Sediment Fluxes and Particle Grain-size Characteristics of Wind-eroded Sediments in Southeastern Australia

Abstract

Grain‐size characteristics and the flux of sediment transported by wind from a cultivated paddock in a Quaternary relict dune field are described. Sediments were collected at seven heights between 0.7 and 2.0 m. The distribution of sediment mass with height is explained by a power function (of the order of −1), which is highly skewed towards the bed. The distribution of <90 μm sediment mass is explained by a log function of height and is less skewed towards the bed because these finer particles are influenced by the vertical velocity component of the wind. The particle‐size distribution (PSD) of the eroded sediments is strongly influenced by the PSD of the parent material. Enrichment of the suspended sediment (PSA<90 μm) was in the order of 2.3 times. Sediment flux measurements show that 93 per cent of the erosion occurred in 3 per cent of the time.