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Giant aeolian dune size determined by the average depth of the atmospheric boundary layer

Author

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  • Bruno Andreotti

    (Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes (PMMH UMR 7636 CNRS-ESPCI-P6-P7), 10 rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris, France)

  • Antoine Fourrière

    (Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes (PMMH UMR 7636 CNRS-ESPCI-P6-P7), 10 rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris, France)

  • Fouzia Ould-Kaddour

    (Laboratoire de Physique Théorique, Université Abou Bekr Belkaid)

  • Brad Murray

    (Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Center for Nonlinear and Complex Systems, Duke University, Box 90230, Durham, North Carolina 27708-0230, USA)

  • Philippe Claudin

    (Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes (PMMH UMR 7636 CNRS-ESPCI-P6-P7), 10 rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris, France)

Abstract

Shifting sands Sand dunes, common on Earth and other planetary bodies, still hold some mysteries. The ways that small dunes form — those with lengths of tens of metres — are well understood. But much less clear is how giant (kilometre-scale) dunes come into existence, what dictates their shapes and what limits their size. Andreotti et al. use a combination of field measurements and aerodynamic calculations to show that the growth of giant dunes is limited by the confinement of the sand transport flow over the average depth of the atmospheric boundary layer. The new findings can explain the mean spacing of wind-generated giant dunes up to 3.5 km in length.

Suggested Citation

  • Bruno Andreotti & Antoine Fourrière & Fouzia Ould-Kaddour & Brad Murray & Philippe Claudin, 2009. "Giant aeolian dune size determined by the average depth of the atmospheric boundary layer," Nature, Nature, vol. 457(7233), pages 1120-1123, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:457:y:2009:i:7233:d:10.1038_nature07787
    DOI: 10.1038/nature07787
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    Cited by:

    1. Melo, Hygor P.M. & Parteli, Eric J.R. & Andrade, José S. & Herrmann, Hans J., 2012. "Linear stability analysis of transverse dunes," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 391(20), pages 4606-4614.
    2. Andrew Gunn & Giampietro Casasanta & Luca Liberto & Federico Falcini & Nicholas Lancaster & Douglas J. Jerolmack, 2022. "What sets aeolian dune height?," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8, December.

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