https://doi.org/10.1007/s41748-019-00100-5 ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Environmental Hazards of Sand Dunes, South Jeddah, Saudi Arabia:
An Assessment and Mitigation Geotechnical Study
Ammar Amin1 · El‑Sayed Sedek Abu Seif1,2
Received: 10 November 2018 / Accepted: 16 April 2019 / Published online: 30 May 2019
© King Abdulaziz University and Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Abstract
This study presents a concise evaluation of sand dune environmental hazards in Al-Lith area, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), where active sand dune migration forms serious environmental risks. The study area represents a strategic and very well promising area for extension of urbanization. The study area was characterized by hyper-arid climate where wind erosion plays a critical task in the formation and migration of sand dunes. The most frequent forms of aeolian sands are sand sheets, asymmetrical barchans, longitudinal dune and star-like shape dunes. These dunes are composed mainly of fine sands, medium sands and coarse sands with scarcely amounts of silts and clays. Texturally, the sand particles consist of sub-angular, sub-rounded, rounded, angular, well rounded and very angular. These sands are composed of mono-crystalline quartz with few grains of carbonate rock fragments. The environmental hazards of dune migration need integrated studies to assess and reduce these hazards through successfully long-term stabilization methods.
Keywords Sand dunes · Environmental hazards · South Jeddah · Saudi Arabia
1 Introduction
Approximately 33% of the total surface area of the Earth experiences a hyper-arid, arid and semi-arid climate condi- tions. This percentage tends to increase, so we are in need for learning more about desert environments (Abrahams and Parsons 1994). In arid regions, wind erosion is signifi- cant and the yielded loose sediments are huge, owing to low rainfall and little vegetation cover (Nearing et al. 2005).
Dune movement and migration represent an environmental hazard to agriculture, railway, roads and human settlement (Clements et al. 1963; Hidore and Albokhair 1982; Watson 1985; Al-Harthi 2002; Abu Seif and El-Khashab 2019). The environmental perilous effects of dune migration include soil erosion of cultivated lands, abrasion to crops, blocking of roads and railways, and burial of buildings (Clements et al. 1963; Hidore and Albokhair 1982; Watson 1985).
These environmental hazards are severe particularly in arid
desert areas (Khalaf 1989; Al-Nakshabandi and El Robee 1988). From a climatic point of view, the Arabian Peninsula in general and Saudi Arabia in particular lie perfectly in the hyper-arid and arid regions (Almazroui et al. 2017). Irregu- lar, heavy rainstorms blow only on a few per year which usually are restricted to some districts of the Saudi Arabia (Hosny and Almazroui 2015). The mean annual rainfall in Saudi Arabia does not exceeded 94 mm whereas for Jeddah the annual average is 51 mm (Almazroui et al. 2012), which is conditions of active sand dune environment (Tsoar and Møller 1986; Nicholas 1994). Interesting to note that rain- fall in Jeddah is about 488 mm in the wet season and below 1 mm in the dry season (Almazroui et al. 2012). These harsh environmental conditions cause specific geotechnical prob- lems and increase desertification (Shehata and Amin 1997).
Nearly 37% of the total area of Saudi Arabia is covered by aeolian sands (800.000 km2 of 2.3 million km2, Garzanti et al. 2012). The majority of these sands are located in the eastern parts of Saudi Arabia. However, some of these sands are located in its western regions within the Arabian Shield, where these sands are mostly restricted to wadi courses that
* El-Sayed Sedek Abu Seif [email protected]
vital role in the formation and development of sand dunes.
The movement of these wind-blown materials gives rise to problems in this arid region especially far settlements and infra-structures. The studied sand dunes represent a natural hazard to the development and settlements in this area; therefore, scientific studies are needed to elucidate the genetic development and characteristics of these sand dunes to avoid their risk. The study area is mostly flat and barren land owing to its higher temperature and scarce rainfalls. This area of western Saudi Arabia is one of the most vital and planned regions for development and urban- ization due to its proximity to the Red Sea coast. These active and mobile sand dunes are considered a threatening factor for development and investment in this area. These dune sands have an accumulating, dynamic and active migrating nature (Fig. 1). The main aim of this study is to characterize the harmful environmental impact of migra- tion of sand dunes in Al-Lith, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This target is achieved through the implementation of integrated field investigations and laboratory experiments. The study also aims to evaluate the effect of cement–water mixes on minimizing stabilization the migration and stabilization of these particular sand dunes.
2 Geology of the Study Area
The study area is located along the Red Sea coast and extends from Jeddah southward to Al-Lith between latitudes 39°10′ and 40°30′ E and longitudes 20°00′ and 21°15′N (Fig. 2). It has an area of about 4725 km2 (135 km length and 35 km width). In the study area, different rock units are exposed and are arranged from older to younger as follows:
• Pre-Quaternary basement rock units of Arabian Shield (Precambrian–Phanerozoic) that are exposed in the eastern side of the studied area as raised hills. These are considered the oldest rock units and are dissected by a numbers of dry wadis (drainage lines) that represent the flash flood paths towards the Red Sea during rainy times.
