Underwater Desert

Windblown dunes aren't normally stable at a size that fits in a lab, but a new technique creates them in a water tank. The proportions match those of real dunes and apparently verify fundamental principles of dune formation. Image credit: P. Hersen/ENS

Windblown dunes can engulf houses, roads, and airfields, but researchers have had a hard time studying them under controlled conditions. For one thing, tabletop-sized dunes aren't normally stable. Now a team of physicists reports it has generated miniature replicas of crescent-shaped dunes known as barchans in a water tank. At the same time, they say they have verified a basic principle of dune formation. The researchers hope their technique will improve understanding of dune formation and stability as well as related phenomena, such as seashore evolution.

Read more about this research at Physical Review Focus.
Text courtesy of Physical Review Focus.