A Wireless Sensor Network for the Real-Time Remote Measurement of Aeolian Sand Transport on Sandy Beaches and Dunes.

Alessandro Pozzebon,Duccio Bertoni,Giovanni Sarti,Fernanda Alquini,Alessandro Mecocci,Irene Cappelli

doi:10.3390/s18030820

Alessandro Pozzebon, Duccio Bertoni + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/s18030820

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Abstract

Direct measurements of aeolian sand transport on coastal dunes and beaches is of paramount importance to make correct decisions about coast management. As most of the existing studies are mainly based on a statistical approach, the solution presented in this paper proposes a sensing structure able to orient itself according to wind direction and directly calculate the amount of wind-transported sand by collecting it and by measuring its weight. Measurements are performed remotely without requiring human action because the structure is equipped with a ZigBee radio module, which periodically sends readings to a local gateway. Here data are processed by a microcontroller and then transferred to a remote data collection centre, through GSM technology. The ease of installation, the reduced power consumption and the low maintenance required, make the proposed solution able to work independently, limiting human intervention, for all the duration of the expected experimental campaign. In order to analyze the cause-effect relationship between the transported sand and the wind, the sensing structure is integrated with a multi-layer anemoscope-anemometer structure. The overall sensor network has been developed and tested in the laboratory, and its operation has been validated in field through a 48 h measurement campaign.

Highlights

Sediment transport is a branch of sedimentology that has been deeply analyzed and studied [1,2,3,4].Every aspect related to sediments and grains depends on how they are entrained, distributed, and deposited
As a matter of fact, intense scientific production has been provided about sediment transport from a variety of environments: glacial [6,7], fluvial [8,9,10], marine [11,12,13], and coastal [14,15,16]; it has
The aim of this paper was to present a novel solution for the analysis of aeolian sand transport on sandy beaches and dunes

Summary

Introduction

Every aspect related to sediments and grains depends on how they are entrained, distributed, and deposited. That applies for each environment, even though the processes may be so different should the setting be marine, coastal, fluvial, or glacial. Grains are entrained as a function of particle size with increasing flow speed (except for cohesive sediment, such as clay and silt, which require higher erosion velocity as cohesive forces are significant), transported according to flow direction, and deposited once flow speed decreases under the critical velocity for deposition for each particle size [5]. As a matter of fact, intense scientific production has been provided about sediment transport from a variety of environments: glacial [6,7], fluvial [8,9,10], marine [11,12,13], and coastal [14,15,16]; it has

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