Search Results (650)

This study applies Small Baseline Subset Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SBAS-InSAR) to investigate surface deformation dynamics in the hyper-arid Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, with emphasis on quantifying sand dune migration and identifying areas susceptible to wind erosion. Utilizing Sentinel-1 SAR data and the MintPy toolbox, ground deformation was quantified with millimeter-scale precision. Results reveal significant subsidence, up to 15 cm/year in landfills, linked to waste compaction and groundwater depletion. Localized uplift of ~4 cm/year on northern peripheries is directly attributed to aeolian sand accumulation from seasonal Shamal winds, providing quantitative evidence of dune migration. While direct measurement of wind erosion (net deflation) remains challenging due to the dominance of depositional signals and the spatial heterogeneity of erosion processes, areas of potential erosion are inferred from negative displacement patterns outside landfill zones and from coherence characteristics indicative of surface instability. The integration of SBAS-InSAR with GPS and ERA5 wind reanalysis resolves the combined influence of aeolian deposition, hydrogeological changes, and anthropogenic activity, offering insights into both components of aeolian dynamics and a replicable model for sustainable land management in arid environments. Full article

The inhibitory effect of vegetation on soil wind erosion along grassland highways in semi-arid regions has not been fully elucidated. In this study, the dry vegetation near S105 provincial highway in the Sangendalai area of Xilingol League, Inner Mongolia was selected for a wind tunnel test, and the vegetation coverage and porosity during the test were determined by using image processing methods. On this basis, a porous medium model of dry vegetation was established, and the two-phase flow of wind and sand was numerically simulated. The results show that: (1) The numerical simulation results are in good agreement with the wind tunnel observations, confirming the feasibility of using CFD to simulate wind erosion affected by vegetation along grassland highways in semi-arid areas. (2) The aerodynamic roughness of the grassland surface increases nonlinearly with the increase of vegetation cover, and the increase of aerodynamic roughness is more obvious when the vegetation cover is more than 16% in the scope of this study. (3) Vegetation changed the typical jump-dominated wind–sand flow structure on the bare ground surface, showing a significant interception and attenuation effect of vegetation, which was manifested by the reduction of sand accumulation at the wind outlet and the increase of deposition within the vegetated area, thus effectively inhibiting the wind erosion process. The results of the study provide methodological references and a theoretical basis for the study of wind erosion along grassland highways in semi-arid regions and help to promote the sustainable development and ecological balance of grassland ecosystems in semi-arid regions. Full article

In a bid to investigate the optimum transportation method for offshore wind-produced hydrogen (H₂) and assess the feasibility of repurposing the existing oil and gas infrastructure for H₂ transmission, this paper assesses the existing H₂ transportation methods with a comprehensive review of the H₂ impact on the existing natural gas pipeline infrastructure. To establish the possibility of repurposing the existing natural gas (NG) pipelines for H₂ gas transport, this paper reviews the influential technical measures—composition, pressure, temperature, volumetric energy density, density, and pressure drop—to assess whether the characteristics of hydrogen gas are compatible with the natural gas pipeline infrastructure. Based on these reviews, it was found that the current NG pipeline pressure exacerbates the H₂ embrittlement; for the existing NG pipelines to be repurposed, the operating pressure should be reduced, and the pipeline material should be revised. It was found that higher strength steels can be re-used with major modifications, or the pipeline should be constructed from material grade X52 or below. Nevertheless, the fitness of the existing NG pipelines for H₂ transmission should be assessed on a case-by-case basis and other factors such as erosion, leakage, pressure cycling, monitoring (e.g., distributed fiber-optic sensing technology) and a rigorous assessment of welds and joints should also be considered. Full article

