CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Bauer, B.O.; and Davidson-Arnott, R.G.D.
Date : 2006.
Title : Moisture and temperature trends on an active aeolian beach surface.
Publication : 2006 Meeting of The Association of American Geographers, March 7-11 2006, Palmer House Hilton Hotel, Chicago, Illinois.
Issue :
Page(s) :
Abstract
Temporal and spatial changes in surface moisture content are especially prevalent across sandy coastal beaches due to precipitation, wave spray, tidal fluctuations, relative humidity gradients, solar radiation, and sediment stripping or accumulation. These realities confound our ability to model and predict sediment transport volumes from the beach into the adjacent dunes. Laboratory experiments are unable to simulate the complex relationships experienced on a natural beach, therefore mandating the deployment of careful measurement techniques in the field. As part of a broader experiment investigating air flow and sediment delivery from the beach and into the foredune system at Greenwich Dunes, Prince Edward Island, Canada, measurements of surface moisture and temperature were made extending from the upper limits of the swash zone to the base of the foredune. The results demonstrate that there are both strong temporal and spatial elements to beach surface temperature patterns where the former are controlled by the effectiveness of solar radiation and air temperature in heating or cooling the surface locally whereas the spatial trends are primarily dependent on proximity to the swash zone. In contrast, the trends in surface moisture content are dominantly spatial. This has significant implications for the ability of the wind to entrain and transport sediment to the dunes largely because of decreased fetch length during high tide or storm surge events.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology