Effect of stones on the sand saltation threshold during natural sand and dust storms in a stony desert in Tsogt-Ovoo in the Gobi Desert,Mongolia

Non-erodible elements such as stones and vegetation are key to controlling wind erosion and dust emission in drylands.Stony deserts are widely distributed in the Gobi Desert,but the effect of stones on wind erosion and dust emission have not been well studied,except under artificial conditions.In this study,we evaluated the effect of stones on wind erosion and dust emission by measuring the sand saltation threshold in a stony desert in Tsogt-Ovoo in the Gobi Desert,Mongolia,under natural surface conditions during sand and dust storms.We quantified the amount of stones by measuring the roughness density,and determined the threshold friction velocity for sand saltation by measuring wind speed and sand saltation count.Our results showed that the threshold friction velocity increased with the roughness density of stones.In the northern part of the study area,where neither a surface crust nor vegetation was observed,the roughness density of stones was 0.000 in a topographic depression(TD),0.050 on a northern slope(N.SL),and 0.160 on the northern mountain(N.MT).The mean threshold friction velocity values were 0.23,0.41,and 0.57 m/s at the TD,N.SL,and N.MT sites,respectively.In the southern part of the study area,the roughness density values of stones were 0.000 and 0.070-0.320 at the TD and southern slope sites,respectively,and the mean threshold friction velocities were 0.23 and 0.45-0.71 m/s,respectively.We further compared the observed threshold friction velocities with simulated threshold friction velocities using Raupach's theoretical roughness correction and the measured roughness density values,and found that Raupach's roughness correction worked very well in the simulation of threshold friction velocity in the stony desert.This means that the results of our stone measurement can be applied to a numerical dust model.

Aeolian sediment transport over sandy gobi:Field studies in the Nanhu gobi along the Hami-Lop Nor Railway

Wind-blown sand over sandy gobi with an abundant sediment supply can cause severe sand hazards.However,compared with the study of aeolian transport over gravel gobi with a limited sediment supply,less attention has been devoted to sandy gobi,and thus,our understanding of wind-blown sand movement on sandy gobi is still poor.Here,we report the results of observations of three transport events on a sandy gobi along the Hami-Lop Nor Railway based on high-frequency saltation particle count and horizontal sediment flux measurements coupled with instantaneous wind velocity measurements.The results reveal that,unlike the notably intermittent aeolian saltation over gravel gobi,continuous transport occurred on the sandy gobi.The mean saltation layer height was 0.23±0.07 m,and it was positively related to both the grain size of surface particles and the wind velocity regardless of the gobi type.The sediment transport rates could be expressed as the power function Q=ap/g[u^(*)(u^(*2)-u^(*)t^(2))]b,and the scaling parameter(b)reached to 2.5,which is much larger than that of other gobi areas(b=1).Our findings suggest that the wind-blown sand over sandy gobi is much more severe than that over gravel gobi,and the Nanhu sandy gobi is the major sand source for sand hazards of the Hami-Lop Nor Railway.Sand-fixation measures such as checkerboard sand barriers with enhanced checkerboard size and barrier height should be the main subject of sand control systems for the Hami-Lop Nor Railway in sandy gobi.