Contemporary research in aeolian geomorphology

Abstract

The first International Conference on Aeolian Geomorphology (ICAR) was held in 1986, and every four years since then, aeolian geomorphologists from around the world have assembled to discuss their research and to showcase recent advancements in understanding and modeling of aeolian processes. A content analysis of the “Bibliography of Aeolian Research” [Stout, J.E., Warren, A., Gill, T.E., 2009. Publication trends in aeolian research: An analysis of the Bibliography of Aeolian Research. Geomorphology 105, 6–17 (this volume)] shows that the number of publications on aeolian topics has increased exponentially from the mid-20th Century with approximately 50 publications per year to about 500 publications per year when the first ICAR was held, to almost 1000 publications per year currently. Areas of focus have shifted historically from initial concerns with aeolian erosion and dust events as isolated phenomenon of localized curiosity or only regional importance, to comprehensive physically-based investigations and modeling of the mechanics of aeolian transport. Recently, more applied studies have been motivated by the recognition of the importance of aeolian processes to dust emissions into the atmosphere (with relevance for human health and for meteorological conditions and climate change) and within regional management contexts (especially on coasts where impending sea-level rise is of great concern and in arid and semi-arid environments given the dependence of sediment surface stability and remobilization on meteorological and ecological conditions). Aeolian geomorphology is a rapidly growing sub-discipline of Geomorphology that offers rich opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations with colleagues from the Atmospheric Sciences, Climatology, Sedimentology, Quaternary Geology, Fluid Mechanics, Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Physical Geography, Ecology, and Agricultural Sciences, as well as our counterparts in fluvial, coastal, and arid-lands geomorphology who are similarly concerned with fluid-sediment interactions and the consequent genesis of landforms.