Wavelet power spectra of aeolian sand transport by boundary layer turbulence

Abstract

This letter reports on wavelet spectral analysis of collocated time-series of streamwise wind speed and aeolian sand transport collected at 0.04 m above the bed in a field experiment on top of a large sand mound in a desert environment. Results suggest three distinct spatio-temporal scales of interaction between boundary layer turbulence and sediment transport: a long-term scale associated with the regional mixing layer, an integral time-scale associated with the internal boundary layer, and a streamer scale associated with the inertial subrange (eddy cascade) and saltation inertia. Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union.