Monitoring sand dune advance in the Taklimakan Desert

The migration rate of sand dunes is important for the design of the sand-control system in the Taklimakan Desert. Sand dune movement was monitored in a sample plot along the desert-crossing highway by means of a topographical survey in late 1991, 1992 and 1993. The results reveal that most of the morphometric parameters of the dunes are not as well correlated as they are generally supposed to be. The mean advance rate of the dunes was 7.29 and 5.56 m year−1 in 1992 and 1993, respectively. The advance direction is towards the SW, approximately in accordance with the local resultant wind direction. The advance rate of the dunes was controlled by the local wind regime and dune morphometry. However, the relationships between advance rate and the morphometric parameters of the dunes are variable for the immature dunes. The small scale and immaturity of the dunes, insufficient sand supply, and complex wind modes are responsible for the complex dune parameter relationship, involving frequent changes of dune morphology, as well as changes of dune advance rate.