Aeolian-climatic thresholds and sand dunes at the Hanford site, south-central Washington, U.S.A.

Abstract

Aeolian-climatic thresholds are quantified using time sequence analysis of 1948-87 aeolian and climatic data from the Hanford Site, south-central Washington. Calculations indicate that 30 unvegetated sand dunes will maintain their total 1987 volume if they are exposed to a climate having an average annual precipitation, wind speed, and temperature of approximately 15·5 cm, 3·5 ms −1 , and 11·8°C, respectively. Calculations also show that if average 1948-87 climate conditions continue for the next approximately 10–15 years, the volume of unvegetated dune sand in the dunes studied will decrease by approximately 18%. Aeolian-climatic projections are based on the assumptions that there will be no major changes in human, animal, or botanical impact on the surface and no major variations from historical seasonal climatic patterns.