Aeolian Systems: Processes, Landforms, and Impacts on Climate and Environment

Dear Colleagues,

Aeolian systems constitute an integral component of Earth system science and a highly interdisciplinary field that connects meteorology, soil science, ecology, hydrology, geomorphology and sedimentology. Understanding the mechanisms that drive aeolian processes and shape landforms is fundamental to reconstructing the Earth’s history, exploring planetary surfaces, and developing sustainable land management strategies in a changing climate.

Since the seminal work of R.A. Bagnold almost one century ago, remarkable progress has been made in elucidating the physics governing fluid–grain–bed interactions, monitoring aeolian systems with increasing spatial and temporal resolution, and quantifying landform morphodynamics on Earth and the other celestial bodies of our solar system. Furthermore, our capability to model aeolian dust emission and transport has advanced substantially in recent decades, with profound implications for our understanding of the energy, carbon, and water cycles. Given the inherently interdisciplinary nature of aeolian research, contributions advancing our knowledge of aeolian processes and landforms are distributed across diverse scientific domains.

Consequently, the goal of this Special Issue is to gather together papers, including original research articles, methodological and instrumentation studies, and review papers, that advance our understanding of aeolian processes, landforms, and their environmental implications. We particularly welcome papers presenting novel approaches to the measurement, quantification, and modeling of aeolian processes and landforms. Manuscripts focusing on different types of feedback between aeolian processes and the various components of the Earth system (including soil and atmosphere geochemistry, radiation balance, and climate and weather processes) are also welcome, as are contributions in the field of planetary aeolian systems. In addition, we welcome studies examining anthropogenic aeolian particles, e.g., the entrainment, transport, and deposition of microplastics, and the implications thereof for environmental health.

This Special Issue welcomes manuscripts that link the following themes:

• Advances in field and laboratory research methods;
• Measurement, quantification, and modeling of landform morphodynamics;
• Numerical simulations of fluid–grain–bed interactions;
• Dust monitoring, quantification, and modeling;
• Advances in modeling soil erosion and land degradation;
• Planetary aeolian systems;
• Impacts of aeolian systems on the Earth’s climate.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Dr. Eric J. R. Parteli
Dr. Pei Zhang
Guest Editors

Dr. Chloe Daudon
Guest Editor Assistant

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