The Effect of a Single Shrub on Wind Speed and Nabkhas Dune Development: A Case Study in Kuwait

Jasem M. Al-Awadhi

Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Kuwait University, Kuwait City, Kuwait.

DOI: 10.4236/ijg.2014.51004                

Abstract

Thirty coastal nabkhas were selected for morphometrical measurements. The studied nabkhas were mostly elongated, with an average total length of about 12.9 m, an average width of 3.4 m, and an average height of 1.2 m. Optical porosity of nabkha shrub crown was measured and no apparent relationship with the horizontal size of trapped wind laden sand was found. A simple wind tunnel experiment was carried out to investigate the horizontal wind-flow distribution across a pro-typed shrub. The results of the experiment revealed that the degree of wind sheltering might extend up to a downwind distance approximately equal to 4.5 times the height of the shrub, where an effective velocity recovery started.

Keywords

Nabkhas; Sediment; Porosity; Wind Tunnel

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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