Application of a High-Precision Aeolian Sand Collector in Field Wind and Sand Surveys

Sand collectors are important for quantitatively monitoring aeolian sand activities. In this paper, an automatic high-precision sand collector was designed. Based on the measured data of aeolian transport performed with a piezoelectric saltation sensor (H11-Sensit) and a 10 m high meteorological tower, the sampling efficiency of the automatic sand sampler and the horizontal dust flux of the near surface were analyzed based on observed data. The results were as follows: the best-fitting function between the number of impacting sand particles and the amount of collected sand was a linear relationship. The average value of R2 was 0.7702, and the average sand collection efficiency of the sand collector at a height of 5 cm was 94.3%, indicating good sand collection performance. From all field tests conducted so far, it appeared that a high-precision sand sampler was a useful device for making field measurements of horizontal dust fluxes and ascertaining the relationship between transition particles and wind speed. In the future, the equipment costs and wind drive will continue to be optimized.