Flow deflection of surface winds is common across coastal foredunes and blowouts. Incident winds approaching obliquely to the dune toe and crestline tend to be deflected towards a more crest-normal orientation across the stoss slope of the foredune. This paper examinesfield measurements for obliquely incident winds, and compares them to computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling of flow deflection in 10° increments from onshore (0°) to alongshore (90°) wind approach angles. The mechanics of flow deflection are discussed, followed by a comparative analysis of measured and modelled flow deflection data that shows strong agreement. CFD modelling of the full range of onshore to alongshore incident winds reveals that deflection of the incident wind flow is minimal at 0° and gradually increases as the incident wind turns towards 30° to the dune crest. The greatest deflection occurs between 30° and 70° incident to the dune crest. The degree of flow deflection depends secondarily on height above the dune surface, with the greatest effect near the surface and toward the dune crest. Topographically forced flow acceleration ("speed-up") across the stoss slope of the foredune is greatest for winds less than 30° (i.e., roughly perpendicular) and declines significantly for winds with more oblique approach angles. There is less lateral uniformity in the wind field when the incident wind approaches from >60° because the effect of aspect ratio on topographic forcing and streamline convergence is less pronounced.

Scale-dependent perspectives on the geomorphology and evolution of beach-dune systems.

The form, height and volume of coastal foredunes reflects the long‐term interaction of a suite of nearshore and aeolian processes that control the amount of sand delivered to the foredune from the beach versus the amount removed or carried inland. In this paper, the morphological evolution of more than six decades is used to inform the development of a simple computer model that simulates foredune growth. The suggestion by others that increased steepness of the seaward slope will retard sediment supply from the beach to the foredune due to development of a flow stagnation zone in front of the foredune, hence limiting foredune growth, was examined. Our long‐term data demonstrate that sediment can be transferred from the beach to the foredune, even with a steep foredune stoss slope, primarily because much of the sediment transfer takes place under oblique rather than onshore winds. During such conditions, the apparent aspect ratio of the dune to the oncoming flow is less steep and conditions are not as favourable for the formation of a stagnation zone. The model shows that the rate of growth in foredune height varies as a function of sediment input from the beach and erosion due to storm events, as expected, but it also demonstrates that the rate of growth in foredune height per unit volume increase will decrease over time, which gives the perception of an equilibrium height having been reached asymptotically. As the foredune grows in size, an increasing volume of sediment is needed to yield a unit increase in height, therefore the apparent growth rate appears to slow. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Aeolian landforms occur on all earths’ continents as well as on Mars, Titan and Venus and are typically formed where sediment is eroded and/or deposited by near surface wind flow. As wind flow approaches an aeolian landform, secondary flow patterns are created that cause wind to deviate in both speed and direction, producing complex patterns of sediment erosion, deposition and transportation.Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling of wind flow has become a common tool to predict and understand secondary wind flow and resulting sediment transport. Its use has progressed from simulating\ud wind flow over simple two dimensional dune shapes, to calculating a multitude of flow parameters over a range of increasingly complex landforms. Analysis of 25 peer reviewed journal articles, found that CFD has been crucial to providing additional insight to flow dynamics on the stoss slope of dunes, the structure and nature of wind flow separation in the lee of landforms and information on localised wind flow variations in large-scale dune fields. The findings of this assay demonstrate that further research is required regarding the parameterisation and modelling of surface roughness, the incorporation\ud of accurate sediment transport to wind flow models, and the prediction of topographic surface changes. CFD is anticipated to be increasingly utilised in aeolian geomorphology and this work aims to be a starting point for aeolian geomorphologists wishing to better understand and review the utilisation\ud of the technique to date