Accepted

Sciences, Texas Tech University for partial funding for this project. I am grateful to the Department of Geosciences at Texas Tech University for providing additional funding. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Holloman Air Force Base for providing wind data and to Bill Conrod of the National Park Service who provided assistance at the White Sands National Monument. I must also acknowledge Dr. Nagihara for offering me the opportunity to complete this project, as well as his guidance and support. I would also like to thank Dr. Kevin Mulligan and Dr. Thomas Lehman for their revisions and recommendations. I would also like to thank Wei Xiong for operating the laser scanner for this project. I cannot begin to express how appreciative I am to my son, Zachary, for he has been the driving force behind my accomplishments. I would also like to express my sincerest gratitude to my best friend Sandy Cain for her unconditional support and many weekends and nights of caring for my son. Thanks also to my fellow graduate students in the Department of Geosciences for their support and friendship. i