Climatic Factor for Estimating

Wind Erodibility of Farm Fields

Recently developed wind ero- called the wind erosion climatic factor,
sion climatic factor permits of the different regions directly in-
rapid determination of aver- fluences the average rate of wind ero-
age annual soil loss due to sion; and conversely, to what degree
controllable field conditions must be
wind erosion on any given modified in different regions to reduce
field. wind erosion to an insignificant quan-
tity. This article presents the results
HIS STUDY is a continuation of a
T research project to evaluate major
soil and surface conditions that influ-
of a study of this problem.
The wind erosion climatic factor con-
sidered in this paper, like all conditions
ence wind erodibility of farm fields. associated with wind erosion, directly
To some degree, seven types of condi- influences the amount of wind erosion
tions have been evaluated: Soil clod- of farm fields. I t is true that soil
diness, clod stability against abrasion moisture influences soil cloddiness and
from wind erosion, vegetative residues crop residues, which in turn influence
above the ground surface, surface wind erosion, but this is not the moisture
roughness, wind barriers, width of field, evaluated in this paper. The moisture
and wind direction in relation to field evaluated is that adhering to the soil
orientation (7, 8, 9 ) . All have been particles subjected to the force of
evaluated for climatic conditions exist- erosive wind. I t is known that as soil
ing in the vicinity of Garden City, particles become more moist, the co-
Kansas, for the period 1954-1956. hesive force between the particles in-
Alignment charts and tables prepared creases; therefore, a higher wind
as a result of these studies can be used velocity is required to move them ( 6 ) .
to indicate approximately the wind By the same token, the more frequently
erodibility of any farm field under the the soil surface is wetted and the more
climatic conditions considered. slowly it dries, as in humid regions, the
The charts and tables can also be less the soil will be subject to wind
used in reverse to determine the field erosion. The wind erosion climatic
conditions needed to reduce the field factor is used here merely as an index
erodibility to an insignificant quantity of the influence the average moisture
under these particular climatic condi- content in the surface soil particles and
tions. But the field conditions required the average level of wind velocity have
in one region are expected to be dif- on the average rate of soil movement
ferent from those required in another, by wind.
because the general level of wind ve-
locity, the quantity and frequency of Method of Evaluation
rainfall, and the rate of drying of the The rate of soil movement varies
soil surface differ from one region to directly as the cube of wind velocity
another. The problem has been to de- ( 1 5 , 16) and inversely as approxi-
termine how much the wind velocity- mately the square of effective moisture
surface soil moisture factor, hereafter W, i.e., moisture held by the soil par-
- ticles against a given tension exerted by
W . S. Chepil, research investigations leader, forces of evaporation acting on the soil
F . H . Siddoway, and Dean V . Armbrust, soil
scientists, are associated with the Southern
particles ( 6 ) . The effective moisture
Plains Branch, Soil and Water Conservation varies directly with the amount of pre-
Research Divisiora, Agricultural Research Serv- cipitation and inversely as the square
ice, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Man- of temperature (2).
hattan, Kansas. Wind velocity data for different re-
This article is a contribution from the
Soil and Water Conservation Research Di- gions are available from weather records,
vision, Agricultural Research Service, U. S. but information on the moisture of the
Department o f Agriculture, in cooperation soil surface is not. However, the Thorn-
with the Kansas Agricultural Experiment
Station. Department of Agronomy contri- thwaite moisture index ( 1 5 ) and the
bution number 752. P-E index ( 1 4 ) are available; either
Reprinted from JOURNAL OF SOIL AND WATERCONSERVATION
Volume 17, Number 4, July-August, 1962
Copyright, SCSA-1962
Figure 1. Annual average
hourly wind velocity in miles
per hour 30 feet above ground.

