The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Climate-surface-pore-water interactions on a salt crusted playa: implications for crust pattern and surface roughness development measured using terrestrial laser scanning

Climate-surface-pore-water interactions on a salt crusted playa: implications for crust pattern and surface roughness development measured using terrestrial laser scanning
Climate-surface-pore-water interactions on a salt crusted playa: implications for crust pattern and surface roughness development measured using terrestrial laser scanning
Sodium accumulating playas (also termed sodic or natric playas) are typically covered by polygonal crusts with different pattern characteristics, but little is known about the short-term (hours) dynamics of these patterns or how pore water may respond to or drive changing salt crust patterning and surface roughness. It is important to understand these interactions because playa-crust surface pore-water and roughness both influence wind erosion and dust emission through controlling erodibility and erosivity. Here we present the first high resolution (10-3m; hours) co-located measurements of changing moisture and salt crust topography using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and infra-red imagery for Sua Pan, Botswana. Maximum nocturnal moisture pattern change was found on the crests of ridged surfaces during periods of low temperature and high relative humidity. These peaks experienced non-elastic expansion overnight, of up to 30 mm and up to an average of 1.5 mm/night during the 39 day measurement period. Continuous crusts on the other hand showed little nocturnal change in moisture or elevation. The dynamic nature of salt crusts and the complex feedback patterns identified emphasise how processes both above and below the surface may govern the response of playa surfaces to microclimate diurnal cycles
sodium sulphate, terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), aeolian dust source, playa polygon ridge dynamics, wind erosion
0197-9337
738-753
Nield, J.M.
173be2c5-b953-481a-abc4-c095e5e4b790
Wiggs, G.F.S.
a8348f6c-f651-4a93-9215-ee4becdf2318
King, J.
c28e1d73-7f6a-4e59-9354-bbba329f1b01
Bryant, R.G.
cd620b21-94bb-4347-a6b4-53eb861d8b17
Eckardt, F.D.
f3e54485-803f-4b04-b981-25db2c7b40be
Thomas, D.S.G.
13d9928c-2794-40cf-9b20-e08de792d867
Washington, R.
082b79fa-c904-4839-8154-62ab2ef25d57
Nield, J.M.
173be2c5-b953-481a-abc4-c095e5e4b790
Wiggs, G.F.S.
a8348f6c-f651-4a93-9215-ee4becdf2318
King, J.
c28e1d73-7f6a-4e59-9354-bbba329f1b01
Bryant, R.G.
cd620b21-94bb-4347-a6b4-53eb861d8b17
Eckardt, F.D.
f3e54485-803f-4b04-b981-25db2c7b40be
Thomas, D.S.G.
13d9928c-2794-40cf-9b20-e08de792d867
Washington, R.
082b79fa-c904-4839-8154-62ab2ef25d57

Nield, J.M., Wiggs, G.F.S., King, J., Bryant, R.G., Eckardt, F.D., Thomas, D.S.G. and Washington, R. (2016) Climate-surface-pore-water interactions on a salt crusted playa: implications for crust pattern and surface roughness development measured using terrestrial laser scanning. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 41, 738-753. (doi:10.1002/esp.3860).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Sodium accumulating playas (also termed sodic or natric playas) are typically covered by polygonal crusts with different pattern characteristics, but little is known about the short-term (hours) dynamics of these patterns or how pore water may respond to or drive changing salt crust patterning and surface roughness. It is important to understand these interactions because playa-crust surface pore-water and roughness both influence wind erosion and dust emission through controlling erodibility and erosivity. Here we present the first high resolution (10-3m; hours) co-located measurements of changing moisture and salt crust topography using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and infra-red imagery for Sua Pan, Botswana. Maximum nocturnal moisture pattern change was found on the crests of ridged surfaces during periods of low temperature and high relative humidity. These peaks experienced non-elastic expansion overnight, of up to 30 mm and up to an average of 1.5 mm/night during the 39 day measurement period. Continuous crusts on the other hand showed little nocturnal change in moisture or elevation. The dynamic nature of salt crusts and the complex feedback patterns identified emphasise how processes both above and below the surface may govern the response of playa surfaces to microclimate diurnal cycles

Text
Nield_etal_ESPL_accepted_2016.pdf - Author's Original
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.
Download (2MB)
Text
Nield_et_al_2016_Earth_Surface_Processes_and_Landforms_published.pdf - Version of Record
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.
Download (6MB)

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 22 October 2015
e-pub ahead of print date: 29 October 2015
Published date: 1 May 2016
Keywords: sodium sulphate, terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), aeolian dust source, playa polygon ridge dynamics, wind erosion
Organisations: Earth Surface Dynamics

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 383323
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/383323
ISSN: 0197-9337
PURE UUID: dd850961-dbbc-43c0-a07d-69692f6b4439
ORCID for J.M. Nield: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2657-0525

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 12 Nov 2015 11:40
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:29

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: J.M. Nield ORCID iD
Author: G.F.S. Wiggs
Author: J. King
Author: R.G. Bryant
Author: F.D. Eckardt
Author: D.S.G. Thomas
Author: R. Washington

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×