Sand Barrier Research Articles

Quantitative analysis of how different checkerboard sand barrier materials influence soil properties: a study from the eastern edge of the Tengger Desert, China

Sand encroachment is a serious problem in arid regions. Checkerboard barriers are commonly used as wind buffers and to stabilize soils at risk of desertification. These interventions can also improve soil nutrients. Checkboard sand barriers are widely used in arid regions, but different barrier types are seldom optimized for specific areas or land management objectives. This research studied how checkerboard barriers made of different types of materials influenced soil properties (soil organic carbon, available nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium, pH and soil moisture). These parameters were measured at various soil depths within test plots protected by eleven different types of checkerboard barrier material. Data were then analyzed by constructing a soil quality index (SQI) model based on coefficients identified by principal component analysis of soils at depths of 0–20, 20–40, 40–60 cm and for the complete 0–60 cm profile. The results generally found that barriers improve soil quality. They also showed significant variation in soil properties at different depths for different types of barrier material. For the 0–60 cm soil profile, barriers increased soil available nitrogen, available potassium, soil organic carbon and soil moisture but decreased soil available phosphorus and pH. The SQI values indicated that rice straw barriers optimized soil nutrients at soil depths of 0–20 cm, low vertical corn straw checkerboard barriers at soil depth of 20–40 cm, while 30 cm wide gravel checkerboard barriers optimized nutrients at 40–60 cm soil depth. Plots protected by low vertical branch barriers showed the greatest overall soil quality improvement for the complete 0–60 cm profile. This study found that corn straw, clay, 30 cm wide gravel and low vertical branch barriers can significantly protect and restore soils on the eastern edge of the Tengger Desert.

Holocene climate and environmental changes inferred from sediment characteristics and diatom assemblages in a core from Hwajinpo Lagoon, Korea

Hwajinpo is the largest lagoon in Korea and is located along the east coast of the country. It possesses Holocene sediments that provide an important record of past climate change. We studied the evolution of Hwajinpo Lagoon using grain size data and diatom assemblages in an 11.0-m core (HJ02), which was obtained at the mouth of a small river that drains into the lagoon. Core chronology was established with accelerator mass spectrometry 14C dates and optically stimulated luminescence dates. Diatom assemblages and grain size analysis revealed that estuarine conditions in the inner lagoon area transitioned to an open embayment ca. 8 ka as a result of sea-level rise. Around 7.8 ka, the open bay became a semi-closed bay as a consequence of development of a sand barrier. After the bay was semi-closed, marine water inflow was increasingly restricted as the sand barrier developed, and the semi-closed bay became a completely enclosed, low-salinity, brackish lagoon around 6 ka. There was an erosional hiatus between 5.5 and 1.7 ka (7.0 m depth), likely caused by river flooding and a switch in the location of drainage along the delta. The lagoon became oligohaline around 1.6 ka, likely because of increasing precipitation associated with an intensified Asian summer monsoon. This increase in precipitation resulted in expansion of the sand bar by sediment inflow, driven by agricultural development in the area. About 1000 years ago, the diatom assemblage was similar to the modern assemblage, suggesting the lagoon’s current geomorphic conditions had been established.

Seismic architecture of the tip of the Hel Peninsula, Poland

The article presents results of a pioneering research on the main geological features of the Hel Peninsula based on the analysis of seismic profiles and their comparison with geological cross-sections made on the basis of drillings. The following three parts of the tip structure have been identified: barrier basement (1), barrier core (2) and barrier upper part(3). Seismic facies distinguished therein were subsequently geologically interpreted as follows: Cretaceous marl and limestone (1.1), glacial till and diamicton (1.2), silt and clay of limnoglacial/limnic/marine origin (1.3), barrier sand of the core (2), and sand and peat of the barrier upper part(3). Geological cross-sections covering the geological structure of the tip of the Hel Peninsula underwater slope and the surrounding seabed. The slope base and the distal sand colluvium extent on the seafloor were determined. This paper is the first to present a crosswise section in this part of the Hel Peninsula.