one can be used as an index of the 60 as positive numbers. This must be mainder lacked the necessary wind
quantity of equivalent moisture of the done to make the dimensionless equa- velocity data. I t was thought that
surface soil particles. If it is assumed tion meaningful. The values of the published wind velocity maps might be
that the effective moisture of the surface wind erosion climatic factor C are the used to estimate wind velocity for the
soil particles varies as the moisture in- same whether I + 60 or P-E is used, rest of the selected stations, but review
dex I or as the P-E index, then the com- since P-E = 0.8 1 + 48. The wind of meteorological publications failed to
bined wind erosion climatic factor C erosion climatic factor, as expressed by reveal the existence of maps adequate
may be expressed in percent of that a t equations 1 and 2, indicates the relative for this purpose. Therefore, a map
Garden City, Kansas, as mean rate of wind erosion that would based on data from the 145 stations
(equation 1) occur at any geographic location as a for the period 1920-1958 and showing
v3 percentage of the mean rate that would annual hourly wind velocity a t a 30-
occur at Garden City, Kansas, if con- foot height for southern Canada and
ditions other than climate were the the United States was prepared. This
(equation 2) same. map, sho'wn in figure 1, served to esti-
Sources of Data mate approximate wind velocity for the
Climatological data published by 98 stations for which adequate wind
In this equation, V is the corrected the U. S. Weather Bureau and the velocity records were not available.
mean annual wind velocity for a stand- Canada Meteorological Branch for 243 Since height at which wind velocity
ard height of 30 feet, 1.9 is the ap- selected meteorological stations were was measured varied considerably, the
proximate average value of V3/(I + used for this study. Temperature and velocities shown in figure 1 were cor-
rected to 30-foot height in accordance
60) "or Garden City, Kansas, and 2.9 precipitation records were used to com-
is the approximate average value of pute the P-E index (14). In addition, with the Hellman formula expressed
V3/(P-E) for Garden City, Kansas; the Thornthwaite (15) moisture index in a convenient nomogram by Thom
at this location V = 13.5 miles per map of the United States was utilized. (13).
hour, I = - 24, and P-E = 29. The Only 145 of the 243 stations had ade- Wind velocity data taken in' cities
purpose of adding 60 to the moisture quate records of wind velocity, tem- were avoided. Data from only 30 sta-
index I is to express all values of I + perature, and precipitation; the re- tions east of the ninety-fifth meridian
JULY-AUGUST 1962
 by Thornthwaite (14, 15). The excep-
tions occur because the average wind
velocity varies from region to region.
One striking exception is an are8 in the
semiarid region in the Texas and Okla-
homa Panhandles and adjacent portions
of other states that falls into the cate-
gory of regions having a wind erosion
climatic factor typical of desert areas.
The average wind velocity in this area
is higher than anywhere else in Canada
and the United States, except for those
regions along the North Atlantic sea-
coast, around the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
and in 'the vicinity of Vancouver Island.
This panhandle region is the heart of
an area most severely affected by wind
erosion in North America; it is the cen-
ter of the dustbowl of the 1930's. Most
of the rest of the regions falling into
the "very high" wind erosion climatic
factor category are uncultivated deserts.
Use and Significance of the Factor
If the potential annual soil loss esti-
mated for a field on a particular soil
class a t some geographic location is
multiplied by the wind erosion climatic
factor C for that location, the value so
obtained is called the local dotential
annual soil loss and indicates the po-
tential loss corrected for mean differ-
ences in wind velocity and moisture of
TOR C the soil surface between that location
and Garden City, Kansas.
