Comparison of equilibrium sand transport rate model predictions with an extended dataset of field experiments at dry beaches with long fetch distance

Abstract

New experiments on aeolian sand transport have been conducted on two Belgian beaches in the period between 2016 and 2018. Meteorological variables and aeolian sand transport rates were simultaneously measured on the subaerial beach. The field study aims to provide insight into the relationship between the transport rate of dry sand and shear velocity. Previous results from similar field studies were included to extend the dataset. Various aeolian sand transport models, predicting equilibrium transport rates for dry sand, were evaluated. The key parameter in all these aeolian models is the shear velocity (u*) derived from the measured velocity profiles. Mean shear velocities at the Belgian beaches were averaged over 10-minute periods and ranged from 0.2 to 0.7 m/s. Transport rates of dry sand ranged from 2 to 37 g/m/s. Zingg’s 1953 model produced the best results for the field data. Still, a large variability is found in the datapoints, advocating the need of high-quality field data on aeolian sediment transport.