• Quaternary sedimentary rock units that are unconform- ably overlying the Pre-Quaternary basement rocks and can be subdivided into the following four categories:
a. Alluvial sediments consisting of repeated cycles of fining upward channel-lag gravels, sands, silts and thin layers of clay. These sediments are exposed as terrace deposits in wadi streams and along the wadi- edges.
b. Sabhka deposits composed of calcareous cemented fine silts and sands that are originated within the shelters of upper intertidal and supra-tidal flat envi- ronment (Basaham et al. 2015).
c. Aeolian sands formed by wind actions to form sand dunes and sand-sheeted-like accumulations and extend from the eastern basement hills towards the Red Sea coastal region. These dune sands were accumulated during Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene age (similarity with the Rub al Khali and An Nafud sand dunes, Tsoar 1978; Pallister 1986;
Garzanti et al. 2012).
d. Reefs and sands concentrating along the Red Sea near-shore areas and composed mainly of calcareous eroded coral reefs (Durgaprasada Rao and Behairy 1984, 1986).
3 Methodology
Field investigations are carried out to assess the impact of environmental hazards of sand dunes. Morphological char- acteristic parameters of 44 representative barchans are meas- ured. These morphological parameters are: dune height (H), dune width (W), windward length (wL) and the slip-face length (sL). The results of these morphological parameters are analyzed statistically. Twenty-two samples are collected from 11 dune sand sites (Fig. 2). The samples are collected from different parts of the dune body: windward side, slip- face side and horns at a depth of 5–10 cm (Fig. 3). A geo- logical map is reconstructed and the sampling sites as well as the directions of dunes migration were plotted on it. These
Fig. 1 Field panorama shows barchans migration towards the asphaltic road
samples are subjected to four categories of testing to assess their physical properties, mineral constitutes, chemical contaminations and mechanical properties. The grain size analysis, specific gravity and absorption, and sand equiva- lency are carried out based on ASTM C33 (1999), ASTM C128 (1993), respectively. The textural features (roundness and forms) are estimated using binocular microscope using
Fig. 2 Geological map of the studied area (modified from geological map of the Al-Lith quadrangle, sheet. 20D, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, complied by Pallister 1986)
workability and compressive strength values were estimated (ASTM C469 1994) (Fig. 4).
4 Results and Discussion
4.1 Dunes’ MovementGenerally, the wind regimes of the western Saudi regions are characterized by both cyclicality and local variations in direction and speed, and with an average speed values increase generally northward (Patzert 1974) except for northern part of the Red Sea regions that is dominated by constant northwesterly wind regimes (Durgaprasada Rao and Behairy 1986). Both the southern parts of the Red Sea and the Aden Gulf regions usually characterized by regu- lar and seasonally reversible wind regimes (UNEP 1997).
Annually, the lands of Saudi Arabia are subjected to sev- eral types of wind regimes. Khamsin winds, Shamal winds, Simoom, Haboob, Suhaili, Saus, Laawan, Kharif, Belat, Nashi and Mediterranean prefrontal storms represent the most famous wind regimes. Figure 5 shows the most com- mon wind regimes in the study area. The potential for wind deflation by northwesterly Shamal winds would have been greatest during early regressive stages, when the unconsoli- dated sediments newly exposed by the receding sea were not yet stabilized by vegetative cover or early cementation (Alsharhan and Kendall 2003).
The above-mentioned wind regimes play an effective and essential role in formation, development and movement of the Saudi sand dunes. Sand sheets, asymmetrical barchans, longitudinal and star-shape are the most common recorded forms (Fig. 5a–d). Barchans usually migrate downwind as sandy movable waves in a rate varying from 6 to 16 m annually depending on dune sand grain size. The longitu- dinal type can be formed from a barchans type when its two tails are fixed and eventually loss their convex shape and converted into concave towards the prevailing wind.
Consequently, the two divided parts of barchan-type dunes can be turned around by the action of wind eddies and run parallel to the prevailing wind direction (Bell 1999). The sand grains of dune migrate by creeping, saltation and sus- pension processes along downwind faces (Bagnold 1941).
Uncommonly, there is a fourth mode that happens along the slip face of dunes, where the sand grains move and migrate by eddy action (Fig. 5e, f).
