Aeolian Erosion Characteristics of Desiccated Lakebed Sediments in the Littoral Zone of Chaiwopu Lake, Xinjiang

Wind and sand activity is intense on the dried-up lakebed of the Chaiwopu Lake littoral zone, making it a significant material source for regional salinization and desertification. This study systematically analyzes the sediment grain-size characteristics and aeolian sand transport processes to provide a basis for ecological restoration. The results indicate that: (1)The sediments are primarily composed of very fine sand (27.58%), fine sand (20.27%), and very coarse silt (18.36%), exhibiting overall poor sorting, negative skewness, and leptokurtic characteristics. Local presence of >2 mm mud gravels suggests that the depositional processes were likely influenced by both turbidity currents and aeolian actions, with low stability. Along the dominant wind direction, the mean grain size shows a “fine–coarse–fine” fluctuating pattern, and the fractal dimension increases as the grain size becomes finer. (2)The surface sediment transport rate decays as a power function with height (R² > 0.99), with the 0–10 cm layer contributing over 70% of the total transport. Straw mat coverage can significantly suppress the aeolian sand flow, while an increase in the frequency of sand-driving winds markedly enhances the transport intensity. (3)The average grain size of the aeolian sand flow is 119.81 μm, characterized by poor sorting, nearly symmetrical skewness, and narrow kurtosis. With increasing height, the proportion of coarse silt to very fine sand increases, while the proportion of fine sand and coarser particles decreases, resulting in a finer mean grain size and increasing skewness. The aeolian erosion process in the study area exhibits selective transport of fine sand, while coarser particles tend to remain on the surface. This differentiation mechanism is jointly controlled by wind conditions, surface structure, and sediment composition.