Dynamic Changes of Typical Blowouts Based on High-Resolution Data: A Case Study in Hulunbuir Sandy Land, China

Abstract

Blowouts are an important ground indication of wind-sand activity in the Hulunbuir grassland. They include two basic geomorphologic units, erosion depression and sand deposition, and three typical morphological types: saucer type, trough type, and compound type. In this study, the dynamic changes of typical blowouts within the past decade were analyzed via multiperiod high-resolution remote sensing images. RTK was used to repeatedly measure the blowouts to obtain their high-precision 3D terrain data in 2010, 2011, and 2012. Short-term dynamic changes in 3D blowout morphology were carefully analyzed to discover the following. (1) From 2002 to 2012, the depressions of typical blowouts exhibited downwind extension and lateral expansion trends, as they continuously grew in size. Regarding the sand deposition zones, those of the saucer blowout grew continuously, while those of the trough and compound blowouts fluctuated between growth and contraction. (2) The erosion depression of saucer blowouts eroded downward and spread horizontally; that of trough blowouts first accumulated then eroded but also spread horizontally. The erosion depression of compound blowouts exhibited horizontal spreading accompanied with bottom accumulation. The sand deposition zones of all three types of blowouts exhibited decreasing length with increasing width and height.