Sedimentology and diagenetic evolution of the Neogene ‘Intermediate Sandstone Unit’ in the halite deposits of the Granada Basin (SE Spain): the turning point in the change from marine to continental sedimentation

The Granada Basin is a small (50 × 50 km) Neogene intramontane basin located in the central part of the Betic Cordillera (Spain). In the latest Tortonian, the Granada Basin desiccated and a thick salt succession formed, encompassing three halite-bearing units: the ‘Lower Halite Unit’, the ‘Intermediate Sandstone Unit’ (ISU), and the ‘Upper Halite Unit’ (UHU). ISU deposits record the onset of marine to non-marine conditions in the Granada Basin. The main purpose of this paper is to study the environment of formation and the diagenetic evolution of the ISU salt-bearing unit, in order to assess the events leading to and resulting from the continentalization of this basin in the late Miocene. This study includes visual core descriptions, petrographic (conventional petrography and scanning electron microscopy), and geochemical (δ34S and δ18O and 87Sr/86Sr) analyses. ISU deposition took place in a coastal lake, isolated from the open sea by a sand barrier. Lake evolution was from a very shallow, hypersaline lacustrine environment to a deeper, perennial lake undergoing frequent storm-induced marine flooding and, finally, to a shallower, perennial saline lake. Isotope analyses point to a mixture of different inflow waters, including marine- and underground (hydrothermal)-water inputs for the origin of the brines. Halite dissolution occurred after flooding events and clear-halite cement was precipitated inside primary-halite dissolution cavities. Early diagenesis involves halite re-crystallisation during repetitive, dissolution–precipitation cycles, gypsum replacement by halite, halite replacement by nodular anhydrite, and framboid pyrite formation. Intermediate- to late-diagenetic processes are silica (megaquartz, chalcedony, and lutecite) replacement of halite and anhydrite, and celestine replacement. Megaquartz formation relates to sulfate-depleted, UHU percolating brines. Chalcedony and lutecite crystallization took place sometime later from sulfate-rich percolating brines, during deposition of the gypsum sequence occurring on top of the salt. Celestine, replacing lutecite, resulted from the interaction with Sr-rich underground waters (via dissolution of previously formed celestine).

Acid rock drainage passive remediation using alkaline clay: Hydro-geochemical study and impacts of vegetation and sand on remediation

Acid rock drainage (ARD) is one of the most adverse environmental problems of the mine industry, especially in regions with an abundance of coal refuse (CR) deposits (e.g. the Northern Appalachian Coalfield in the USA) where surface and ground waters are affected by this pollution due to the acidity and high content of sulfates and heavy metals.This study explores the effectiveness of the ARD passive remediation method using alkaline clay (AC) through a series of static and long-term kinetic laboratory experiments (over three years) complemented with field measurements and geochemical modeling. Two important issues associated with this passive and auto-sustainable ARD remediation method were investigated: 1) the hydrogeochemical study of the mixture in terms of the percentages of AC and CR, and, 2) impacts of vegetation cover and a saturated sand barrier on the remediation. Both the field measurements and the samples used for the experiments came from a local coal waste site.Through the analysis of the field measurements and the outcome of the laboratory experiments and the geochemical modeling, alkaline clay proved to be an effective remediation material for ARD, in terms of achieving a neutral pH in the leachate and immobilization of sulfate and metals such as Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb, Cd, Co. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that the use of vegetation and a saturated sand barrier are beneficial. Vegetation acted as a phytoaccumulation/phytoextraction agent, causing an additional immobilization of metals. The saturated sand barrier blocked downward the oxygen and water diffusion, reducing pyrite oxidation rates. The proposed remediation approach ensures that the acidity consumption will likely occur before all the alkalinity is exhausted.

Changing Sediment Dynamics of a Mature Backbarrier Salt Marsh in Response to Sea-Level Rise and Storm Events

