Imagery, soil temperature and humidity profiles, and meteorological data from December 2020 to April 2021, Grand Falls Dune Field, Arizona
Dates
Publication Date
2021-09-29
Start Date
2020-12-15
End Date
2021-04-22
Citation
Titus, T.N., Williams, K.E., Cushing, G. and Gullikson, A.L., 2021, Imagery, soil profiles, and meteorological data from December 2020 to April 2021, Grand Falls Dune Field, Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9BXCN7E.
Summary
Grand Falls dune field (GFDF) is located on the Navajo Nation, ~70 km NE of Flagstaff, AZ. This active dune field displays a range of morphologies, including barchans, smaller dunes, and ripples, and is bimodal in composition. The felsic component is likely derived from the Little Colorado River, and the mafic component (basaltic grains) is locally sourced from nearby cinder cones [1]. GFDF is an excellent analog site for both active dunes on Mars and other planetary bodies that have dune-like features (e.g., Venus and Titan). We have set up a meteorological station within the dune field that records temperature, barometric pressure, relative humidity, wind direction, wind speed, solar radiation, and precipitation. In addition, an [...]
Summary
Grand Falls dune field (GFDF) is located on the Navajo Nation, ~70 km NE of Flagstaff, AZ. This active dune field displays a range of morphologies, including barchans, smaller dunes, and ripples, and is bimodal in composition. The felsic component is likely derived from the Little Colorado River, and the mafic component (basaltic grains) is locally sourced from nearby cinder cones [1]. GFDF is an excellent analog site for both active dunes on Mars and other planetary bodies that have dune-like features (e.g., Venus and Titan). We have set up a meteorological station within the dune field that records temperature, barometric pressure, relative humidity, wind direction, wind speed, solar radiation, and precipitation. In addition, an array of temperature and relative humidity sensors were deployed at five different depths within the soil to capture diurnal temperatures and humidity variations. This array is located near the meteorological station and both sets of instruments collect data every 15 minutes. A set of cameras have been positioned near an active ripple field, ~7 m southeast of the meteorological station. The cameras take images every 10 minutes to monitor ripple movement. A series of images were also taken using a NIKON D250 camera, in which data were then processed using the software Agisoft Metashope Professional to create a digital elevation model of the ripple field. [1] Hayward, R. K. et al. (2010) 2nd Int. Plan. Dunes Wrkshp., Abstract #2004.
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GFDF_general.xml Original FGDC Metadata
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Purpose
Data was collected to place better constraints on atmosphere-surface interactions and help in correlating wind velocity and ripple migration characteristics. In addition, the included imagery and digital elevation model will allow small-scale topography of migrating bi-modal sand ripples to be characterized.
