Evolution of windblown sand flux and dune field — Trans-scale modeling and simulation

Abstract

Windblown sand flux and dune field evolving toward the oasis have been a common ecological and environmental threat confronted by many countries. Meanwhile, it is also a kind of complex dynamical process involving multiple temporal and spatial scales which is still out of accurate description through current field observations. Available models and reliable quantitative simulations are of significant value to predict the spreading rate of desertification and provide an optimal design for sand prevention. This paper presents a “triple-jump” method to realize quantitative simulations to the formation and evolution of an aeolian dune field from an arbitrary initial configuration. Simulated results achieve a satisfactory agreement with observations qualitatively and quantitatively, which also reveal the characteristics and dynamical behaviors of dunes and dune field. Such a paradigm is of a good level of generality, which provides an exploratory probe into the subject of multi-scale physics.