Our study analyses the long-term development of a tidal backbarrier salt marsh in the northern German Wadden Sea. The focus lies on the development of the high-lying, inner, mature part of the salt marsh, which shows a striking history of changing sediment dynamics. The analysis of high-resolution old aerial photographs and sampled sediment cores suggests that the mature part of the marsh was shielded by a sand barrier from the open sea for decades. The supply with fine-grained sediments occurred from the marsh inlet through the tidal channels to the inner salt marsh. Radiometric dating (210Pb and 137Cs) reveals that the sedimentation pattern changed fundamentally around the early-mid 1980s when the sedimentation rates increased sharply. By analyzing the photographic evidence, we found that the sand barrier was breached during storm events in the early 1980s. As a result, coarse-grained sediments were brought directly through this overwash from the sea to the mature part of the salt marsh and increased the sedimentation rates. We show that the overwash and the channels created by these storm events built a direct connection to the sea and reduced the distance to the sediment source which promoted salt marsh growth and a supply with coarse-grained sediments. Consequently, the original sediment input from the tidal channels is found to play a minor role in the years following the breach event. The presented study showcases the morphological development of a mature marsh, which contradicts the commonly accepted paradigm of decreasing sedimentation rates with increasing age of the marsh. We argue that similar trends are likely to be observed in other backbarrier marshes, developing in the shelter of unstabilized sand barriers. It further highlights the question of how resilient these salt marshes are toward sea level rise and how extreme storm events interfere in determining the resilience of a mature salt marsh.

Effect of Soil Type on Carrot Weevil Movement Behavior

To examine the effect of soil type on carrot weevil, Listronotus oregonensis, (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), movement behavior we conducted a series of laboratory arena experiments with the use of three soil types: mineral soil, organic soil and pure sand. We found that soil type influences carrot weevil burrowing activity and movement and showed that carrot weevil is more inclined to burrow into mineral and organic soils than pure sand and displays avoidance of the latter. While barriers constructed out of pure sand induced burrowing activity only in 3% of tested weevils, mineral and organic soil barriers initiated burrowing in 67% and 38% of tested weevils respectively. All weevils crossed pure sand barriers, whereas 18% (mineral soil) and 6% (organic soil) were arrested and engaged in burrowing activities. In addition, carrot weevil movement behavior at the border of two substrates, revealed high edge permeability of mineral and organic soils and reduced permeability of pure sand edges. Over 70% of weevils released on organic soil ended up not crossing the border with another substrate. All tested weevils released on pure sand crossed the border within less than 1 min. Replication of the experiments with autoclaved soil suggested that the observed differences in carrot weevil movement behavior were largely due to soil texture and not strongly influenced by micro-organisms or odor.

To study origin and morphologic assessment of Bayan lake, western Mongolia

Information about the origin of some lakes is out in previous studies on the genetics and morphology of lakes in Mongolia. One example of these is the genetics of Bayan nuur. If we look at the morphology of the lake basin using a morpho-structure method based on previous studies, it is seen that it matches with the orthogonal fault of the Bayan lake basin. Bayan lake originated by tectonic fault is a freshwater lake supplied with the deep water. In other words, thaw depression at the southwest coast of Bayan lake basin is related to the tectonic fault from northwest to the southeast (non-barrier). It leads to a condition that water resource of the lake is supplied with the deep water which is contained in sediment for the Quaternary Glacial Period. Cross section between main fault and crustal fault at the east coast of Bayan lake basin from northeast to the southwest presents the orthogonal compound fault. If we look at overlaying depth of the lake with its area, volume, and isobath, it is seen that the origin of the lake is related to transfer of sands at the south side of the lake without a sand barrier. Thus it confirms that Bayan lake originated in depression along tectonic fault.

Experimental study of barrier effect on moisture movement and mechanical behaviors of loess soil

The moisture movement is of great significance to the long-term performance of loess subgrade since it leads to prominent changes in mechanical behaviors of soil. The capillary barrier system has proven to be effective to resist the moisture movement from capillary rise and water infiltration. In this paper, the capillary barrier effect on the moisture movement and mechanical behavior in loess soil was investigated experimentally. In the experiment of capillary rise, the water front rises quickly in the loess specimen and keeps stable after 32 days. However, there is no significant rise of capillary water in the specimen compacted with gravel layer. The difference of moisture movement is evaluated by measuring the volumetric water content using the Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) system. The effect of coarse sand barrier on the water infiltration is also investigated, and it is found that, the coarse sand barrier could effectively decreases the rate of water downwards infiltration and provides the temporary water storage so that the water won't infiltrate into the loess layer immediately comparing with the loess specimen. After that, the mechanical property of the specimens is evaluated through the cone penetration test and loading test. The cone tip resistance and load-settlement relationship are analyzed, and the influence of capillary barrier on the characteristic of loess soil is explored. It is concluded that the existence of capillary barrier could effectively decreases the possibility of moisture movement and improve the mechanical behavior of loess soil in terms of strength and deformation.

