Analysis of Sand Dune Migration and Future Trends on the Western Edge of the Kumtag Desert

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear authors,

Please find my comments and suggestions in the attached PDF file.

Good luck,

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Thank you to the reviewer. We have uploaded the detailed responses to the reviewer's comments in the form of an attachment (Detailed Responses to Reviewers 1. doc). Please review the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This manuscript presents an in-depth analysis of sand dune migration along the western margin of the Kumtag Desert (northwestern China), aiming to understand current wind dynamics and to predict future migration trends under global climate change scenarios.

The topic is of high scientific and practical relevance to aeolian geomorphology and land management in arid environments. The study contributes to advancing the understanding of dune dynamics under extremely arid climatic conditions. The combination of high-resolution multitemporal imagery, meteorological data, and CMIP6 climate projections to estimate future dune migration trends represents a novel approach not previously applied in this region.

Although other studies have examined dune migration (e.g., Dörwald et al., 2023), this work adds an important predictive component by estimating future migration rates based on climate model outputs, thereby enhancing the understanding of potential aeolian responses to climate change.

The methodology is generally sound and clearly described. However, the following improvements are recommended:

Lines 180–181: Specify the analytical method used and provide the corresponding reference.

Lines 183–187: Indicate the NDVI data source and the temporal aggregation used (e.g., annual mean, growing season).

Lines 193–194: Clarify the selection criteria for the CMIP6 models and justify their choice.

Lines 230–232: Describe how dune displacements were measured (image type, spatial resolution, and georeferencing accuracy). Were any errors or uncertainties quantified?

Lines 257–259: Provide the Random Forest parameters, including the number of trees, validation method, and variable set used.
Clarify whether the data used for the correlation and Random Forest analyses were based on annual or multi-year averages, as this affects the statistical interpretation.

Section 3.4: Since CMIP6 models operate on a coarser spatial scale than the study area, specify whether the data were rescaled, which method was used, and the temporal range of the projections.

Lines 352–353: Discuss whether the projected increase of +5.78 m a⁻¹ above current values by 2100 is physically and climatologically realistic.

The conclusions are consistent with the presented evidence and adequately address the main research question. The logical link between observed dune dynamics and projected future changes is scientifically sound.

The bibliography is comprehensive and up to date, including both foundational works (Bagnold, 1942; Fryberger, 1979) and recent studies (Daudon et al., 2024; Biabani et al., 2024; Baas & Delobel, 2022). To further strengthen the scientific framework, the reference list could be complemented with additional key studies focusing on climate–dune interactions and wind regime variability in arid regions.

The resolution of Figure 1a (specifically, the inset image on the right) should be improved for better visual clarity. All other figures and tables are clear, well-organized, and informative.

Author Response

Thank you to the reviewer. We have uploaded the detailed responses to the reviewer's comments in the form of an attachment (Detailed Responses to Reviewers 2. doc). Please review the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.doc

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors The authors submitted a well written and an interesting manuscript dealing with the monitoring of the sand dune in arid regions based on remote sensing imagery, in-situ, multi-factor meteorological observations and CMIP6 climate scenarios. The methodology is presented, and the conclusions are supported by the results. Given economic and infrastructure values often located in arid regions, this study would provide a useful methodological approach for the monitoring and prediction of sand dune positions. However, the manuscript should be revised before it could be considered for publication. Below are some comments and suggestions to improve the overall quality of the manuscript:   In the section of introduction, lines 101-113, the authors should include reference to recent studies conducted on and dealing with the same subject. In the section of Materials and Methods, lines 154-199, the authors should provide detailed descriptions of the datasets used, especially for satellite imageries. While Google Earth platform allows to observe the studied area at very high resolution and with high details, the images from this platform are scientifically questioned given the fact that their metadata are not sufficient enough to know the acquisition time and environmental conditions. It would be interesting to use images from Sentinel-2 or Landsat satellites. Line 185: how did the authors calculate the NDVI? Please provide equations and the spectral bands used to compute NDVI in this current study. Line 194: the authors should provide detailed information on how RMSE was calculated. Please indicate the data and the software used.

Author Response

Thank you to the reviewer. We have uploaded the detailed responses to the reviewer's comments in the form of an attachment (Detailed Responses to Reviewers 3. doc). Please review the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear authors,

Please, adjust your manuscript according to the following minor comments:

1- The objectives of this work are still unclear, and you need to improve this part in the introduction section.

2- You did not improve the figures according to the previous comments, but you just focused on the captions (captions are so lengthy).

3- The conclusion is lengthy as well, so try to adjust and minimize.

Thank you

 

Author Response

Thank you for the valuable comments provided by the reviewers. We have carefully revised the manuscript based on your suggestions, and the specific instructions are as follows:

Comments1.Regarding the issue of unclear research objectives

Response:Thank you for your correction. We have further clarified and refined the research objectives of this article in the introduction section, supplemented the explanation of the research background and scientific questions, making the research objectives more clear and prominent.

Comments2. Regarding the issue of insufficient modification of charts and excessively long captions

Response:Thank you for reminding me again. We have thoroughly reviewed and optimized all charts and their captions, with specific modifications including:

Figure 1: Use more prominent red markings to indicate the location of meteorological observation stations in Figure 1 (a); The horizontal and vertical axis titles (including units) in Figure 1 (b) have been revised.Figure 4: The abbreviations of variables such as "DP" and "RH" in the figure have been replaced with their full names. The error values have been added to Figure 4 (b), and the captions have been condensed.Figure 7: The vertical axis title has been modified to clarify the scenarios represented by three different colored lines, unify the color system corresponding to each scenario, and supplement the meaning of the shaded areas in the caption.Table section: The rationality of all table titles and the accuracy of data have been comprehensively verified, and the decimal places have been standardized. The reason why Table 3 only distinguishes between "large sand dunes" and "small and medium-sized sand dunes" is that in the subsequent analysis of the relationship between sand dune movement and environmental factors, we only excluded large sand dunes, so the table classification is consistent with it.

Comments3. Regarding the issue of excessively lengthy conclusion section

Response:Thank you for your suggestion. We have comprehensively streamlined the conclusion section, removed redundant statements, highlighted core research findings and significance, and made the content more concise and clear.

Thank you again to the reviewers for their time and effort during the review process, and sincerely thank you for the constructive comments provided, which have played an important role in improving the quality of this article. If there are any further modifications needed, please feel free to let me know.

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

No further comments 

Author Response

We sincerely appreciate your time and effort in reviewing our manuscript.