Rain erosion is a critical issue for the development of wind power generation because it limits the lifetime of wind turbine blades. To clarify the erosion initiation mechanism in wind turbine blades of metallic material, pit formation and erosion initiation on a smooth wet wall of aluminum materials A3003 and annealed A5052 were investigated; water droplets were impinged on the wall using a pulsed-jet tester; and combined theoretical and numerical studies were performed by considering the influence of the water film on the wall. Although the theoretical and numerical impact pressures were much lower than the offset yield strength of the materials, random pit formation and erosion initiation were observed on the target material. To clarify the reason for this, the occurrence of cavitation erosion was investigated based on the numerical pressure distribution of a droplet impacting a wet wall. The numerical results showed that the pressures in the droplet center and water film became lower than the saturated vapor pressure, suggesting the occurrence of cavitation erosion. Furthermore, a similar pit formation and erosion initiation were observed on the wall material in the acoustic cavitation test under the cavitation erosion condition. These results indicate that the pit formation could have been caused by the high impact pressure caused by the micro-jet mechanism that occurs when a droplet impacts the wet wall. This could potentially explain the mechanism of the more severe erosion in the actual wind turbine blade than was expected. Full article

This research presents a comprehensive multi-domain environmental assessment of Delos Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, through integration of long-term atmospheric and satellite remote sensing datasets. A significant methodological contribution of this research is the development of a cross-mission harmonization approach that enables the reconstruction of a continuous, multi-decadal atmospheric record. By implementing a hierarchical calibration pipeline to harmonise Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) observations, the study effectively eliminated a 6.61-fold systematic instrument offset, producing a 21-year time series (2004–2025) of tropospheric NO₂ concentrations. Simultaneously, a 24-year analysis (2000–2024) of coastline dynamics was conducted using the Landsat archive to quantify land area changes across the island and within a 1.03 km² Archaeological Area of Interest (AOI). Results indicate that atmospheric NO₂ concentrations stabilised following a 2015 peak, while coastal erosion represents a measurable risk to structural integrity. Net land loss of 18,400 m² was documented within the AOI, driven by localised geomorphological factors and exposure to Meltemi winds. The results indicate that these environmental processes are physically independent yet collectively require a multilayered conservation strategy to protect vulnerable archaeological heritage from atmospheric pollution and coastal retreat. Furthermore, the research highlights the value of long-term satellite datasets spanning more than two decades for supporting heritage monitoring and management, especially in remote or hard-to-reach locations. Through the analysis of the spatial and temporal characteristics of these sensors, the research enables the identification of hazard proxies that can inform risk-aware decision-making. Full article

Wind erosion is a multidimensional, dynamic process driven by natural and anthropogenic factors, but existing statistical methods struggle to capture its complex nonlinear relationships, resulting in incomplete quantification of drivers and their spatial variability. To address this, we integrate the Revised Wind Erosion Equation (RWEQ)model with explainable artificial intelligence to disentangle the spatiotemporal positive and negative effects of dominant drivers and their synergistic interactions in Inner Mongolia. Results show that, from 2000–2022, wind erosion has been decreasing on average by 1.1 t·ha⁻¹·yr⁻¹, mainly in the western deserts and locally in Hulunbuir sandy land. Severe erosion is mostly due to nature (78.7%) rather than anthropogenic (21.3%). Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), clay content (CL), windy days (WD), precipitation (PRE), temperature (TEM), and sand content (SA) were found to be the most important drivers of wind erosion. Critical threshold conditions for severe wind erosion are NDVI < 0.14, CL < 12%, GD > 26, PRE < 73.15 mm, and SA > 66%. When there is a certain combination of variables, wind erosion risk is greatly increased, which mainly happens in the western part of Alxa, Bayannur, and the area near the desert edge. Wind erosion control should shift toward region-specific precision management, including engineering protection, optimized grazing management, and vegetation restoration. Full article

