Comparison of different mass transport calculation methods for wind erosion quantification purposes

JUAN E. PANEBIANCO, DANIEL E. BUSCHIAZZO,TED M. ZOBECK

EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS

JOHN WILEY & SONS LTD

Año: 2010

0197-9337

Quantitative estimation of the material transported by the wind under field conditions is essential in the study and control of wind erosion. Different procedures have been developed under diverse conditions and consequently reflect different practical, economical and mathematical constraints. Information related to the effects of applying different quantification procedures on mass transport estimates is scarce, making interpretation and comparison between studies difficult. The main objective of this work was to compare the results obtained using a minimum of discrete sampling heights instead of sampling the full profile with nine BSNE samplers under field conditions. In addition, a second objective was to assess the effect of using four simple approaches for mass transport calculation: two different widely used equations, a two-parameter Gaussian model, and linear spline interpolation. Wind erosion was measured on an Entic Haplustoll during 147 events. Wind eroded sediment mass flux was calculated using mathematical software. A rational equation was found to be mathematically limited for the estimation of wind eroded sediment mass flux under certain circumstances. Although a peak mass flux was found to occur near the surface, a simplified Gaussian model was found to be inadequate for describing the vertical mass flux profile. Using data from three discrete sampling heights instead of nine generally resulted in lowered mass transport values. Linear interpolation generally produced higher mass transport estimates, but it proved to be a very flexible and robust method. An exponential equation combined with a three sampling heights arrangement proved to be a feasible method for field wind erosion quantification under low surface roughness conditions.