Switch on tunnel vision: Portable wind tunnels to understand and quantify aeolian processes

• Autores: Marzen, Miriam Britt; Akshalov, Kanat; Grima, Carlos Asensio; Avecilla, Fernando; Buschiazzo, Daniel Eduardo; Colazo, Juan Cruz; Del Bello, Elisabetta; Engelmann, Lars; Etyemezian, Vicken R.; Fischella, Michael Raymond; Fister, Wolfgang; Funk, Roger; Iserloh, Thomas; Katra, Itzhak; Koza, Moritz; Merrison, Jonathan Peter; Okin, Gregory; Rezaei, Mahrooz; Ries, Johannes Bernhard; Schmidt, Gerd; Taddeucci, Jacopo; Lihai, Tan; Van Pelt, R. Scott
• Año de publicación: 2026
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Fuente: Earth-Science Reviews 275 : 105396. (April 2026)
• Materia: Erosión Eólica; Experimentación en Campo; Túneles de Viento; Polvo Eólico; Wind Erosion; Field Experimentation; Wind Tunnels; Eolian Dust
• Institución: Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria

A Portable wind tunnel is a highly specialized device capable of examining soil surfaces in their natural state and independently from naturally occurring wind events. The field experiments give valuable insights into wind-induced entrainment, transport, redistribution and emission of mineral and organic particles from surfaces in their original state to understand geomorphological, pedological, and ecological processes. Recent portable wind tunnel studies highlight a broad range of research objectives including the determination of threshold wind velocities, the quantification of wind-eroded sediment, the development of dust emissions, and wind-induced dynamics of nutrients and contaminants. Portable wind tunnels usually follow a straight tunnel design with a push or suction-type wind source, an air straightening section, and an open-bottom test area. Research groups developed and applied specific add-on features such as sediment feeders to simulate an erosive saltation layer, an integrated rainfall simulator for wind-driven rain studies, and miniaturized tunnels. A large variety of techniques is used to collect and count the entrained mineral and organic particles to allow for quantification and qualitative analysis. Validity, reproducibility, and reliability of the experimental setup and data application for extrapolation and modeling are discussed based on physical constraints of the tunnel and spatiotemporal characteristics of the data. The manuscript also summarizes experiences and recommendations for application and maintenance and proposes methods to compare results generated by different devices.
EEA San Luis
Fil: Marzen, Miriam Britt. Trier University. Physical Geography, Spatial and Environmental Sciences; Alemania
Fil: Akshalov, Kanat. Barayev Research and Production Center for Grain Farming. Soil and Crop Management; Kazajstán
Fil: Grima, Carlos Asensio. University of Almeria. Department of Agronomy; España
Fil: Avecilla, Fernando. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa; Argentina
Fil: Avecilla, Fernando. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa; Argentina.
Fil: Buschiazzo, Daniel Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa; Argentina
Fil: Buschiazzo, Daniel Eduardo. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa; Argentina
Fil: Colazo, Juan Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Luis; Argentina
Fil: Del Bello, Elisabetta. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia; Italia
Fil: Engelmann, Lars. Trier University. Physical Geography, Spatial and Environmental Sciences; Alemania
Fil: Etyemezian, Vicken R. Southern Nevada Science Center. Desert Research Institute; Estados Unidos
Fil: Fischella, Michael Raymond. U.S.G.S. Southwest Biological Science Center. Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center; Estados Unidos
Fil: Fischella, Michael Raymond. University of California. Department of Geography. Institute of Environment and Sustainability; Estados Unidos
Fil: Fister, Wolfgang. University of Basel. Department of Environmental Sciences. Physical Geography and Environmental Change; Suiza
Fil: Funk, Roger. Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research; Alemania
Fil: Iserloh, Thomas. Trier University. Physical Geography, Spatial and Environmental Sciences; Alemania
Fil: Katra, Itzhak. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Department of Environmental, Geoinformatics and Urban Planning Sciences; Israel
Fil: Koza, Moritz. Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. Department of Geoecology; Alemania
Fil: Merrison, Jonathan Peter. Aarhus University. Department of Physics and Astronomy; Dinamarca
Fil: Okin, Gregory. University of California. Department of Geography. Institute of Environment and Sustainability; Estados Unidos
Fil: Rezaei, Mahrooz. Wageningen University & Research. Meteorology and Air Quality Group; Países Bajos
Fil: Rezaei, Mahrooz. Wageningen University & Research. Soil Physics and Land Management Group; Países Bajos
Fil: Ries, Johannes Bernhard. Trier University. Physical Geography, Spatial and Environmental Sciences; Alemania
Fil: Schmidt, Gerd. Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. Department of Geoecology; Alemania
Fil: Taddeucci, Jacopo. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia; Italia
Fil: Lihai, Tan. Chinese Academy of Sciences. Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources. Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands; China
Fil: Van Pelt, R. Scott. USDA–ARS. Wind Erosion and Water Conservation; Estados Unidos