Remote Observations of Aeolian Saltation

Field measurements of aeolian sediment transport during major storm events are challenging in coastal settings due to the common coincidence of high winds with elevated water levels that can cover beaches. This work demonstrates a new application of lidar to remotely measure properties of wind-blown sand transport at high spatial resolution. A data set of spatially continuous saltation heights was remotely developed from rapid (7.1 Hz) lidar scanning along a two-dimensional transect across a beach during wind speeds of between 3.1 and 15.8 m/s associated with the passing of Tropical Storm Isaias. Outputs from the lidar demonstrate the ability to remotely observe the threshold velocity for the initiation of motion for sand transport and show that the upper limit of the saltation layer rises with increasing wind speed.