A continuously weighing, high frequency sand trap: Wind tunnel and field evaluations

作者:Yang, Fan; Yang, XingHua; Huo, Wen; Ali, Mamtimin; Zheng, XinQian; Zhou, ChengLong; He, Qing*
来源:Geomorphology, 2017, 293: 84-92.
DOI:10.1016/j.geomorph.2017.04.008

摘要

A new continuously weighing, high frequency sand trap (CWHF) has been designed. Its sampling efficiency is evaluated in a wind tunnel and the potential of the new trap has been demonstrated in field trials. The newly designed sand trap allows fully automated and high frequency measurement of sediment fluxes over extensive periods. We show that it can capture the variations and structures of wind-driven sand transport processes and horizontal sediment flux, and reveal the relationships between sand transport and meteorological parameters. Its maximum sampling frequency can reach 10 Hz. Wind tunnel tests indicated that the sampling efficiency of the CWHF sand trap varies between 39.2 to 64.3%, with an average of 52.5%. It achieved a maximum sampling efficiency of 64.3% at a wind speed of 10 m s(-1). This is largely achieved by the inclusion of a vent hole which leads to a higher sampling efficiency than that of a step-like sand trap at high wind speeds. In field experiments, we show a good agreement between the mass of sediment from the CWHF sand trap, the wind speed at 2 m and the number of saltating particles at 5 cm above the ground surface. According to analysis of the horizontal sediment flux at four heights from the CWHF sand trap (25, 35, 50, and 100 cm), the vertical distribution of the horizontal sediment flux up to a height of 100 cm above the sand surface follows an exponential function. Our field experiments show that the new instrument can capture more detailed information on sediment transport with much reduced labor requirement. Therefore, it has great potential for application in wind-blown sand monitoring and process studies.

  • 出版日期2017-9-15
  • 单位中国气象局乌鲁木齐沙漠气象研究所