• 한국지형학회지
• /
• 제24권3호
• /
• pp.61-81
• /
• 2017

Traditional approaches to surface moisture problems in the context of aeolian research have focused on the initiation of sand movement, developing various models for predicting threshold velocity on a wet surface. They have been unsatisfactory, however, in explaining field observations because they have not incorporated spatiotemporal variability of surface moisture, the interactions between transported sand grains and surface, and the role of aeolian transport in controlling surface moisture. As Nield (2011) showed, a simplified numerical model can be used to investigate this issue. This research aims to explore the feedback structures between aeolian transport and surface moisture using a modified sand slab model. Key modifications are the introduction of simultaneous updating scheme for all the slabs and moisture-assigning procedures with and without aeolian transport. The major findings are as follows. Moist surface conditions suppress sand slab movement, leading to the development of smaller-scale topography. Available sands for aeolian transport are determined by the vertical patterns of moisture content with its variations from groundwater to the surface. Sand patches on a wet surface act as a localized source area. Sand movement drives immediate changes in surface moisture rather than time-lag reponses, mostly when moist conditions are dominant.