Local Structure of Mature Dust Storms

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Abstract
An attempt is made to describe the local structure of a dust storm during its mature stage, when the storm can be considered as steady. Vertical profiles of wind, dust concentration and temperature are obtained by using boundary layer equations for a fluid carrying heavy particles and taking into account the thermal stratification. The nondimensional parameters which determine the structure of the flow are the Richardson and the Kolmogorov flux numbers, the latter describing the part of turbulent energy spent on suspension of the dust particles. The work done by the flow for suspension is always positive, which results in a decrease of the turbulent energy and an increase in the stability of the flow. As a result, other conditions being equal, the flow is accelerated. Observational data are presented which confirm this effect. A self-similar singular solution describes the saturated flow which carries the largest possible amount of dust. Other solutions approach this limiting one with increasing ... Abstract An attempt is made to describe the local structure of a dust storm during its mature stage, when the storm can be considered as steady. Vertical profiles of wind, dust concentration and temperature are obtained by using boundary layer equations for a fluid carrying heavy particles and taking into account the thermal stratification. The nondimensional parameters which determine the structure of the flow are the Richardson and the Kolmogorov flux numbers, the latter describing the part of turbulent energy spent on suspension of the dust particles. The work done by the flow for suspension is always positive, which results in a decrease of the turbulent energy and an increase in the stability of the flow. As a result, other conditions being equal, the flow is accelerated. Observational data are presented which confirm this effect. A self-similar singular solution describes the saturated flow which carries the largest possible amount of dust. Other solutions approach this limiting one with increasing ...

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