4.2 Geometric Parameters
The geometric parameters are measured in the field for 44 representative barchans (Fig. 6 and Table 1) The investigated dunes are mostly dominated by asymmetrical barchans, which have height (H) varying from 1.2 to 22.7 m, width
(W) ranging from 8.5 to 210 m, windward length (wL) fluc- tuating from 14 to 254 m and slip-face length (sL) varying from 2.7 to 47 m (Table 1). These geometric parameters have proportional significant strong linear relationships (Figs. 7, 8). Their empirical relations can be given by the following equations:
The above-obtained results (geometric parameters and their empirical equations) are in good agreement with other studies (e.g. Sagga 1998; Al-Harthi 2002).
Al-Harthi (2002) pointed out that the sand dunes of Jed- dah–Al-Lith district are dominated by barchans which are similar in their grain size and shape parameters. The empiri- cal relationships between barchan height, width, windward length and slip-face length are relatively strong relations.
On the other hand, Sagga (1998) obtained moderately strong to weak relationships between the dune heights with other geometric parameters.
4.3 Environmental hazards
The studied area is dominated by arid climatic conditions, where the erosion processes of wind plays a vital role in the formation and development of aeolian sediments. The southern border of the study area (Al-Lith Governorate) represents the northern most boundaries of an area of heavy rains originate in the Indian Ocean and result in rainfalls in the southwestern regions of Saudi Arabia (Al-Ansari et al.
1986). Consequently, heavy rainfalls are rare and there are no permanent channels that run towards the Red Sea (Cole- man 1993). Generally, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not greatly windy (Vincent, 2008) and its atmospheric pressures are regularly high and the seasonal pressure variations are usually small. The study area is situated in the trade-wind belt of the northern hemisphere.
Figure 9 shows that the studied sand dunes mostly migrate towards the asphaltic roads, which connect Jeddah and the southern coastal governorates (Al-Lith, Al-Bahaa, Jazan, etc.). So, the migration of sand dunes in the studied area represents a critical threat to investment opportunities in this promising coastal region. Migration of dune sands can bury obstacles in its path such as roads and railways (1) H=0.114(W) +0.585(R2=0.9591),
(2) H=0.2144(wL) −0.326(
R2=0.9343) ,
(3) H=0.2923(sL) +0.1676(
R2=0.9765) ,
(4) wL=0.4988(W) +5.5724(
R2 =0.9024) ,
(5) sL=0.3908(W) +1.4047(
R2 =0.9851) ,
(6) sL=0.725(wL) −1.4737(
R2 =0.9348) .
Fig. 4 Winter winds (Decem- ber–February, a) and summer winds (June–August, b) from Saudi Arabian Wind Energy Atlas (after Al-Ansari et al.
1986)
Fig. 5 Field photographs showing different types of sand dunes at the studied area: longitudinal (a), star-shaped dune (b), asymmetrical barchans (c), active ripple marks of sand sheets and eddy phenomena (e, f)
Fig. 6 Diagram shows the geometric parameters of barchans
Table 1 Geometric measurements of selected barchans in the studied area
Site Dune no. Dune height,
H (m) Dune width,
W (m) Windward length,
wL (m) Slip-face
length, sL (m)
1 1 2.6 13.8 9.8 6.1
2 3.7 19.7 14.2 8.5
3 3.8 25.8 16.7 10.4
4 2.4 22.6 15.7 9.4
2 5 2.7 18.3 12.5 7.8
6 2.1 15.4 10.7 6.4
7 2.2 16.7 11.2 6.9
8 2.3 15.5 10.4 7.5
3 9 3.1 21.7 14.6 8.9
10 3.4 23.2 14.3 9.4
11 2.3 15.6 10.5 6.4
12 1.9 12.4 8.7 5.7
4 13 6.4 55.8 32.4 22.5
14 6.7 51.4 33.4 21.4
15 5.2 33.4 22.7 15.4
16 3.6 23.7 15.7 10.8
5 17 2.8 23.7 15.6 9.8
18 3.5 31.7 22.1 11.2
19 5.6 45.8 33.5 18.4
20 7.8 71.8 42.7 28.4
6 21 9.5 88.2 65.4 34.5
22 9.2 65.4 45.5 25.8
23 7.4 55.4 39.4 29.5
24 21.0 220.0 80.7 77.4
7 25 2.9 21.0 11.5 8.9
26 2.8 22.0 15.4 9.5
27 3.4 28.0 21.4 11.3
28 3.1 33.0 26.8 14.5
8 29 2.3 22.0 17.8 9.4
30 21.5 157.0 87.4 64.5
31 18.7 142.0 95.4 62.1
32 11.3 77.6 54.2 35.2
9 33 6.5 46.0 33.4 21.4
34 2.3 13.5 9.5 6.2
35 1.9 11.5 8.4 5.4
36 2.4 15.6 10.4 7.5
10 37 1.2 8.5 6.5 3.8
38 3.2 22.7 15.7 11.4
39 3.1 21.8 15.4 12.5
40 2.8 22.7 15.6 11.4
11 41 2.7 18.4 11.2 9.7
42 3.6 24.7 17.8 12.3
43 5.1 42.7 28.4 19.7
44 3.7 24.7 18.7 11.4
Average value 5.13 40.05 25.44 16.97
Fig. 7 Relationships between dune height vs. its width, wind- ward length and slip-face length of the studied barchans (a–c respectively)
Fig. 8 Relationships between dune windward length vs. dune width, dune slip-face length vs.
