Journal
PHYSICAL REVIEW E
Volume 96, Issue 5, Pages -Publisher
AMER PHYSICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.96.052906
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Funding
- German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development (GIF)
- National Science Foundation [NSF PHY-1125915]
- MPI-PKS Visitors Program
- German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) through a Kurzstipendium
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The mesoscale structure of aeolian sand transport determines a variety of natural phenomena studied in planetary and Earth science. We analyze it theoretically beyond the mean-field level, based on the grain-scale transport kinetics and splash statistics. A coarse-grained analytical model is proposed and verified by numerical simulations resolving individual grain trajectories. The predicted height-resolved sand flux and other important characteristics of the aeolian transport layer agree remarkably well with a comprehensive compilation of field and wind-tunnel data, suggesting that the model robustly captures the essential mesoscale physics. By comparing the predicted saturation length with field data for the minimum sand-dune size, we elucidate the importance of intermittent turbulent wind fluctuations for field measurements and reconcile conflicting previous models for this most enigmatic emergent aeolian scale.
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