Coastal wind turbines operate under severe salt spray, high humidity, and wind-driven erosion, which accelerate coating degradation and corrosion-induced cracking. In such environments, corrosion defects exhibit blurred boundaries, weak textures, and significant scale variations, challenging object detectors in small-target localization and precise boundary regression. To address these limitations, this study proposes CoastCor-Net, an enhanced YOLOv11-based framework that improves spatial–semantic alignment, boundary representation, and channel–spatial dependency modeling. The architecture integrates three complementary modules to enhance boundary sensitivity, spatial–semantic consistency, and cross-channel interaction: a Decoding-Driven Enhancement Block, a Complementary Feature Alignment Module, and a Channel-Transposed Coordinate Attention module. Extensive experiments on the Wind Turbine Blade Damage Dataset show that CoastCor-Net achieves 84.7% mAP@0.5 and 54.1% mAP@0.5:0.95, surpassing YOLOv13n by 3.2 percentage points in mAP@0.5 and improving AP_damage by 5.2 percentage points. The framework also demonstrates strong robustness under composite coastal perturbations. These findings highlight the practical effectiveness of structured multi-level feature enhancement for reliable and high-precision blade inspection in complex coastal environments. Full article

Soil degradation due to wind erosion is a major concern in semi-arid agricultural regions, particularly in South Africa’s Overberg area. This study evaluates the effectiveness of an agroforestry windbreak composed of Eucalyptus cladocalyx F. Muell. in reducing wind speed and horizontal dust flux on a wheat farm during the fallow period. Aeolian transport was quantified by using meteorological data, dust collection with MWAC samplers, and remote sensing via aerosol optical depth. Results showed that the windbreak reduced wind speeds by up to 24%, with higher effectiveness under moderate wind conditions (<8 m·s⁻¹) and in areas of denser vegetation. Dust transport was significantly lower on the leeward side, confirming the barrier’s mitigating influence. However, gaps within the windbreak channelled wind and elevated dust transport locally. The findings highlight agroforestry’s potential for soil protection and initiation of dust depositions in erosion-prone drylands, emphasizing the need for design optimization and broader implementation to enhance agricultural resilience under climate variability. Full article

This paper presents a multiple water droplet impact finite element model that can be used to simulate high strain rate water droplet erosion processes for various target materials. The model is able to provide predictions for mass loss and the evolution of erosion depth as a function of the number of impacts. This is achieved through a continuum damage mechanics approach coupled with element deletion for the target material. Validation of the model is performed by comparison with water droplet erosion data for PMMA. We apply the model to estimate the emissions of microplastics from wind turbines due to blade erosion. For adverse weather and operational conditions, our worst-case estimate was to the order of 340 g per blade per year. The developed framework is also used to model the effect of flaws in the blade coating on erosion progression. The effect of internal defects (voids) in the coatings on the erosion depth evolution was studied numerically. The presence of internal voids led to earlier coating breakthrough and exposure of the substrate material. The model can be used to study the effects of various types of flaws during both the incubation and mass loss stages of erosion. Full article

As the new energy strategy progresses, desert, Gobi, and wasteland areas have become key areas for photovoltaic (PV) development, inevitably bringing new environmental challenges. Although PV power stations act as obstacles with some wind and sand control effects, aeolian erosion remains a problem, especially in localized areas where erosion intensifies. To address this issue, this study uses the PV power station layout in the semi-arid wind and sand region of Yudaokou, Hebei, as a case study. Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) numerical simulations, a combined layout of PV panels and sand barriers is proposed. It is first assumed that this combined layout improves wind protection compared to photovoltaic arrays. The impact of different sand barrier configurations on the airflow field is analyzed to explore their role in controlling aeolian erosion. By analyzing the airflow field, areas of intensified and potentially intensified aeolian erosion are identified. Based on this, sand barriers are strategically placed in key protective zones on the windward side of the PV array, and the combined layout of PV panels and sand barriers is optimized to improve aeolian erosion control effectiveness and promote the sustainable development of PV power stations. The results indicate that PV panels significantly reduce wind speed by altering local airflow and flow patterns, with the impact primarily concentrated in the first 3 to 4 rows on the windward side of the PV array. By establishing sand barriers beneath the PV panels on the windward side, aeolian erosion can be effectively reduced, with the effect on the airflow field primarily occurring within the 0–0.3 m height above the ground. Continuously establishing sand barriers up to the third row of PV panels effectively reduces wind speed, with further extension not significantly improving wind protection, indicating that the third row of PV panels serves as the critical point for sand barrier establishment. This configuration provides the ideal layout for achieving effective protection and offers theoretical and practical guidance for improving the layout of combined PV power stations. Comprehensive analysis suggests that the optimized configuration of PV arrays and sand barrier layout effectively controls aeolian erosion, with the Model 3, which places sand barriers up to the third row of PV panels, ensuring efficient resource utilization. This study offers a practical approach to reducing damage from wind and sand by optimizing the layout of sand barriers and PV panels, thereby providing important guidance for the sustainable development of PV power stations in arid areas. Full article

