Jasper F. Kok

The physics of wind-blown sand and dust

The transport of sand and dust by wind is a potent erosional force, creates sand dunes and ripples, and loads the atmosphere with suspended dust aerosols. This paper presents an extensive review of the physics of wind-blown sand and dust on Earth and Mars. Specifically, we review the physics of aeolian saltation, the formation and development of sand dunes and ripples, the physics of dust aerosol emission, the weather phenomena that trigger dust storms, and the lifting of dust by dust devils and other small-scale vortices. We also discuss the physics of wind-blown sand and dune formation on Venus and Titan.

Improved dust representation in the Community Atmosphere Model

Aerosol-climate interactions constitute one of the major sources of uncertainty in assessing changes in aerosol forcing in the anthropocene as well as understanding glacial-interglacial cycles. Here we focus on improving the representation of mineral dust in the Community Atmosphere Model and assessing the impacts of the improvements in terms of direct effects on the radiative balance of the atmosphere. We simulated the dust cycle using different parameterization sets for dust emission, size distribution, and optical properties. Comparing the results of these simulations with observations of concentration, deposition, and aerosol optical depth allows us to refine the representation of the dust cycle and its climate impacts. We propose a tuning method for dust parameterizations to allow the dust module to work across the wide variety of parameter settings which can be used within the Community Atmosphere Model. Our results include a better representation of the dust cycle, most notably for the improved size distribution. The estimated net top of atmosphere direct dust radiative forcing is −0.23 ± 0.14 W/m2 for present day and −0.32 ± 0.20 W/m2 at the Last Glacial Maximum. From our study and sensitivity tests, we also derive some general relevant findings, supporting the concept that the magnitude of the modeled dust cycle is sensitive to the observational data sets and size distribution chosen to constrain the model as well as the meteorological forcing data, even within the same modeling framework, and that the direct radiative forcing of dust is strongly sensitive to the optical properties and size distribution used.

Does the size distribution of mineral dust aerosols depend on the wind speed at emission

The size distribution of mineral dust aerosols partially determines their interactions with clouds, radiation, ecosystems, and other components of the Earth system. Several theoretical models predict that the dust size distribution depends on the wind speed at emission, with larger wind speeds predicted to produce smaller aerosols. The present study investigates this prediction using a compilation of published measurements of the size-resolved vertical dust flux emitted by eroding soils. Surprisingly, these measurements indicate that the size distribution of naturally emitted dust aerosols is independent of the wind speed. The recently formulated brittle fragmentation theory of dust emission is consistent with this finding, whereas other theoretical models are not. The independence of the emitted dust size distribution with wind speed simplifies both the interpretation of geological records of dust deposition and the parameterization of dust emission in atmospheric circulation models.

The apparent roughness of a sand surface blown by wind from an analytical model of saltation

We present an analytical model of aeolian sand transport. The model quantifies the momentum transfer from the wind to the transported sand by providing expressions for the thickness of the saltation layer and the apparent surface roughness. These expressions are derived from basic physical principles and a small number of assumptions. The model further predicts the sand transport rate (mass flux) and the impact threshold (the smallest value of the wind shear velocity at which saltation can be sustained). We show that, in contrast to previous studies, the present models predictions are in very good agreement with a range of experiments, as well as with numerical simulations of aeolian saltation. Because of its physical basis, we anticipate that our model will find application in studies of aeolian sand transport on both Earth and Mars.

Smaller desert dust cooling effect estimated from analysis of dust size and abundance

Desert dust aerosols a ect Earth’s global energy balance through direct interactions with radiation, and through indirect interactions with clouds and ecosystems. But the magnitudes of these e ects are so uncertain that it remains unclear whether atmospheric dust has a netwarming or cooling e ect on global climate. Consequently, it is still uncertainwhether large changes in atmospheric dust loading over the past century have slowed or accelerated anthropogenic climate change, orwhat the e ects of potential future changes in dust loading will be. Here we present an analysis of the size and abundance of dust aerosols to constrain the direct radiative e ect of dust. Using observational data on dust abundance, in situmeasurements of dust optical properties and size distribution, and climate and atmospheric chemical transport model simulations of dust lifetime, we find that the dust found in the atmosphere is substantially coarser than represented in current global climate models. As coarse dust warms the climate, the global dust direct radiative e ect is likely to be less cooling than the∼−0.4Wm estimated by models in a current global aerosol model ensemble. Instead, we constrain the dust direct radiative e ect to a range between −0.48 and+0.20Wm, which includes the possibility that dust causes a net warming of the planet.

