Date of Award
Spring 2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Program/Concentration
Civil Engineering
Committee Director
Xixi Wang
Committee Member
Gary Schafran
Committee Member
Yewei Zheng
Abstract
Soil erosion by wind has been found to be negatively related to soil water content, as evidenced by that for a given area, such a soil erosion can be much less in a wet than a dry year. However, few studies have examined the functional relationship between wind erosion and soil moisture, primarily due to lack of field measured data. The objectives of this study were to: 1) measure wind erosion in field using a portable wind tunnel devised and made by the author; 2) use the measured data to calibrate/validate a wind erosion model previously developed by the author; 3) model the potential effects of climate change via changes in moisture and wind speed. The study was conducted in the steppe grassland within the Balagaer river watershed located in north China. As part of a larger project funded by the National Science Foundation, this study focused on soil conditions with a minimal vegetation coverage to understand the functional relationship between wind erosion, soil moisture, and climate. These conditions are similar with those during winter and spring and/or when the grassland degrades and ultimately becomes a desert. Field samples were analyzed in a laboratory to determine the soil characteristics (e.g., moisture content, texture, hydraulic conductivity, and organic content).
Rights
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
DOI
10.25777/e48x-0p46
ISBN
9781085628334
Recommended Citation
Potter, Nicholas M..
"Measuring and Modeling Bare Desert Wind Erosion From Steppe Grassland of Northern China as Affected By Soil Moisture and Climate"
(2019). Master of Science (MS), Thesis, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/e48x-0p46
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/cee_etds/83