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Aeolian Shear Stress Ratio Measurements within Mesquite-Dominated Landscapes of the Chihuahuan Desert, New Mexico, USAA field study was conducted to ascertain the amount of protection that mesquite-dominated communities provide to the surface from wind erosion. The dynamics of the locally accelerated evolution of a mesquite/coppice dune landscape and the undetermined spatial dependence of potential erosion by wind from a shear stress partition model were investigated. Sediment transport and dust emission processes are governed by the amount of protection that can be provided by roughness elements. Although shear stress partition models exist that can describe this, their accuracy has only been tested against a limited dataset because instrumentation has previously been unable to provide the necessary measurements. This study combines the use of meteorological towers and surface shear stress measurements with Irwin sensors to measure the partition of shear stress in situ. The surface shear stress within preferentially aligned vegetation (within coppice dune development) exhibited highly skewed distributions, while a more homogenous surface stress was recorded at a site with less developed coppice dunes. Above the vegetation, the logarithmic velocity profile deduced roughness length (based on 10-min averages) exhibited a distinct correlation with compass direction for the site with vegetation preferentially aligned, while the site with more homogenously distributed vegetation showed very little variation in the roughness length. This distribution in roughness length within an area, defines a distribution of a resolved shear stress partitioning model based on these measurements, ultimately providing potential closure to a previously uncorrelated model parameter.
Document ID
20070031590
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
King, James
(Guelph Univ. Ontario, Canada)
Nickling, W. G.
(Guelph Univ. Ontario, Canada)
Gilliles, J. A.
(Desert Research Inst. Reno, NV, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
December 15, 2006
Publication Information
Publication: Geomorphology
Volume: 82
Issue: 4-Mar
Subject Category
Geophysics
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG5-12759
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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