Collaborative Research: NSFGEO-NERC: The Origin of Aeolian Dunes (TOAD)

合作研究：NSFGEO-NERC：风沙丘的起源 (TOAD)

• 批准号: 1829541
• 负责人: Kenneth Christensen
• 金额: $ 18.5万
• 依托单位: University of Notre Dame
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-04-01 至 2021-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1829541&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; NSFGEO; NERC; Origin

Aeolian (wind-blown) sand dunes occupy 10% of the Earth's surface, both in vast desert sand seas and as important natural defenses against flooding along coasts. Despite extensive study of mature dunes, the question of "How do wind-blown dunes form?" remains unanswered, yet it is central to understanding dunes as major geological units, particularly given their increasing occurrence in desert regions of the United States and their adverse impact on water and vegetation supplies. This research will examine the key inter-relationships between airflow, surface properties, changes in sand transport and bedform shape that lie behind a meaningful understanding of how nascent dunes emerge. The project will promote international collaboration among the United States, the United Kingdom, and Namibia. It will generate public educational materials about desert landscapes and geomorphology, foster partnerships with National Parks in both the United States and Namibia, and provide quality scientific training and field experience to students.Field monitoring of surface properties and bedform change at high resolution will be performed at three carefully chosen locations of known dune development. Complementary laboratory experiments will enable accurate characterization of flow very close to the 3D surface of modelled dunes that, together with the field datasets, will drive a computer model to test the sensitivity of dune initiation and growth to different controls in a range of environmental conditions in deserts, coasts and on other planets. In concert, this approach represents an opportunity to overcome an enduring plateau for understanding the origins of one of the major terrestrial landform systems. The team will work with staff at Great Sand Dunes National Park in the United States and the Namib-Naukluft National Park in Namibia to create broadly accessible public engagement materials. At a dedicated impact workshop in Gobabeb, Namibia, the team will showcase to interested local Namibian and international delegates the project findings and how these findings could be used to influence societal and economic issues. The project will engage undergraduate and graduate students in Namibia and give them valuable experience that could inspire them to pursue careers in science.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

风风（风吹）沙丘占据了地球表面的10％，无论是在广阔的沙漠沙海还是重要的自然防御措施，以防止沿海地区的洪水泛滥。尽管对成熟的沙丘进行了广泛的研究，但“风吹如何形成的沙丘？”的问题？仍然没有得到答复，但是将沙丘作为主要地质单位是核心，尤其是考虑到它们在美国沙漠地区的增加以及对水和植被供应的不利影响。这项研究将研究气流，表面特性，沙子传输变化和床形状之间的关键相互关系，这是对新生沙丘如何出现的有意义的理解。该项目将促进美国，英国和纳米比亚之间的国际合作。它将生成有关沙漠景观和地貌学的公共教育材料，与美国和纳米比亚的国家公园建立合作伙伴关系，并向学生提供优质的科学培训和现场经验。在高分辨率上对表面属性的监控和高分辨率的底型监测将在三个精心选择的已知丘陵开发的位置进行。互补的实验室实验将使非常接近建模沙丘的3D表面的流动进行准确的表征，这些流程与现场数据集一起将驱动计算机模型，以测试沙丘启动和生长对在沙漠，海岸和其他星球上一系列环境条件下不同控制的敏感性。在一致的情况下，这种方法代表了克服持久平稳的机会，以理解主要的地面地形系统之一的起源。该团队将与美国大沙丘国家公园和纳米比亚的纳米布·纳克卢夫特国家公园的工作人员合作，以创建广泛访问的公共参与材料。在纳米比亚Gobabeb举行的专门影响研讨会上，该团队将向有兴趣的当地纳米比亚和国际委员会展示该项目的发现，以及如何使用这些发现来影响社会和经济问题。该项目将吸引纳米比亚的本科生和研究生，并为他们提供宝贵的经验，以激发他们从事科学职业。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛影响的评估来获得支持的。