Observation of saltation activity at Tazhong area in Taklimakan Desert, China

Abstract

A two-year field observation of saltation activity was carried out at Tazhong area, the hinterland area of the Taklimakan Desert with highly frequent dust storms. From 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2010, a piezoelectric saltation sensor (Sensit) was used to continuously collect the data on saltation activity at a level sand surface. Analysis on the data suggests that saltation activity can occur at any time of the year when conditions are favorable; however, the necessary conditions are rarely satisfied in most time. In the daytime of spring or summer, saltation activity can persist even over a continuous one-hour-or-so period. It is found that, from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2010, saltation activity accounts for more than 3% of the total yearly time, and it tends to peak in spring and summer months with strong winds. During winter months when winds are weak, however, it is often at a minimum. It seems that precipitation does not appear to be significant in reducing saltation activity in arid regions like Tazhong.

Improvement of dust emission parameterization scheme for dust devils based on intensive observations in the northern margin of the Taklimakan Desert

“…1). The underlying soil is mainly composed of fine (125-250 µm) and very fine (62.5-125 µm) sand (Yang et al, 2012), and ancient riverbeds are exposed in some areas (He et al, 2011). This region has a long sunshine duration and strong solar radiation.…”

“…Therefore, the frequency of dusty weather occurrences in this region is extremely high; sandstorms and dust devils occur throughout the year. Statistically, the annual average number of sandstorm occurrence days has been found to be 42 (Yang et al, 2012), with most occurring in spring and summer, and one example in 1994 where a sandstorm lasted for 71 days. Suitable climatic conditions are also conducive to the formation of dust devils.…”

Nanodeserts: A Conjecture in Nanotechnology to Enhance Quasi-Photosynthetic CO2Absorption

“…Those metal ions come from the dissolution of soil salt during the discharge and recharge of groundwater. The percentages of those metal ions beneath deserts can be very different in different sites and the local extremes amount to 80 mg/L [47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56]. Second, the CO 2 movements in the soil-groundwater system beneath nanodeserts are usually accompanied by the movements and sequestration of these metal ions.…”

Intelligence in Ecology: How Internet of Things Expands Insights into the Missing CO2Sink

“…To reduce the increased complexity, one can analyze the situation in the different layers of the local groundwater-soil system. A research priority is the explicit characterization of the situation in different layers of the local groundwatersoil system, which deserves subsequent studies on the field collection of geospatial data for soil abiotic CO 2 uptake [65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73], the visualization of CO 2 footprints [74], and 2D-3D video treatments technology to enhance the visualization effect [75].…”