Aeolian sand transport over a wet, sandy beach

Abstract

• Substantial transport occurs below Belly’s (1964) fluid threshold. • Particles in transport exhibit high moisture contents. • Vertical flux profiles deviate from those observed over dry beds. • Transport flux models predict motion below the fluid threshold for wet beds. Quantifying aeolian transport within the intertidal zone is critical to understanding feedbacks between aeolian and nearshore processes in coastal environments. Here, we report a field study of aeolian transport over a wet bed in the intertidal zone. Predominate winds and beach orientation were aligned during all field observations. Mean grain size of bed samples were 0.18 mm and moisture content ranged from 16 to 17%. Velocity profiles were measured with a vertical array of cup anemometers. Sustained wind velocities were 9.5 m/s at 93 cm above the bed with gusts reaching 13.5 m/s. Five saltation traps captured particles in transport from the bed to a height of 15 cm. Particles in transport were wet and the highest moisture content of trapped sediments was found in the lowest saltation trap. Vertical flux profiles show a higher concentration of flux closer to the bed (81 to 89% below 5 cm) than those measured over dry beds. Power and exponential decay functions were fit to our vertical flux profiles; the exponential decay function best fit flux profiles with larger β coefficients and smaller α estimates than those fit to dry bed profiles. Total flux models predict transport below Belly’s (1964) fluid threshold of motion for moist beds and model performance improves when using a threshold for dry sand. Our results suggest transport over wet beds is fundamentally different from transport over dry beds. However, more research is needed to discern the mechanics driving deviations in flux profiles over wet beds in field environments.