Aeolian system responses to global change: challenges of scale, process and temporal integration

• Published in: Earth surface processes and landforms Vol. 33; no. 9; pp. 1396 - 1418
• Main Authors: Thomas, David S. G., Wiggs, Giles F. S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.08.2008; Wiley
• Subjects: Aeolian systems; Bgi / Prodig; Earth system science; Geomorphology; global change; Physical geography; research methods; Aeolian features; Methodology; Global change; Arid area; Dune; Model; Earth surface processes; Coastal environment; Aeolian transport
• ISSN: 0197-9337; 1096-9837
• DOI: 10.1002/esp.1719

Aeolian sediment systems are extensive components of the Earth's surface – not just in today's active desert environments, but in coastal locations and as presently stable loess and peri‐desert ergs. All these systems are subject to potentially significant 21st century changes in dynamics due to global warming impacts on atmospheric circulation, sediment moisture and vegetation cover. But do we know enough in the critical areas of science to allow robust models of likely future dynamics to be developed? Since the establishment of ‘modern’ aeolian science, research has largely taken two divergent routes: (1) small‐scale investigations of the processes of wind shear, sediment entrainment and transportation; and (2) landform and landscape analyses, with bedform systems described and relationships to circulation explained. An intermediate, sedimentological, route has generated attempts towards a more integrated understanding of system behaviour at a range of scales. Four recent developments provide the potential for more robust multiscale integrations of aeolian system behaviour. These are: (1) advances in empirical measurement that allow wind power and sediment flux relations to be better described; (2) modelling of dune and dust dynamics and interactions with key controls; (3) monitoring systems that allow high‐resolution observations of sediment flux variations to be recognized and aeolian deposit structures to be understood; and (4) chronometric advances that permit the assessment of the frequency and drivers of dune system activity in the past. We explore and analyse these methodological advances and their potential contribution to the multiscale integrations that are essential for better informed predictions of future global aeolian system dynamics, considering whether the integration of these advances in reductionist and holistic elements of aeolian science represent an example of the effective application of the principles of Earth system science. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.