Sand flux estimation during a sand-dust storm at Tazhong area of Taklimakan Desert, China

In this paper, the sand transport during a sand-dust storm in the Tazhong area of the central Taklimakan Desert from 11：29 to 23：56 on July 19, 2008 was observed and measured in real time. The sand flux at Tazhong was estimated using sand transport empirical formulas. The critical friction velocity at Tazhong was 0.24 m/s and the functional relation between the wind speed and sediment discharge at the height of 2 m was established. It was also found that the calculated values by Lettau＇s sediment discharge formula were close to those of the instrument measurements. The horizontal sand flux and the vertical sand flux during this sand-dust storm at Tazhong were respectively 258.67×10-4 kg/（m·s） and 40.07×10-7 kg/（m2·s）.