Wind Turbulence Effects on Dune Sand Transport.

Udo, K., 2016. Wind Turbulence Effects on Dune Sand Transport. In: Vila-Concejo, A.; Bruce, E.; Kennedy, D.M., and McCarroll, R.J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Coastal Symposium (Sydney, Australia). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 75, pp. 333-337. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. This study involved field experiment of instantaneous wind velocity, angle, and aeolian sand flux on a coastal dune and numerical simulation of spatial wind fields to analyze the effects of wind turbulence on aeolian sand transport. The field data demonstrate that horizontal turbulence intensity is approximated by a power equation of mean horizontal wind velocity and has a negative relationship with the mean wind velocity in various wind conditions. Horizontal turbulence intensity also has a negative relationship with the aeolian sand flux in various wind conditions, indicating the potential for introducing the turbulence intensity into the aeolian sand transport equation. The wind field simulated with a large eddy simulation (LES) model has reasonable wind characteristics consistent with ground elevation change measured in the field. However, results indicate accurate simulation of vertical wind velocity and both horizontal and vertical turbulence intensity is a great challenge compared to simulation of horizontal velocity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]