China possesses 400 million hectares of grasslands that provide regulating ecosystem services (ESs), including wind erosion control, water conservation, and carbon sequestration. The central government implemented the Grassland Ecological Protection Subsidy and Reward Policy (GERCP) in 2011, allocating 150 billion yuan (approximately $23 billion) through 2020, while national vegetation coverage increased from 51.0% in 2011 to 56.1% in 2020. Existing valuation studies emphasize total economic value but rarely quantify the concentration of ES values across space or their alignment with fiscal allocation. We compiled 734 grassland ES valuation observations from 186 studies published between 2000 and 2024, and estimated a multi-level mixed-effects meta-regression model for benefit transfer. We projected standardized county-level ES values, decomposed spatial inequality using the Gini coefficient and Theil index, and assessed the mismatch between value-informed allocation weights and observed GERCP transfers. Predicted values exhibit high concentration (Gini coefficient = 0.58), and between-zone differences explain 52% of total Theil inequality. The mismatch analysis identifies 94 high-value and low-compensation counties concentrated in southern Qinghai and northern Tibet, where per-hectare values are 180 to 240% above national medians, and compensation is 35 to 55% below the median. The results support value-informed targeting and redistribution of fiscal weights across regions, while payment levels require pricing benchmarks based on opportunity cost or conservation cost rather than total economic value. We propose calibrating compensation rates through a tiered schedule based on ESV quantiles or standardized ecosystem-service bundles, and implementing county-level differentiated payments with periodic updating tied to monitoring and evaluation. As a minimum viable step, we recommend piloting this scheme in counties with high ESV yet low current compensation, and integrating it into existing ecological compensation funding channels to reduce administrative frictions. Full article

Leading-edge erosion of wind turbine blades caused by repeated raindrop impingement can significantly reduce power output and increase maintenance costs. This study develops a rain erosion atlas for Japan over 11 years from 2006 to 2016 based on the CRIEPI-RCM-Era2 dataset. The NREL 5 MW, DTU 10 MW, and IEA 15 MW wind turbines were employed to evaluate the incubation time (erosion onset time) of commercial polyurethane-based coating at the blade tip. Erosion progression was simulated using an empirical damage model that relates raindrop impingement and impact velocity to the incubation time. The rain erosion atlas reveals a clear correlation between wind turbine size and erosion risk: the NREL 5MW turbine shows an incubation time of 3–12 years, the DTU 10MW turbine 1–4 years, and the IEA 15MW turbine 0.5–2 years. Shorter incubation times are observed on the Pacific Ocean side, where annual precipitation is higher than on the Sea of Japan side. Additionally, the influence of coating degradation due to ultraviolet radiation was assessed using solar radiation data, revealing a further reduction in incubation time on the Pacific Ocean side. Finally, the potential of erosion-safe mode operation was examined, demonstrating its effectiveness in alleviating erosion progression. Full article