Aeolian saltation on Mars at low wind speeds

Laboratory experiments indicate that the fluid threshold friction speed, u*tf, required to initiate fully developed aeolian saltation is much higher on Mars than on Earth. A discrepancy exists between Mars climate models that do not predict winds this strong, and observations that sand-sized particles are indeed moving. This paper describes how wind friction speeds well below u*tf, but above the impact threshold, u*ti, required to sustain saltation, can initiate sustained saltation on Mars, but at relatively low flux. Numerical experiments indicate that a sand grain on Mars mobilized sporadically between u*ti and u*tf will develop, over fetch lengths longer than generally available within low-pressure wind tunnels, trajectories capable of splashing grains that propagate saltation and collectively form a cluster of saltating grains that migrate downwind together. The passage of a saltation cluster should leave behind a narrow zone of affected surface grains. The cumulative effect of many clusters represents a low-flux phenomenon that should produce slow changes to aeolian bedforms over periods in which winds remain close to u*ti and never or rarely reach u*tf. Field evidence from small impact ripples along rover traverses is consistent with effects of saltation at these low friction speeds, without obvious evidence for events ≥ u*tf. The potential utility of this grain mobility process is that it can operate entirely at more common winds well below u*tf, and so help explain widespread sand movements observed on Mars wherever evidence might be mostly absent for u*tf being exceeded.

Transverse instability of megaripples

As a result of their inherent differences in stability, sand ripples and megaripples exhibit variations in terms of their wavelengths and grain-size distributions (unimodal for sand ripples and bimodal for megaripples). While sand ripples form almost straight lines, megaripples have greater sinuosity due to their transverse instability, a property that causes small megaripple undulations to grow with time. The origin of the instability is due to variations in megaripple height, variations that do not diminish over time, and due to the inverse dependence of ripple drift velocity on the height. Thus, the taller regions of ripples will move more slowly than the adjacent, shorter portions, an outcome that promotes further perturbation growth. We show an example based on fi eld work of the transverse instability of megaripples. The instability growth rate depends on the difference between the heights of the different segments of the megaripple. In contrast to the underlying instability of megaripples, normal sand ripples are essentially stable and are not affected by transverse perturbations, instead reacting quickly to the wind, which tends to smooth ripple height irregularities. The transverse instability of megaripples derives from the composition of their crests, which comprise coarse particles that allow initial perturbations in ripple height to grow further. The results suggest a physical mechanism for the transverse instability of megaripples and new insight into the spatial patterns of sand ripples.

Mechanisms limiting the growth of aeolian megaripples

Megaripples are distinguished from regular ripples by their larger size and bimodal sediment distribution. The interplay between wind, grain size, and morphology controls their development, but the exact mechanisms that limit the size of megaripples have been unclear. Using wind tunnel experiments, we found two main mechanisms that limit the height of megaripples. The first mechanism is megaripple flattening due to strong enough winds that drive the coarse grains into saltation; the second mechanism is megaripple deflation by impacts of faster saltation grains. In this latter mechanism, the coarse grains are propelled by the impacts of fine saltating grains. The occurrence of both these mechanisms depends on the grain size distribution and increases with both megaripple height and wind speed. Thus, for a given wind environment and grain size distribution, there exists a limit on the size of megaripples, which is determined by these two mechanisms.

Wind-invariant saltation heights imply linear scaling of aeolian saltation flux with shear stress

Field data show insensitivity of particle trajectories to wind speed and support linear scaling of sand flux with wind stress. Wind-driven sand transport generates atmospheric dust, forms dunes, and sculpts landscapes. However, it remains unclear how the flux of particles in aeolian saltation—the wind-driven transport of sand in hopping trajectories—scales with wind speed, largely because models do not agree on how particle speeds and trajectories change with wind shear velocity. We present comprehensive measurements, from three new field sites and three published studies, showing that characteristic saltation layer heights remain approximately constant with shear velocity, in agreement with recent wind tunnel studies. These results support the assumption of constant particle speeds in recent models predicting linear scaling of saltation flux with shear stress. In contrast, our results refute widely used older models that assume that particle speed increases with shear velocity, thereby predicting nonlinear 3/2 stress-flux scaling. This conclusion is further supported by direct field measurements of saltation flux versus shear stress. Our results thus argue for adoption of linear saltation flux laws and constant saltation trajectories for modeling saltation-driven aeolian processes on Earth, Mars, and other planetary surfaces.

Do dust emissions from sparsely vegetated regions dominate atmospheric iron supply to the Southern Ocean

Atmospheric deposition of dust aerosols is a significant source of exogenous iron (Fe) in marine ecosystems and is critical in setting primary marine productivity during summer. This dust-borne input of Fe is particularly important to the Southern Ocean, which is arguably the most biogeochemically important ocean because of its large spatial extent and its considerable influence on the global carbon cycle. However, there is large uncertainty in estimates of dust emissions in the Southern Hemisphere and thus of the deposition of Fe-containing aerosols onto oceans. Here we hypothesize that sparsely vegetated surfaces in arid and semiarid regions are important sources of Fe-containing aerosols to the Southern Ocean. We test this hypothesis using an improved dust emission scheme in conjunction with satellite products of vegetation cover and soil moisture in an atmospheric chemistry transport model. Our improved model shows a twofold increase of Fe input into the Southern Ocean in austral summer with respect to spring and estimates that the Fe input is more than double that simulated using a conventional dust emission scheme in summer. Our model results suggest that dust emissions from open shrublands contribute over 90% of total Fe deposition into the Southern Ocean. These findings have important implications for the projection of the Southern Oceans carbon uptake.