Relationships between soil moisture and dust emissions in a bare sandy soil of Mongolia

• Relationships between soil moisture and dust emissions were examined by PI-SWERL® device.
• An increased soil moisture results in an increased threshold value for a sandy soil.
• A critical soil moisture value to suppress dust emissions was defined as 0.02 g/g.
• A simple dust diagram could be used to identify the environmental conditions for dust emissions.

This study presents experimental results of the change in threshold friction velocity and dust emission strength as a function of soil moisture content. The dust and soil moisture data were obtained from irrigated plots of a bare, sandy soil (no vegetation) situated in the Mongolian steppe. Dust flux was measured using the PI-SWERL® device, while soil moisture was measured using gravimetric methods. Our results demonstrate the strong controlling effects of soil moisture on both the threshold friction velocity and dust emission strengths. Threshold friction velocity increased from 0.44 m/s for dry soil (0.002 g/g) to 0.67 m/s for wet soil (0.06 g/g), confirming the importance of soil moisture for controlling dust events. Dust emission strength was significantly depressed for wet soils, starting at a soil moisture value of 0.02 g/g. From these results, we developed a simple dust diagram that may be useful as part of a warning system to identify initial sensitivity to threshold conditions as well as conditions that could lead to potentially significant dust emissions. Overall, the research findings in this study could be used to provide foreknowledge of conditions that would be conducive to high dust emissions for this area of Mongolia.

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