Soil losses that can be estimated
from major soil, surface, and field con-
ditioqs which influence wind erosion are
Figure 2. Wind erosion climatic factor expressing soil loss by wind in terms of per= based on climatic conditions as they
centage of that occurring in the vicinity of Garden City, Kansas (marked by X). The existed a t Garden City: Kansas, during
eastern portions of the United States and Canada not shown on the map have a very low the years 1954 through 1956, but the
factor, less than 18 percent.
wind erosion climatic factor of 100 per-
were used. A greater number of sta- the moisture index map of the United cent is based on the long-term average
tions was unnecessary because the com- States prepared by Thornthwaite (15), wind velocity and soil moisture index
puted values of the wind erosion the precipitation map of the United for that location. Since wind velocity
climatic factor for this huge area were States prepared by Kincer ( I ) , the and moisture intensities are normally
generally less than 18 percent and fell natural vegetation map of the United distributed (10, 17),the value taken as
into the "very low" category, which States by Shantz and Zon ( 1 2 ) , the 100 percent is immaterial so long as it
needed to be delineated only from the natural vegetation map of Canada by is specifically defined.
next higher category occurring to the Chapman ( 4 ) ) and the soil map of the Probably one of the best ways to
west of it. Canadian Prairies by Bowser (33. define the 1954-1956 period is by per-
Despite the use of this indirect method centage frequency of occurrence of cli-
Wind Erosion Climatic Factor Map of delineating the wind erosion climatic matic conditions that influenced wind
A map indicating the wind erosion factor for the different regions, many erosion during those years a t the Gar-
climatic factor computed in accordance small areas could not be determined on den City, Kansas, location, This was
with equation 2 for the United States the scale of maps used. done by plotting the 3-year running
and southern Canada is given in figure The wind erosion climatic factor, as average of annual; wind velocity divided
2. This map was prepared on the basis shown i n figure 2, is divided into five by annual P-E index against the fre-
of wind velocity and P-E values for the categories., With some major exceptions, quency of occurrence scale in accord-
243 selected stations; but in addition, the boundaries of these categories gen- ance with the simplified method of
for estimating the wind erosion climatic erally coincide with those of humid, Gumbel (10). The climatic ratios so
factor for areas located between the moist subhumid, dry subhumid, semi- plotted are shown in figure 3. I t is evi-
stations, considerable use was made of arid, and dry climatic types, as classified dent from figure 3 that the 3-year sever-
164 JOURNAL OF SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION
ity of climatic conditions that influ-
enced wind erosion (annual wind veloc-
ity divided by the annual P-E index)
equal to or greater than that existing
during the period 1954-1956 occurs at
that location on the average once in
about 7 years. 'The period 1954-1956 at
Garden City had numbers and intensi-
ties of dust storms exceeded only by
those of the 1930's. The severity of
climatic conditions that influence wind
erosion, as shown in figure 3, also was
exceeded only by that of the 19307s,
thereby substantiating the validity of
the wind erosion climatic factor as an
index of severity of wind erosion.
A wind tunnel erodibility value of
0.25 was regarded as representing an
insignificant amount of soil loss (7).
Subsequently, this was found to cor-
respond to an annual soil loss of 15 tons
per acre under the weather conditions
that existed during the period 1954-
1956 at Garden City, Kansas (8). The RECURRENCE lNTERVAL (YEARS )
wind erosion climatic factor C for that Figure 3. Intensity-frequency data for 3-year running average of wind velocity V, cor-
period at Garden, City was 250 percent, rected to that at 30-foot height, divided by the P-E index at the Branch Agricultural
Experiment Station, Garden City, Kansas, for 1920 through 1960.
whereas the average for that location is
100 percent. Therefore, the average an- amount anywhere with reasonably good 4. Chapman, L. J. 1960. Physiography,
nual soil loss for insignificant erosion and uniform wind erosion protection. climate, and natural vegetation of Can-
ada. Agr. Inst. Rev. 15: 15-19.
determined on the above-mentioned 5. Chepil, W. S. 1945. The transport ca-
100 percent - Conclusion pacity of the wind. Soil Sci. 60: 475-480.
basis is - 6 tons per 6. Chepil, W. S. 1956. Influence of moisture
250
- - - wrcent The solution of this problem (shown
on erodibility of soil by wind. Soil Sci.
acre. An average annual soil loss not ex- in figure 2) pertaining to the relative Soc. Am. Proc. 20: 288-292.
ceeding 5 tons per acre should probably climatic influence on field erodibility in 7. Chepil, W. S. 1959. Wind erodibility of
be the goal. Like all soil loss values, different regions has been drawn from farm fields. J . Soil and Water Cons.
