Experimental verification of aeolian saltation and lee side deposition models

Abstract

ABSTRACTWe report results of experiments intended to test the validity of a model for aeolian saltation and the resulting pattern of deposition on the lee side of aeolian dunes. In steady sea‐breeze conditions on a 3‐m‐tall dune at Point Año Nuevo, California, we measured simultaneously the near‐brink wind speed and the deposition on both horizontal and lee face collector platforms. We then used the details of the deposition patterns to constrain approximate values of parameters in a numerical model of the deposition rate that incorporates the essence of the saltation process. Best fits to the data constrain a parameter that controls the probability distribution of liftoff speeds. In addition, the total vertical number flux of grains is constrained to roughly 107−108 grains m−2 s−1 at shear velocities of 0.33–0.40 m s−1. The lee side deposition pattern, which shows the expected maximum in deposition rate at a distance of several decimetres from the brink, is also well fit by the model. In addition, simultaneous collection of horizontal and lee deposition patterns, along with the numerical simulation of these patterns, strongly implies that the windfield in the lee of this particular dune is best described as a non‐recirculating wake. Grainflows on the lee face are caused by failure of grainfall depositional bumps. Our results suggest that the principal effect of increased wind speed is to increase the frequency of grainflows. rather than to increase their size, implying that very large, thick grainflows require a different mechanism.