Microscale transport of sand-sized soil aggregates eroded by wind

Field measurements of the vertical profiles of horizontal fluxes of airborne, sand-sized soil aggregates are shown to be in good agreement with solutions of an equation that express the dependence of the concentration of sand at a given height on vertical diffusion and sedimentation. This approach treats sand as a diffusing agent rather than as projectiles that are affected by the wind only on the horizontal direction. The observed horizontal sand fluxes are shown to be in agreement with empirical formulas that express total horizontal flux of sand as a function of wind and soil parameters.