Field evaluation of some sand transport models

Fluorescent tracer procedures, originally developed for research on fluvial sediment movement, were used to monitor the movement of three commercially purchased sands in a natural dune environment. Results were compared with estimates of transport rates from three theoretical models. Estimates from models by Bagnold (1941) and Hsu (1971) were larger by as much as one order of magnitude than the rates observed in the tracer study. The model of A. A. Kadib (1965) provided closer correspondence to observed transport rates for medium sand (mean diam. 0.653 mm) but underestimated rates for coarse sand (mean diam. 0.992 mm).