This project will determine grain size and mass flux of eolian particles collected in a series of sediment traps and surface sediments from the northwest Indian Ocean. Ancillary data from moored meteorological buoys, satellite images, aerosol collectors, and particle geochemistry will be provided by collaborators. The goal is to quantify the relationship between grain size and wind strength, taking into account the effects of seasonal monsoons, atmospheric and water-column seavenging, and bottom redistribution of particles. Resulting equations can be applied to quantify direction and strength of winds during past climatic states, an essential variable in global circulation models.