Analysis of Tide and Offshore Storm‐Induced Water Table Fluctuations for Structural Characterization of a Coastal Island Aquifer

AbstractAnalysis of water table fluctuations can provide important insight into the hydraulic properties and structure of a coastal aquifer system including the connectivity between the aquifer and ocean. This study presents an improved approach for characterizing a permeable heterogeneous coastal aquifer system through analysis of the propagation of the tidal signal, as well as offshore storm pulse signals through a coastal aquifer. Offshore storms produce high wave activity, but are not necessarily linked to significant onshore precipitation. In this study, we focused on offshore storm events during which no onshore precipitation occurred. Extensive groundwater level data collected on a sand barrier island (Sable Island, NS, Canada) show nonuniform discontinuous propagation of the tide and offshore storm pulse signals through the aquifer with isolated inland areas showing enhanced response to both oceanic forcing signals. Propagation analysis suggests that isolated inland water table fluctuations may be caused by localized leakage from a confined aquifer that is connected to the ocean offshore but within the wave setup zone. Two‐dimensional groundwater flow simulations were conducted to test the leaky confined‐unconfined aquifer conceptualization and to identify the effect of key parameters on tidal signal propagation in leaky confined‐unconfined coastal aquifers. This study illustrates that analysis of offshore storm signal propagation, in addition to tidal signal propagation, provides a valuable and low resource approach for large‐scale characterization of permeable heterogeneous coastal aquifers. Such an approach is needed for the effective management of coastal environments where water resources are threatened by human activities and the changing climate.

Long-term Qualitative Changes in Fish Populations and Aquatic Habitat in San Mateo Creek Lagoon, Northern San Diego County, California

Abstract Patterns of abundance were documented for 17 species of fish in the lagoon at the mouth of San Mateo Creek, northern San Diego County, California from occasional observations (1974-1997) and multiple samples per year (1998-2008). Fish populations varied with Mediterranean climate patterns of rainfall, stream flow and consequent breaching of the lagoon to the ocean through the barrier sand berm. Two near-record rainfall seasons occurred during this period; the 1997-1998 El Nino due to southern storms and the 2004-2005 winter wet season of more usual storms from the north and northwest. The lagoon stabilized as fresh to brackish in the dry season and for multiple years during successive drier winters. Closed conditions benefitted the native, federally endangered southern tidewater goby, Eucyclogobius kristinae, but were less suitable for other native estuarine species more common in wetter years. Wet year flows also reduced non-native freshwater species; some thrived and increased predation pressur...

From Checkerboard-Like Sand Barriers to 3D Cu@CNF Composite Current Collectors for High-Performance Batteries.

While the architecture, surface morphology, and electrical conductivity of current collectors may significantly affect the performance of electrochemical cells, many challenges still remain in design and cost‐effective fabrication of highly efficient current collectors for a new generation of energy storage and conversion devices. Here the findings in design and fabrication of a 3D checkerboard‐like Cu@CNF composite current collector for lithium‐ion batteries are reported. The surface of the current collector is modified with patterned grooves and amorphous carbon nanofibers, imitating the checkerboard‐like sand barriers in desert regions. Due to a combined effect of the grooves and the carbon nanofibers, a battery based on this current collector retains a reversible capacity of 410.1 mAh g−1 (beyond the theoretical capacity of carbonaceous materials of 372 mAh g−1) with good capacity retention (greater than 84.9% of the initial capacity after 50 cycles), resulting in 66.2% and 42.6% improvement in reversible capacity and capacity retention, respectively, compared to the batteries using traditional Cu current collectors. Based on the excellent electrochemical performance, this composite current collector is believed to be an attractive alternative to the traditional commercially used current collectors for the anode of high‐power energy storage systems.

