Reducing Sampling Uncertainty in Aeolian Research to Improve Change Detection
Abstract
Measurements of aeolian sediment transport support our understanding of mineral dust impacts on Earth and human systems and assessments of aeolian process sensitivities to global environmental change. However, sample design principles are often overlooked in aeolian research. Here we use high‐density field measurements of sediment mass flux across land use and land cover types to examine sample size and power effects on detecting change in aeolian transport. Temporal variances were 1.6 to 10.1 times the magnitude of spatial variances in aeolian transport for six study sites. Differences in transport were detectable for >67% of comparisons among sites using ~27 samples. Failure to detect change with smaller sample sizes suggests that aeolian transport measurements and monitoring are much more uncertain than recognized. We show how small and selective sampling, common in aeolian research, gives the false impression that differences in aeolian transport can be detected, potentially undermining inferences about process and impacting reproducibility of aeolian research.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2019
- Source ID
- 10.1029/2019jf005042
Entities
People
- Adrian Chappell
- Bradley F. Cooper
- Brandon L. Edwards
- Brenton Sharratt
- David Toledo
- Ericha M. Courtright
- Justin W. Van Zee
- Michael C. Duniway
- Negussie Tedela
- Nicholas P Webb
- Sarah E. Mccord
Organizations
- Agricultural Research Service
- Bureau of Land Management
- Cardiff University
- Natural Resources Conservation Service
- United States Department of Agriculture
- United States Department of Defense