Damage by wind-blown sand and its control along Qinghai-Tibet Railway in China

Qinghai-Tibet Railway, with an average altitude of 4500 m above sea level, is the longest railway in a high altitude region. It passes through 550 km-long permafrost belt and crosses the Kunlun and Tanggulha Mountain on Tibetan Plateau. Since it opened in 2006, damage by wind-blown sand began to and rapidly spread along the railway. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the climatic conditions, the damage by wind-blown sand and its control along Qinghai-Tibet Railway.