Evaluation of the new coastal protection scheme at Mamaia Bay in the nearshore of the Black Sea

The target area of the proposed study, Mamaia beach, is a narrow stretch of sand barrier island that sits between the Siutghiol Lake and the Black Sea. In the northern part of the bay, is located the Midia Port, where between 1966 and 1971 a long extension of 5 km of the offshore was built. Because of this extension, the natural flow of sediments has been significantly changed. Thus, the southern part of the Mamaia Bay had less sand nourishment which meant that the coast was eroding and to prevent it a protection of six dikes was built. After approximately forty years of coastal erosion, the south of the Mamaia Bay had in 2016 a new protection scheme, which includes first of all the beach nourishment and a new dike structure (groins scheme for protection) to protect it. From this perspective, the objective of the proposed study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the old Master plan against the new one by modeling the outcome of the two scenarios and to perform a comparison with a third one, in which the protection dikes do not exist and only the artificial nourishment has been done. In order to assess the wave processes and the current patterns along the shoreline, a complex computational framework has been applied in the target area. This joins the SWAN spectral phase averaged model with the 1D surf model. Furthermore, new UAV technology was also used to map out, chart and validate the numerical model outputs within the target zone for a better evaluation of the trends expected in the shoreline dynamics.

The Study of Sand-blocking Characteristic and Flow Field Simulation Analysis of the Ring-shaped Sand-barrier

Aiming at the complexity of wind direction and irregular sand flow in a desert area, a combinatorial ring-shaped sand barrier is used. Stokes law of inertia force and centrifugal force and gravity sedimentation are used. With CFD fluid software Fluent, laminar flow model Equation and κ-ε turbulence model, the wind speed of the sand in the sand-gas-solid two-phase flow passing through the circular sand barrier is studied at different distances and different altitudes after the sand barrier, the wind speeds before and after the sand barrier are compared and analyzed . The mean minimum wind speed behind the single sand barrier was reduced by 32.5% -49.4% compared with that before the sand barrier. The wind speed at different height of the composite sand barrier was reduced by 30% -58.3% compared with the inlet wind speed, which solved the problem of irregular wind and sand control in the desert wind direction.

Kanał do zdobycia – egipskie założenia przeprawy przez Kanał Sueski w przededniu wojny październikowej z 1973 roku

W wyniku wojny czerwcowej z 1967 r. Izrael opanował egipski Półwysep Synaj. Linią rozdzielającą obie strony stał się Kanał Sueski. Izrael, aby zabezpieczyć swój stan posiadania i uchronić się przed nową wojną, wybudował na wschodnim brzegu Kanału system fortyfikacji zwany linią Bar-Leva. Armia egipska, chcąc odzyskać utracony obszar, musiała opracować plany przekroczenia Kanału Sueskiego, a co za tym idzie – uwzględnić specyfikę budowy Kanału, warunki hydrograficzne i system opracowany przez Izraelczyków, w tym bariery z piasku, zagrożenie wywołane pożarem na Kanale. Egipcjanie musieli również opracować sposób przeprawienia się wojsk korpusu inżynieryjnego, piechoty, a następnie czołgów. Wszystkie kwestie zawierał plan opracowany przez S. Shazlyego zwany operacją „Badr”, a skuteczność planowania potwierdzona została 6 października 1973 r., w dniu rozpoczęcia wojny październikowej.

Solid barriers for windblown sand mitigation: Aerodynamic behavior and conceptual design guidelines

Protection from windblown-sand is one of the key engineering issues for construction and maintenance of human infrastructures in arid environments. In the last century, several barriers with different shapes have been proposed in order to overcome this problem, but literature lacks of a systematic performance quantitative analysis, and the key geometric parameters that promote sedimentation have not been yet recognized. A deep understanding of the aerodynamics effects of sand barrier on the flow is an unavoidable step to achieve these objectives. The present computational study aims to comparatively analyze different kinds of windblown sand mitigation solid barriers, clarify their working principles, extract from the aerodynamics analysis key geometrical features of the barriers and relate them to the sand trapping performances. Approximated metrics for performance assessment are introduced using aerodynamic parameters. The performances of an innovative solid barrier and the ones of commonly used solid barriers are compared in terms of these metrics. The effects of incoming wind velocity profiles on sand trapping performances are evaluated as well. An empirical dimensionless performance estimator is proposed and used to provide general design guidelines.

