Author
Abell, Jordan T.Pullen, Alex
Lebo, Zachary J.
Kapp, Paul

Gloege, Lucas
Metcalf, Andrew R.
Nie, Junsheng
Winckler, Gisela
Affiliation
Univ Arizona, Dept GeosciIssue Date
2020-01
Metadata
Show full item recordPublisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUPCitation
Abell, J.T., Pullen, A., Lebo, Z.J. et al. A wind-albedo-wind feedback driven by landscape evolution. Nat Commun 11, 96 (2020).Journal
NATURE COMMUNICATIONSRights
Copyright © The Author(s) 2020. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
The accurate characterization of near-surface winds is critical to our understanding of past and modern climate. Dust lofted by these winds has the potential to modify surface and atmospheric conditions as well as ocean biogeochemistry. Stony deserts, low dust emitting regions today, represent expansive areas where variations in surficial geology through time may drastically impact near-surface conditions. Here we use the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model over the western Gobi Desert to demonstrate a previously undocumented process between wind-driven landscape evolution and boundary layer conditions. Our results show that altered surficial thermal properties through winnowing of fine-grained sediments and formation of low-albedo gravel-mantled surfaces leads to an increase in near-surface winds by up to 25%; paradoxically, wind erosion results in faster winds regionally. This wind-albedo-wind feedback also leads to an increase in the frequency of hours spent at higher wind speeds, which has implications for dust emission potential.Note
Open access journalISSN
2041-1723PubMed ID
31900389Version
Final published versionae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1038/s41467-019-13661-w
Scopus Count
Collections
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Copyright © The Author(s) 2020. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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