The sediment state of aeolian dune ®elds and sand seas at a basinal scale is de®ned by the separate components of sediment supply, sediment availability and the transport capacity of the wind. The sediment supply for aeolian systems is the sediment that contemporaneously or at some later point serves as the source material for the aeolian system. Numerous factors impact the susceptibility of grains on a surface to transport, but these are cumulatively manifested by the actual transport rate, which serves as a proxy for sediment availability. Transport capacity is the potential sediment transport rate of the wind. Because the three aspects of sediment state can be given as a volumetric rate, they are directly comparable. Plotted simultaneously against time, the generated curves de®ne nine possible classes of sediment state. Sediment supply that is stored occurs because it is transport or availability limited, or generated at a rate greater than the potential or actual transport rates respectively. Contemporaneous or lagged in¯ux to an aeolian system may be limited by sediment availability, but cannot exceed the transport capacity of the wind. For the Kelso dune ®eld in the Mojave Desert of California, a variety of stratigraphic and geomorphic evidence is used to approximate the sediment state of the system. The sediment supply was generated during the latest Pleistocene and earliest Holocene during humid periods of enhanced discharge by the Mojave River to form the Lake Mojave fan delta or terminal fan, and has been calculated over time from the sedimentation rate and the frequency of oods. Estimation of transport capacity over time was based upon modern wind data, with an allowance for greater winds during the Pleistocene based upon climatic models. Sediment availability was approximated by calculation of a modern dune mobility index, with variation over time based upon climatic inferences. While quantifying the Kelso or any natural system is subject to numerous uncertainties, the sediment state approach re¯ects the temporal and spatial disjointed nature of accumulations at Kelso, as well as illuminating questions for future research.

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Field studies conducted at Owens Lake, California, provide direct measurements of sand flux on sand sheets with zero to 20 per cent cover of salt grass. Results from 12 different sand transport events show that aerodynamic roughness length and threshold wind shear velocity increase with vegetation cover as measured by vertically projected cover and roughness density (λ). This results in a negative exponential decrease in sediment flux with increasing vegetation cover such that sand transport is effectively eliminated when the vertically projected cover of salt grass is greater than 15 per cent. A general empirical model for the relation between sand flux and vegetation cover has been derived and can be used to predict the amount of vegetation required to stabilize sand dune areas.

Linear sand dunes--dunes that extend parallel to each other rather than in star-like or crescentic forms--are the most abundant type of desert sand dune. But because their development and their internal structure are poorly understood, they are rarely recognized in the rock record. Models of linear dune development have not been able to take into account the sub-surface structure of existing dunes, but have relied instead either on the extrapolation of short-term measurements of winds and sediment transport or on observations of near-surface internal sedimentary structures. From such studies, it has not been clear if linear dunes can migrate laterally. Here we present images produced by ground penetrating radar showing the three-dimensional sedimentary structure of a linear dune in the Namib sand sea, where some of the world's largest linear dunes are situated. These profiles show clear evidence for lateral migration in a linear dune. Moreover, the migration of a sinuous crest-line along the dune produces divergent sets of cross-stratification, which can become stacked as the dune height increases, and large linear dunes can support superimposed dunes that produce stacked sets of trough cross-stratification. These clear structural signatures of linear dunes should facilitate their recognition in geological records.