The physics of wind-blown sand and dust

The transport of sand and dust by wind is a potent erosional force, creates sand dunes and ripples, and loads the atmosphere with suspended dust aerosols. This article presents an extensive review of the physics of wind-blown sand and dust on Earth and Mars. Specifically, we review the physics of aeolian saltation, the formation and development of sand dunes and ripples, the physics of dust aerosol emission, the weather phenomena that trigger dust storms, and the lifting of dust by dust devils and other small-scale vortices. We also discuss the physics of wind-blown sand and dune formation on Venus and Titan.Comment: 72 journal pagers, 49 figure

How Should Governments Address High Levels of Natural Radiation and Radon--Lessons from the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident and Ramsar, Iran

The authors discuss the high levels of natural background radiation in Ramsar, Iran, and offer data indicating that this has had little effect on the health of Ramsar\u27s inhabitants. The authors then examine the implications their research could have for public health policy

ANALYSIS OF WALL SHAPE IN INDOOR AIR CIRCULATION BY THE FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

The use of computational models in built environments comes from the need to deal with situations as close as possible to the reality and also to study functional spaces that could be able to provide, for example, thermal comfort. In this work we analyze some cases of indoor air circulation in built environments through a mixed stabilized finite element method, applied to the Navier-Stokes equations in velocity and pressure variables. The implemented numerical method ensures stability for the internal constraint imposed by the velocity field, and accommodates moderate to large advective effects. The obtained internal wind field allows the choice of wall shapes that increase or not the ventilation and can alter its distribution, allowing in this way a better adequacy of the built environment for the climate needs and its objectives