunes, are formed by the action of a fluid flow on a granular bed. These bedforms are common in many environments, existing under water or in air, and being formed from grains organized in different…
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…
We demonstrate the feasibility of studying dunes in a laboratory experiment. It is shown that an initial sand pile, under a wind flow carrying sand, flattens and gets a shape recalling barchan dunes. An evolution law is proposed for the…
We propose a model to study the spatiotemporal dynamics of biocrust and vegetation cover on sand dunes. The model consists of two coupled partial nonlinear differential equations and includes diffusion and advection terms for modeling the…
We construct a driven sandpile slope model and study it by numerical simulations in one dimension. The model is specified by a threshold slope $\sigma_c\/$, a parameter $\alpha\/$, governing the local current-slope relation (beyond…
Several methods exist for surveying the dunes and estimate their migration rate. Among methods suitable for the macroscopic scale, the use of the satellite images available on Google Earth is a convenient resource, in particular because of…
In this paper we build models for short-term, mean-term and long-term dynamics of dune in desert. They are models that are degenerated parabolic equations which are, moreover, singularly perturbed. We, then give existence and uniqueness…
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…
Beautiful dune patterns can be found in deserts and along coasts due to the instability of a plain sheet of sand under the action of the wind. Barchan dunes are highly mobile aeolian dunes found in areas of low sand availability and…
Barchans are crescentic dunes propagating on a solid ground. They form dune fields in the shape of elongated corridors in which the size and spacing between dunes are rather well selected. We show that even very realistic models for…
Barchan dunes are found where sand availability is low and wind direction quite constant. The two dimensional shear stress of the wind field and the sand movement by saltation and avalanches over a barchan dune are simulated. The resulting…
Barchan dunes were found to transform into parabolic dunes and vice versa when the amount of vegetation on and around them changes. This work presents the first numerical simulation of this effect. We propose a continuum model for the…
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…
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…
Phylogenetic trees are simple models of evolutionary processes. They describe conditionally independent divergent evolution of taxa from common ancestors. Phylogenetic trees commonly do not have enough flexibility to adequately model all…
The structure of the barchan field located between Tarfaya and Laayoune (Atlantic Sahara, Morocco) is quantitatively investigated and compared to that in La Pampa de la Joya (Arequipa, Peru). On the basis of field measurements, we show how…
The tempo and mode of an adaptive process is strongly determined by the structure of the fitness landscape that underlies it. In order to be able to predict evolutionary outcomes (even on the short term), we must know more about the nature…
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…
The collision processes of two crescentic dunes called barchans are systematically studied using a simple computer simulation model. The simulated processes, coalescence, ejection and reorganization, qualitatively correspond to those…