Prehistoric occupation and palaeoenvironmental changes along Santa Catarina's Coastal Plain, Brazil: An integrated approach based on palynological data

Climate change and sea level variation during the Quaternary shaped the southernmost Santa Catarina's Coastal Plain and its landscape, promoting vegetation changes and different geomorphological features that resulted in the formation of sand barriers, relocation of fluvial channels, lagoons and rivers. In this context, prehistoric occupation of the territory took place through different migratory events over the Holocene. This study presents a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the last 8000years BP, based on pollen analysis from the core collected in Campo Mãe Luzia natural deposit (Araranguá municipality, SC, Brazil). The palynological, sedimentary, chronological and altimetric records were integrated with a revision of the archaeological data, allowing for the contextualization of the different groups within each environmental phase. Three distinct palaeoenvironmental phases are suggested for the last 8000 years BP: Phase I, characterized as an estuarine-lagoon environment, with no reports of human occupation; Phase II, a transition between the lagoon environment and the gradual formation of a coastal swamp, followed by an expansion of the sandy coastal barrier; Phase III, characterized by Atlantic rain forest development and their colonization. Human occupation was registered in the last two phases, with settlements of hunter-gatherer groups, sambaquis builders, and Meridional Jê and Guarani groups.

New evidence of relative sea-level stability during the post-6000 Holocene on the Banc d'Arguin (Mauritania)

Morphological investigations on the northwest coastal plain of Mauritania (Banc d'Arguin) lead to a revised post-6000yrs. BP sea-level curve. The region is characterized by extensive sand flats occasionally surmounted by low sand barriers. These barriers pick out a set of paleoshorelines attributed to the six episodes defined by Dia (2013). Morphological evidence of the extreme flatness of the coastal plain is provided by topographic transects based on total-station surveys. Index points distributed throughout the second half of the Holocene are defined in relation to the position of the barrier sole, which is adjusted to the upper limit of the berm uprush. The elevation of index points is related to the mean sea level (MSL) through an assessment of the various errors likely to affect the results. Over the period since ca. 7000cal yr BP, the measured elevations remain within a few decimetres of the present-day sea level. This implies that, throughout this time interval, sea level in the Mauritanian region oscillated within the usual range of natural variations, whereas oscillations of larger magnitude prevailed elsewhere. Because the study area is tectonically stable, the glacio-eustatic adjustment due to hydro-isostatic effects is of minor importance in Mauritania and the relative sea level (RSL) has responded solely to the eustatic component. Therefore, we would expect to find some record of ocean syphoning through a gradual emergence of the land after the mid-Holocene marine transgression and the subsequent development of vertically stepped paleoshorelines. The absence of such evidence raises the question of whether the drop in RSL was compensated by continuing deglaciation during the post-6000 Holocene.

Seasonal variation of training, competition load and markers of wellness in an elite Gaelic football team

Constraining the timing of the postglacial transgression is of great significance to the origin of coastal wetlands distributed extensively in eastern China. The high-resolution chronological sequence from Xixi Wetland enabled us to explore interactions among the postglacial transgression, sedimentary response, and human activities in the surrounding Hangzhou Bay. Diversities of 12 ostracods, 24 foraminifera and remains of oyster shells, gastropods, testate amoebae, diatoms, and vascular plants are indicative of the sedimentary facies. Grain size variables together with microfaunal records revealed seven stages of sedimentary evolution since the middle Late Pleistocene: initial riverbed, first transgression event, floodplain, early lagoon, shallow marine bay, late lagoon, and final freshwater marsh. The Xixi Basin experienced two distinct transgression events and sea-level changes inferred from assemblages of ostracods and foraminifera. The first transgression event is a minor transgression related to the moderate intensity of Asian Monsoon and moderately high sea level during the early MIS 3. The second large-scale transgression event established the sedimentary pattern of the modern Xixi Basin. The finding of the transgression maximum in the early Holocene (about 11.0–7.0 cal ka BP) highlighted the problem of reliable time of high sea level, which is tightly related to the strong Asian Monsoon intensity and global rising sea level. Subsequent changes in the sedimentary environment played a key role on the Neolithic human activities around the Hangzhou Bay. The origin of the Xixi Wetland reflected the combined effects of a sand barrier and rising human activities since the middle Holocene.

Evolution Characteristics and Development Trends of Sand Barriers

Abstract: Sand barriers are one of the main measures used to prevent desertification and have been widely used in desertification control. Here, we use bibliometric methods and content analysis to summarize sand barrier type, applications and research. Existing problems in research are pointed out and revolution characteristics and development trends of sand barriers are discussed. We conclude that three main driving factors have stimulated sand barrier study: demand, technology and development concept. Developing environmentally friendly technology and promoting industrialization of sand area economies are future directions for sand barrier research.