Research Article

Numerical simulation of sand dune evolution in severe winds

  1. Pablo Ortiz1,
  2. Piotr K. Smolarkiewicz2,*

Article first published online: 28 DEC 2005

DOI: 10.1002/fld.1138

Issue

International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids

International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids

Special Issue: Multidimensional Positive Definite Advection Transport Algorithm Methods

Volume 50, Issue 10, pages 1229–1246, 10 April 2006

Additional Information

How to Cite

Ortiz, P. and Smolarkiewicz, P. K. (2006), Numerical simulation of sand dune evolution in severe winds. Int. J. Numer. Meth. Fluids, 50: 1229–1246. doi: 10.1002/fld.1138

Author Information

  1. 1

    University of Granada, Ed. Politecnico, Campus Fuentenueva, Granada 18071, Spain

  2. 2

    National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 80307, U.S.A.

*National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 80307, U.S.A.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 10 MAR 2006
  2. Article first published online: 28 DEC 2005
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 20 OCT 2005
  4. Manuscript Revised: 12 AUG 2005
  5. Manuscript Received: 25 MAR 2005

Funded by

  • U.S. Department of Energy

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Keywords:

  • modelling sand dunes;
  • saltation;
  • sand avalanches;
  • boundary layer sand dune coupling

Abstract

We present a novel approach for numerical simulation of fluid flow and sediment transport past evolutionary landforms, with emphasis on sand dunes developing in extreme winds. Time-dependent curvilinear coordinates are employed to fully couple flow aloft with the developing landform. The conservation law that defines shape of the lower boundary depends on details of local surface stress, thereby favouring a large eddy simulation of the atmospheric boundary layer. The flux-form partial differential equation for the interface profile—via saltation and sand avalanches—is formulated as an advection–diffusion equation. The latter facilitates discrete integrations using nonoscillatory algorithms—consistent with the nonoscillatory forward-in-time solver, based on MPDATA transport methods, employed to simulate the boundary layer flow aloft. Theoretical discussions are illustrated with numerical experiments that explore the interactive evolution of the dune/atmosphere system. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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