New Mexico Geological Society Annual Spring Meeting — Abstracts

Past research has shown that mesquite coppice dune areas are an important location of wind erosion activity in the Chihuahuan Desert, and that land disturbance from anthropogenic activities such as military training increases vulnerability to wind erosion. With this in mind, we are investigating aeolian sediment transport and deposition in the southern maneuver area of White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), New Mexico, to identify spatial and temporal patterns of sand and dust movement and to identify areas that may be relatively more resistant to wind erosion given potential anthropogenic disturbance. Soil mass transport through wind and the particle size distribution of airborne sand and dust are being measured. Twenty-four passive dust and sand monitoring sites were set up at WSMR (ten in the non-maneuvering area and fourteen in the maneuvering area), and samples have been collected on a seasonal basis for approximately one year.

More material was moved in late spring than any other period, and the least amount of material was moved during the summer, consistent with the expected seasonality of wind erosion in the Chihuahuan Desert. Particle size distributions are consistent with a saltation-sandblasting-dust production mechanism. Concentrations of deposited PM10 (airborne particles smaller than 10 microns) were highest in collectors 1.7m off the ground. Preliminary results show that amounts of transported and deposited sediments were independent of site location (maneuvering area or non-maneuvering area).

(Funding for this study has been provided by the U.S. Department of Defense, White Sands Missile Range, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.)