Comparison between Eddy-Covariance and Flux-Gradient size-resolved dust fluxes during wind erosion events

International audienceEstimating accurately dust emission flux during aeolian erosion events is crucial forquantifying the amount of dust in the atmosphere. The rare existing field experiments quantifyingsuch flux were mainly performed using the flux-gradient (FG) method. Here, we present the firstintercomparison of the size-resolved dust fluxes estimated by both the FG and the eddy-covariance (EC)methods during several erosion events. Both methods were applied simultaneously during the WINDO-V (WIND erOsion in presence of sparse Vegetation)'s 2017 field experiment over an isolated erodiblebare plot in South Tunisia. Overall, both methods predict similar dust fluxes for particle smaller thanabout 4 μm. For coarser particles, the EC method predicts a smaller dust flux than the FG method. Factorsexplaining this difference are discussed such as the different sampling heads used by the dust particlecounters of both methods, or the possible weakening of the constant dust flux layer at the location ofthe upper dust particle counter of the FG method. This intercomparison highlights the difficulties andadvantages of each method as well as their complementarity