Switch on tunnel vision: Portable wind tunnels to understand and quantify aeolian processes
Marzen M.B. Akshalov K. Grima C.A. Avecilla F. Buschiazzo D.E. Colazo J.C. Del Bello E. Engelmann L. Etyemezian V. Fischella M.R. Fister W. Funk R. Iserloh T. Katra I. Koza M. Merrison J. Okin G. Rezaei M. Ries J.B. Schmidt G. Taddeucci J. Tan L. Van Pelt R.S.
April 2026Elsevier B.V.
Earth-Science Reviews
2026#275
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. Copyright
Dust emission , Field experiments , Mobile wind tunnel , PI-SWERL , Sediment sampler , Wind erosion
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Physical Geography, Spatial and Environmental Sciences, Trier University, Trier, Germany
Soil and Crop Management, Barayev Research and Production Center for Grain Farming, Shortandy, Kazakhstan
Department of Agronomy, University of Almeria, Almeria, Spain
Institute for Earth and Environmental Sciences of La Pampa (INCITAP), National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), Santa Rosa, Argentina
National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA), C.A.B.A., Argentina
Sezione di Roma 1, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Roma, Italy
Desert Research Institute, Southern Nevada Science Center, Las Vegas, NV, United States
U.S.G.S., Southwest Biological Science Center, Grand Canyon Monitoring and ResearchCenter, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
Department of Geography, Institute of Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, United States
Physical Geography and Environmental Change, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Müncheberg, Germany
Department of Environmental, Geoinformatics and Urban Planning Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel
Department of Geoecology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
Meteorology and Air Quality Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
Soil Physics and Land Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
Wind Erosion and Water Conservation, USDA–ARS, TX, United States
Physical Geography
Soil and Crop Management
Department of Agronomy
Institute for Earth and Environmental Sciences of La Pampa (INCITAP)
National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA)
Sezione di Roma 1
Desert Research Institute
U.S.G.S.
Department of Geography
Physical Geography and Environmental Change
Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF)
Department of Environmental
Department of Geoecology
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Meteorology and Air Quality Group
Soil Physics and Land Management Group
Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands
Wind Erosion and Water Conservation
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