Analysis of a new surface-sampling technique for unconsolidated sand populations |
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| Authors: | C C Chancey and R D Sarre |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Physics, Amherst College, 01002 Amherst, Massachusetts;(2) Department of Geography, North Devon College, Sticklepath, Barnstaple, North Devon, England |
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| Abstract: | A new surface-sampling technique for unconsolidated sands on aeolian dunes is introduced and analyzed in terms of an elementary mathematical model. The sampling bias inherent to the technique is modeled using a simple geometric argument. This shows that samples drawn from 2D slices of a 3D population are naturally biased toward larger sand grains, with the nth moment of the surface (2D) distribution proportional to the (n+1)th moment of the bulk (3D) distribution. Laboratory tests of the sampling technique allow an empirical relation for the sampling bias to be determined, and comparison shows the model and empirical relations to be in close agreement for the particular population distributions considered. Possible corrections to the model, as suggested by the empirical analysis, are also discussed. |
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| Keywords: | aeolian sand dunes sampling bias geometry |
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