14: 214-219.
this one-is primarily an index of wind reasoning based on known relationships 8. Chepil, W. S. 1960. Conversion of rela-
erosion damage and is not the damage between wind velocity, surface soil mois- tive field erodibility to annual soil loss by
itself. The 5-ton per acre average annual ture, and rate of soil movement by wind. wind. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 24: 143-
145.
soil loss is ass~ciatedwith no visible I t is known that soil movement varies 9. Chepil, W. S., and N. P. Woodruff. 1959.
soil movement and no injury to plants. directly as the cube of wind velocity Estimations of wind erodibility of farm
The wind erosion climatic factor for and inversely as the square of effective fields. ARS Prod. Res. Rept. 25, US.
Dept. Agr., Washington, D.C.
any region is used to determine the aver- moisture of the surface soil. If it is as- 10. Gumbel, E. J. 1945. Simptjfied plotting
age annual soil loss on any given field sumed that the P-E index is an index of statistical observations. Trans. Am.
in that region. Inversely, it is used to of effective moisture of the surface soil Geophys. Union 26 (1) : 68-82.
11. Kincer, J. B. 1936. Climate of the United
determine the field conditions necessary as manifested by quantity and frequency States. In Atlas of Americala Agriculture.
to prevent the average annual soil loss of rainfall and rate of drying of the sur- U.S. Dept. Agr., Washington, D.C.
face soil, then it is reasonable to expect 12. Shantz. H. H.. and R. Zon. 1936. Nut-
from that field from exceeding 5 tons ural vegetation of the United States. In
per acre. If the intensity of practices that wind erosion should vary inve;sely Atlas of American Agriculture. U.S. Dept.
required to reduce soil loss to that aver- as the square of the P-E index. Only of Agr., Washington, D.C.
the future use of the wind erosion cli- l3 Thom, H. C. S. 1959. Distributions of
age insignificant amount is unattainable extreme winds in the United States.
or if practice intensity ertceeds require- matic factor in different regions can Cmimeo.] Weather Bureau, U.S. Dept.
ments, the wind erosion climatic factor ultimately determine its accuracy in pre- Commerce, Washington, D.C.
dicting conditions required to control Thornthwaite, C. W. 1931. Climates of
can be modified uniformly one way or North America according to a new classi-
another simply by raising or lowering wind erosion in different regions. fication. Geog. Rev. 21: 633-655.
the average amount of soil loss popu- 15 Thornthwaite C. W. 1948. An approach
REFERENCES CITED toward a rational classificetion of climate.
larly regarded as insignificant. Cur- Bagnold, R. A. 1943. The 9hysics of Geog. Rev. 38: 55-94:
rently, we believe that the average blozem sand and desert dunes. - ~ i l l i a m 16. Zingg, A. W. 1953. Wind tunnel studies
insignificant amount of soil loss should Morrow and Company, New Yqrk, N.Y. of the movement of sedimentary materials.
265 pp. In Proceedings, fifth hydraulic conference,
be about 5 tons per acre per year; this Baver, L. D. 1956. Soil physics. 3rd ed. Iowa institute of hydraulics. Res. Bul. 34.
corresponds to an average wind tunnel John Wiley & Sons, New York, N.Y. John Wiley & Sons, New York, N.Y.
489 pp. p. 436. 17. Zingg, A. W. 1950. Intensity-frequency
erodibility of about 0.25. Annual soil Bowser, W. E. 1960. The soils of the of Kansas winds. SCS-TP-88. U.S. Dept.
loss per acre can be reduced to this prairies. Agr. Inst. Rev. 15: 24-26. Agr., Washington, D.C.
JU LY-AUGUST 1962