Fig. 1: Regional setting.
a Location of the study site within Taitema playa, Taklimakan Desert (39.46°N, 88.44°E). The white square represents the dune deformation monitoring area, and the yellow dot indicates the location of the monitoring instruments. b Arrangement of wind and saltation monitoring instruments. The 2-D ultrasonic anemometers are positioned at 0.10, 0.58, 0.78, 1.08, 1.28, 1.78, 2.28, and 3.28 m above ground level, with a measurement frequency of 0.5 Hz. The sand flux intensities were measured by three impact sensors with a sampling frequency of 10 min. The aeolian sediment transport profile was monitored by BSNE sand traps, which feature a vertical sampler opening of 0.02 m (width) × 0.45 m (height) and are situated at heights of 0.22, 0.42, 0.62, 0.92, 1.12, 1.62, 2.12, and 3.12 m. c Grain size distribution curves at different heights of sand traps collected during three strong-wind events. Solid lines are the mean sizes. d Sand flux profiles for 10 monitoring periods calculated from the actual sediment weight collected by BSNE. e Real-time monitoring of wind speed at 3.28 m above ground level and sand flux using SandFlow sensors (SF4, with a sampling interval of 10 min).