Wind turbines operate in harsh environments where leading-edge blade erosion from particulates like sand, rain, and insects is prevalent, significantly degrading aerodynamic performance and reducing power output. To counteract this, this study proposes a novel flow-control method using detached micro-cylinders placed upstream of the leading edge of eroded S809 (a wind turbine blade profile) airfoils. The approach is inspired by the concept of symmetry recovery in disturbed flows, where strategically introduced perturbations can restore balance to an asymmetric separation pattern. The aerodynamic performance of the S809 airfoil was numerically investigated under three leading-edge erosion depths (0.2%, 0.5%, and 1% of chord length, *c*) with a fixed micro-cylinder diameter of 1% *c* positioned at fifteen different locations. Findings reveal that the strategic placement of micro-cylinders ahead of the leading edge or on the pressure side markedly enhances the aerodynamic efficiency of airfoils with 0.2% and 0.5% erosion, achieving a maximum improvement of 148.7% in the lift-to-drag ratio (L/D) difference function for the 0.5% eroded airfoil. This performance recovery is interpreted as a partial restoration of flow symmetry, disrupted by erosion-induced separation. The interaction between the cylinder wake and the spill-over stall vortex originating from the erosion groove was identified as the primary mechanism, injecting high-energy fluid into the boundary layer to suppress flow separation. This study systematically parametrizes the effect of erosion depth and cylinder placement, offering new insights for mitigating erosion-induced performance loss through controlled asymmetry introduction. Full article

The radial sand-ridge field off the Jiangsu coast is a distinctive landform in a strongly tide-dominated environment, where sediment supply and geomorphic patterns have been profoundly altered by Yellow River course changes, reduced Yangtze-derived sediment, and large-scale reclamation. Focusing on a typical nearshore sector off Dongtai, this study integrates multi-source data from 1979 to 2025, including historical nautical charts, high-precision engineering bathymetry, full-tide hydro-sediment observations, and surficial sediment samples, to quantify seabed erosion–deposition over 46 years and clarify linkages among tidal currents, suspended-sediment transport, and surface grain-size patterns. Surficial sediments from Maozhusha to Jiangjiasha channel systematically fine from north to south: sand-ridge crests are dominated by sandy silt, whereas tidal channels and transition zones are characterized by silty sand and clayey silt. From 1979 to 2025, Zhugensha and its outer flank underwent multi-meter accretion and a marked accretion belt formed between Gaoni and Tiaozini, while the Jiangjiasha channel and adjacent deep troughs experienced persistent scour (local mean rates up to ~0.25 m/a), forming a striped “ridge accretion–trough erosion” pattern. Residual and potential maximum currents in the main channels enhance scour and offshore export of fines, whereas relatively strong depth-averaged flow and near-bed shear on inner sand-ridge flanks favor frequent mobilization and short-range trapping of coarser particles. Suspended-sediment concentration and median grain size are generally positively correlated, with suspension coarsening in high-energy channels but dominated by fine grains on nearshore flats and in deep troughs. These findings refine understanding of muddy-coast geomorphology under strong tides and may inform offshore wind-farm foundation design, navigation-channel maintenance, and coastal-zone management. Full article

This study focuses on the scale of wind and rainfall-induced soil erosion that is relevant to transportation infrastructure. To this end, an experimental approach was devised and carried out to assess the effectiveness of lignin, a biodegradable and non-toxic plant-derived biopolymer, in enhancing soil resistance to wind and rainfall-induced erosion. The experimental program included basic soil tests required for soil classification, wind and rainfall-induced erosion tests, pocket penetrometer tests to assess the near-surface soil strength, SEM, EDS scans, and FTIR spectroscopy to evaluate changes in the fabric and chemical composition of the soil treated with lignin. Additionally, the effect of lignin on the re-establishment of the vegetative cover after the construction completion was also investigated. It was found that an increased spraying rate of lignin solution increased both the near-surface strength and wind erosion resistance. Moreover, SEM scans showed that the presence of lignin provided abundant particle coating, which is a source of additional cohesive strength. However, the spraying rate had a minor effect on rainfall erosion resistance, which increased with an increase in lignin solution concentration. Finally, lignin treatment did not significantly affect the size of the vegetative cover and had a minor effect on soil nutrients. Full article