The shape of barchan dunes

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Item Type:	Article
Title:	The shape of barchan dunes
Creators Name:	Kroy, K., Fischer, S. and Obermayer, B.
Abstract:	Barchans are crescent-shaped sand dunes forming in arid regions with unidirectional wind and limited sand supply. We report analytical and numerical results for dune shapes under different environmental conditions as obtained from the so-called 'minimal model' of aeolian sand dunes. The profiles of longitudinal vertical slices (i.e. along the wind direction) are analysed as a function of wind speed and sand supply. Shape transitions can be induced by changes of mass, wind speed and sand supply. Within a minimal extension of the model to the transverse direction the scale-invariant profile of transverse vertical cuts can be derived analytically.
Keywords:	Water Shear-Flow, Sand, Saltation, Flume, Mars
Source:	Journal Of Physics: Condensed Matter
ISSN:	0953-8984
Publisher:	IOP Publishing Ltd
Volume:	17
Number:	14
Page Range:	S1229-S1235
Date:	13 April 2005
Official Publication:	https://doi.org/10.1088/0953-8984/17/14/012

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