International Journal of Land Processes and Arid Environment (IJLPAE) Vol. 1, No.

1, January, 2012 Science Academy Publisher, United Kingdom www.sciacademypublisher.com

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Entrainment of sand by wind on Mars

Zhen-Ting Wang
Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertication, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, P.R. China Email: wangzht@lzu.edu.cn or wang zhen ting00@sohu.com Abstract It is naturally doubtful whether the continuum ow hypothesis still be suitable for Martian

aeolian processes or not because the Knudsen number, the ratio of the mean free path between molecular collisions to grain size, is not always small enough under the Martian circumstances. The present study shows that, for the same grain diameter, the required wind velocity to initiate grain motion on Mars is generally less than three times of that on Earth. It is recommended to describe the ow of Martian gas with a non-Maxwellian velocity distribution by using the Boltzmann transport equation rather than the Navier-Stokes equation.
Keywords Mars; Rareed gas eect; Wind erosion PACS Numbers 92.60.Gn; 92.40.Gc; 96.12.Kz

Although aeolian process is a common phenomenon occurring on Mars [1], the knowledge of Martian aeolian sediment transport is still limited because direct studies are always dicult. As a valuable tool, numerical models are frequently applied, e.g. [24]. However, most physical laws and assumptions suitable for the Earth case are not validated under the Martian circumstances. Fluid mechanics plays an essential role in the entrainment, transport, and deposition of sand by wind. According to the Knudsen number Kn, the ow types can be classied as follows [5, 6],

The present state and composition of the Martian atmosphere are well-known [7]. It is thin and mostly composed of CO2 (95%). Very little water vapor (around 0.03%) is present. For the typical Martian parameters of P = 10mbar and T = 293K, the mean free path is = 6.6m [8]. This fact indicates that the continuum ow hypothesis, widely used in various numerical simulations of Martian saltation, is highly questionable. Therefore, the non-continuum eects such as the presence of slip at the interface of the sand grain and the gas must be taken into account. The aerodynamic drag force F on the grain is often expressed by 1 Kn < 0.01 Continuum ow (4) F = Cd V 2 d2 8 0.01 < Kn < 0.1 Slip ow (1) where V is the grain-to-wind velocity, C is the drag d 0.1 < Kn < 10 Transition ow coecient, is the uid density. Kn > 10 Free molecular ow A very recent numerical investigation shows that where Kn is dened as the ratio between the mean the drag coecient C may be correlated using the d free path of the gas and the grain diameter d, following expression [9] 24(1+2) (2) Kn = Cd = Re(1+3) [1 + 0.1509 1+2 Re0.678 1+3 d (5) 0.0254 1+3 Re1.104 ] From the kinetic theory of gases, assuming that where Reynolds number Re and the slip coecient molecules interact like hard spheres, it follows that can be written as, kT = (3) V d 2 2P c (6) Re = where k, c , T , and P are Boltzmanns constant, the and molecular diameter, temperature, and pressure, re2(2 0 ) = Kn (7) spectively.
0

Z.-T. Wang / IJLPAE, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 27-29, January, 2012

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14 12 10 V (m/s) 8 6 4 2 Mars Earth

where is the uid viscosity and the tangential momentum accommodation coecient 0 is in the range of 0.2 to 1.0. The traditional non-slip sphere corresponds with = 0.

0 0 200

400 600 d(m) 800 1000

Figure 2.

Change of threshold wind velocity V with grain size d

Figure 1.

Force balance of a grain resting on the surface at the

motion instance

Aeolian erosion occurs only when a threshold value of the wind velocity is reached [10]. Fig. 1 is probably the simplest schematic of forces acting on a grain resting on the surface at the motion instance. The force balance leads to F cos G sin = 0 6 6 (8)

where the gravity force is G = 1 s gd3 . 6 The trajectory of a saltating grain is determined by Newtons second law of motion [11] xV 1 s d3 x = F 6 (x V )2 + y 2 y 1 s d3 y = G F 6 (x V )2 + y 2 (9)

(10)

where x and y are the coordinates of the grain, V is the wind velocity. The initial conditions are x|t=0 = y|t=0 = 0 x|t=0 = u0 cos y|t=0 = u0 sin (11)

Thus, the curves in g. 2 which gives the change of threshold wind velocity V with grain diameter d are only appropriate for d > 100m. The Martian V is nearly similar to the terrestrial one when 100m < d < 200m. When 100m < d < 1000m, the required wind velocities to initiate grain motion on Mars are generally less than three times of those on Earth. A previous numerical model predicted that the typical Martial saltation length exceeds 100m [2]. However, our calculations of grain trajectories with a lift-o angle of = show that such giant saltations 4 will happen only under some extremely exceptional circumstances (e.g. u0 > 13.5m/s and V > 40m/s or u0 > 16m/s and V > 30m/s) even in a uniform ow eld. The present study suggests that the rareed gas eects should not be neglected while modeling Martian aeolian process. The Boltzmann equation rather than the Navier-Stokes equation is recommended to describe the airow. From a practical standpoint, Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method seems to be a good choice. References
[1] R. Greeley and J. D. Iverson, Wind as a geological process on earth, mars, venus and titan, pp. 1-107 (Cambridge University Press, 1985). [2] M. P. Almeida et al., Giant saltation on Mars, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 105, 6222-6226 (2008). [3] J. F. Kok, Dierence in the wind speeds required for initiation versus continuation of sand transport on mars: implications for dunes and dust storms, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 074502 (2010). [4] J. F. Kok, An improved parameterization of windblown sand ux on Mars that includes the eect of hysteresis, Geophys. Res. Lett. 37, L12202 (2010). [5] H. S. Tsien, Superaerodynamics, mechanics of rareed gases, J. Aerospace Sci. 13, 653-664 (1946).

where u0 and are the velocity and angle of the grain at lift-o, respectively. Given the grain diameter d, the threshold wind velocity V can be obtained from eq. (8). The motion eqs. (9) and (10) associated with the initial conditions (11) determine the dominant characteristics of saltation trajectories. The relevant parameters used in the calculations are listed in tab. 1 where the values of Martian gravity, air density and viscosity, and sand density come from ref. [2]. The cohesive forces, which control the threshold velocity of small grains, are not included in g. 1.

Z.-T. Wang / IJLPAE, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 27-29, January, 2012

Table 1.

29

Earth Mars

g(m/s2 ) 9.81 3.71

(103 kg/m3 ) 1.225 0.02

the values of relevant parameters. s (103 kg/m3 ) (105 kg/m s)

2.65 3.20

1.78 1.30

0 *** 0.6

(m) *** 6.6

[6] C. L. Bailey et al., A critical review of the drag force on a sphere in the transition ow regime. In: Rareed Gas Dynamics. AIP Conference Proceedings, 762 . American Institute of Physics, pp. 743-748 (2004). [7] C. Gillmann et al., The present-day atmosphere of Mars: Where does it come from? Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 277 384393 (2009). [8] J.P. Merrison et al., Simulation of the Martian dust aerosol at low wind speeds, J. Geophys. Res. 107(E12), 5133 (2002). [9] Z.-G. Feng, A correlation of the drag force coecient on a sphere with interface slip at low and intermediate Reynolds numbers, J. Disper. Sci. Tech. 31, 968-974 (2010). [10] Z.-T. Wang, Inuence of moisture on the entrainment of sand by wind, Powder Tech. 164, 89-93 (2006). [11] J. E. Ungar, P. K. Ha, Steady state saltation in air, Sedimentology 34, 289-299 (1987).