Article Dans Une Revue Geophysical Research Letters Année : 2020

Spatial and Temporal Development of Incipient Dunes

Résumé

In zones of loose sand, wind-blown sand dunes emerge due the linear instability of a flat sedimentary bed. This instability has been studied in experiments and numerical models but rarely in the field, due to the large time and length scales involved. We examine dune formation at the upwind margin of the White Sands Dune Field in New Mexico (USA), using 4 years of lidar topographic data to follow the spatial and temporal development of incipient dunes. Data quantify dune wavelength, growth rate, and propagation velocity and also the characteristic length scale associated with the growth process. We show that all these measurements are in quantitative agreement with predictions from linear stability analysis. This validation makes it possible to use the theory to reliably interpret dune-pattern characteristics and provide quantitative constraints on associated wind regimes and sediment properties, where direct local measurements are not available or feasible.

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DOI

Cite 10.18738/T8/WUNF0G Jeu de données Ewing, R. (2020). 2007 White Sands Dune Field lidar topographic data (Version 1.0) [Data set]. Texas Data Repository. https://doi.org/10.18738/T8/WUNF0G

DOI

Cite 10.18738/T8/HQVUSX Jeu de données Ewing, R. (2020). 2008 White Sands Dune Field lidar topographic data (Version 1.0) [Data set]. Texas Data Repository. https://doi.org/10.18738/T8/HQVUSX

DOI

Cite 10.5069/G9Q23X5P Article OpenTopography. (2013). White Sands National Monument, NM: LiDAR Survey of Dune Fields (Jan 2009). OpenTopography. https://doi.org/10.5069/G9Q23X5P

DOI

Cite 10.5069/G97D2S2D Article OpenTopography. (2012). White Sands National Monument, NM: LiDAR Survey of Dune Fields. OpenTopography. https://doi.org/10.5069/G97D2S2D

Dates et versions

insu-03584744 , version 1 (25-06-2022)

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C. Gadal, C. Narteau, R. C. Ewing, A. Gunn, D. Jerolmack, et al.. Spatial and Temporal Development of Incipient Dunes. Geophysical Research Letters, 2020, 47 (16), pp.e2020GL08891. ⟨10.1029/2020GL088919⟩. ⟨insu-03584744⟩
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