Saltation

Saltation is the bouncing transport of sand-sized particles propelled by wind or flowing water. Repeated impacts can eject other grains and sustain sediment movement.

Threshold friction velocity: The minimum wind shear velocity needed to initiate or sustain movement of surface grains. It determines when wind can set sand grains into saltation.
Aeolian processes: Processes by which wind erodes, transports, and deposits sediment. Wind-driven saltation is one of the defining modes of aeolian transport.
Dune: A mound or ridge of sediment formed by wind or water transport and deposition. Saltating sand supplies much of the material that builds wind-shaped dunes.
Suspension: The transport of particles held aloft by turbulent fluid motion for extended periods. Unlike saltating grains, suspended particles remain supported within the flow.
Impact threshold: The minimum wind stress needed to sustain grain motion after transport has begun. Saltating grains can keep moving at lower wind stress than needed to start them.
Bed shear stress: The tangential force per unit area exerted by flowing fluid on a bed. It supplies the force that initiates and accelerates saltating grains.
Barchan: A crescent-shaped dune that forms where sand is limited and wind direction is relatively consistent. Its migration depends largely on wind-driven saltation across the dune surface.
Surface creep: The slow rolling or sliding of sediment grains along a surface under fluid force or impacts. Creeping grains stay in contact with the bed rather than following repeated hops.
Splash function: A statistical description of how many grains are ejected by an impacting particle and with what velocities. It quantifies how saltating grains launch replacements from the bed.
Grain size: A measure of the diameter of individual sediment particles. Grain size strongly affects the threshold and flight behavior of saltation.

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