Threshold wind velocity as an index of soil susceptibility to wind erosion under variable climatic conditions
Wind erosion starts when the threshold wind velocity (μ t ) is exceeded. We evaluated the sensitivity of μ t to determine the wind erosion susceptibility of soils under variable climatic conditions. Three years field data were used to calculate μ t by means of the equation μ t = ū - σ Φ -1 (γ), wher...
| Autores: | , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2009 |
| País: | Argentina |
| Institución: | Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas |
| Repositorio: | CONICET Digital (CONICET) |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/81725 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/11336/81725 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Argentina Climatic Conditions Saltation Activity Threshold Wind Velocity Wind Erosion https://purl.org/becyt/ford/4.1 https://purl.org/becyt/ford/4 |
| Sumario: | Wind erosion starts when the threshold wind velocity (μ t ) is exceeded. We evaluated the sensitivity of μ t to determine the wind erosion susceptibility of soils under variable climatic conditions. Three years field data were used to calculate μ t by means of the equation μ t = ū - σ Φ -1 (γ), where ū is the mean wind speed (m s -1 ), σ the ū standard deviation (m s -1 ), γ the saltation activity and Φ the standard normal distribution function of γ. Saltation activity was measured with a piezoelectric sensor (Sensit). Results showed that ū of the whole studied period (3.41 ms -1 ) was lower than μ t (7.53 ms -1 ), therefore, wind erosion was produced mainly by wind gusts. The μ t values ordered in the sequence: Winter (6.10 ms -1 ) < Spring (8.22ms -1 ) = Summer (8.28 m s -1 ) < Autumn (26.48 m s -1 ). Higher μ t values were related to higher air humidity and lower wind speeds and temperatures. The μ t values did not agree with the erosion amounts of each season, which ordered as follows: Summer (12.88 t ha -1 ) > Spring (3.11 t ha -1 ) = Winter (0.17 t ha -1 ) = Autumn (no erosion). Low μ t and erosion amounts of Winter were produced by a scarce number of gusts during eroding storms. We concluded that μ t is useful as an index of soil susceptibility to wind erosion of different climatic periods. The use of a unique μ t value in wind erosion prediction models can lead to erroneous wind erosion calculations. |
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