Velocity and acceleration of saltating particles in aeolian transport

Particle saltation, as a widespread form of sediment transport, has a significant influence on environmental dynamics. The effect of aeolian saltation reaches far beyond geo-morphological phenomena, e.g. by affecting the earth’s climate or influencing the ocean’s micronutrient supply. Despite decades of ongoing research, many questions, especially concerning the dynamics on a particle level, remain open. In the present study, we experimentally investigate aeolean saltation of spherical glass particles in a large wind tunnel. We conducted measurements at different wind speeds to observe the change in observables. We use particle tracking velocimetry to obtain Eulerian and Lagrangian statistics of the kinematic quantities including mean vertical relative concentration, velocity and acceleration profiles, as well as their corresponding distributions. We further analyze temporal correlations of those quantities. Finally, we use the obtained kinematic information in the near-bed region to estimate impact and ejection statistics during the saltation process.