Development of a Simple Observation System to Monitor Regional Wind Erosion

Abstract

Dryland occupies about 46% of the global land surface area (except Antarctica) and is the most vulnerable area to climate change. From the conditions of vegetation and land surface wetness and blown sand phenomena, a simple observation system was developed to monitor regional wind erosion and applied to Khuld of Mongolia, which is sensitive to drought and desertification. The system was composed of instruments that observed blown sand, vegetation amount, land surface wetness, and landscape features related to regional wind erosion. Sixteen blown sand and eight sandstorm events were evaluated from 5 March to 5 June 2023 (i.e., during the Asian dust season in northeast Asia). The normalized difference vegetation index and visible images showed that the vegetation amount was considerably less, and the developed moisture index related to land surface wetness indicated dry conditions. Combining the results of blown sand, these indices, and visible images, land surface conditions during the analysis period were likely to occur with blown sand events.