UCLA

Abstract: Wind‐blown sand and dust models depend sensitively on the threshold wind stress. However, laboratory and numerical experiments suggest the coexistence of distinct fluid and impact thresholds for the initiation and cessation of aeolian saltation, respectively. Because aeolian transport models typically use only a single threshold, existence of separate higher fluid and lower impact thresholds complicates the prediction of wind‐driven transport. Here we extend the statistical Time Frequency Equivalence Method to derive the first field‐based estimates of distinct fluid and impact thresholds from high‐frequency wind and saltation measurements at three field sites. Our measurements show that when saltation is mostly inactive, its instantaneous occurrence is governed primarily by wind exceedance of the fluid threshold. As saltation activity increases, so too does the relative importance of the impact threshold, until it dominates under near‐continuous transport conditions. Although both thresholds are thus important for high‐frequency saltation prediction, our results suggest that the time‐averaged saltation flux is primarily governed by the impact threshold.