Sand transport by wind plays an important role in environmental problems. Formulating the sand-transport rate model has been of continuing significance, because the majority of the existing models relate sand-transport rate to the wind-shear velocity. However, the wind-shear velocity readapted to blown sand is difficult to determine from the measured wind profiles when sand movement occurs, especially at high wind velocity. Detailed wind tunnel tests were carried out to reformulate the sand-transport rate model, followed by attempts to relate sand-transport rate to parameters of wind velocity, threshold shear-velocity, and grain size. Finally, we validated the model based on the data from field observations.

The study developed a wind–sand transport rate model using wind tunnel tests and verified it by field observation. The high correlation coefficient indicates that the model is a good predictor of sand-transport rate. Basically, the model relates the transport rate to the direct parameters of wind velocity and threshold-shear velocity, contributing to the practicable applicability of this model in comparison to prior models using indirect parameters.