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Submitted to: Association of American Geographers
Publication Type: Proceedings Publication Acceptance Date: 4/4/2000 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: In a region that is susceptible to wind erosion, one would expect high dust levels to be associated with strong winds and low dust levels to be associated with light winds, therefore, the correlation between dust concentration and wind speed is positive. On the other hand, one would expect little correlation between wind speed and dust concentration in stable regions since a step increase in wind speed would not necessarily be associated with a proportional increase in dust concentration. Thus, routine measurements of dust concentration and wind speed within arid or semiarid regions could be used to monitor changes in regional erodibility associated with natural or human-induced modifications to the landscape. Measurements taken within the Southern High Plains of North America suggest that this correlation technique provides a good quantitative measure of land surface conditions as they vary with time. |