dune width and dune slip-face length vs. dune windward length of the studied barchans (a–c, respectively)
or accumulate against large structures. Such moving sand necessitates continuous and often costly maintenance activi- ties. Indeed, dune migration in such areas may be abandoned as a result of sand encroachment. Stipho (1992) pointed out that only a few centimeters of sand on a road surface can constitute a major driving hazard.
4.4 Grain Grading
Sedimentologists usually use the grain size analysis tech- niques to infer depositional environments. The studied sand dunes consist of fine sands (ranging from 59.4 to
55.7%), medium sands (ranging from 33.1 to 35.4%), coarse sands (ranging from 6.4 to 9.3%) and around 1.0%
of fines (silts + clays, Table 2). Figure 10 shows that the studied sands are poorly graded sands (SP) with uni- modal distribution curves. The finer fractions (silty and clayey sized materials) of the studied dunes are repre- sented by trace amounts indicating that dunes are active.
That reflects the ability of wind to carrying and sorting the sandy sized materials especially medium and fine fractions. During saltation, the fine particles are raised up into the air and are removed by winnowing as suspended dust grains (loess). It is noted that the studied sand dune
Fig. 9 Directions of aeolian sand movement in the Arabian Peninsula after Holm (1961) and directions of barchans movement of the studied area (a, b, respectively)
ysical characteristics of the studied dune sands Size fractions (%)
Specific gravity 3(gm/cm)
Absorp- tion (%)Grain Shape (%)Roundness degree (%)
Coarse sand (4.72– 2.0 mm) Medium sand (2.0– 0.47 mm) Fine sand (0.47– 0.075 mm) Fines (silts
+ clays) (< 0.075 mm)
EquantElon- gatedFlakyWell roundedRounded
Sub- rounded Sub- angular
AngularVery angular 7.533.358.40.82.520.9575.217.57.310.915.926.728.411.86.3 6.833.4590.82.550.9474.516.5911.215.426.929.412.44.7 6.933.658.60.92.530.9473.215.411.410.515.82628.712.16.9 7.133.758.11.12.540.9572.817.59.711.215.626.727.812.36.4 7.235.156.51.22.540.9574.518.17.411.415.728.127.911.85.1 735.456.70.92.540.9376.514.98.610.916.424.825.411.710.8 6.833.159.40.72.540.9471.821.56.710.516.224.826.511.810.2 6.933.758.60.82.550.9472.818.58.710.516.725.626.411.29.6 6.433.8590.82.550.9675.417.76.911.215.725.426.711.49.6 6.533.459.20.92.540.967616.87.211.114.525.126.411.511.4 6.633.558.81.12.540.967516.98.111.415.726.126.411.88.6 8.135.155.71.12.540.9572.518.29.311.313.926.426.811.410.2 7.534.556.81.22.530.9674.221.54.310.813.522.927.111.813.9 8.433.657.10.92.530.9676.4221.612.113.725.427.512.19.2 7.933.657.70.82.520.9576.220.43.411.414.524.327.412.410 9.333.855.81.12.530.9673.424.12.510.413.525.626.812.511.2 8.533.956.70.92.540.957222.45.69.613.425.727.512.411.4 833.757.21.12.550.947522.12.912.412.825.825.912.310.8 6.834.257.81.22.540.9471.4244.610.913.226.425.712.311.5 6.934.557.41.22.560.9772.822.15.112.313.426.422.514.510.9 7.534.556.91.12.550.947224.33.710.713.525.723.215.711.2 7.735.255.81.32.560.947124.84.214.514.224.922.811.911.7 7.434.057.61.02.50.9573.819.96.311.214.725.726.512.29.6
samples, which are collected from both windward slopes and the horns of barchans, tend to be coarser than the crest and slip face sands. This may indicate that the coarser sand grains move up the windward slope and then deflect around the dune base along the line of least resist- ance (Bagnold 1941; Finkel 1959; Sharp 1966; Hastenrath 1967; Lindsay 1973; Warren 1976; Lancaster 1982).
4.5 Specific Gravity (GS) and Absorption
Specific gravity value of aggregates represents a valu- able suitability marker of constructional aggregates. The specific gravity of the studied sands varies from 2.52 to 2.56 g/cm3 (Table 2). This narrow range of specific grav- ity meets the standard limits of fine aggregate specific gravity (Smith 1979). The absorption value varies from 0.93 to 0.97% (Table 2) which points that the test mate- rial falls within the standard limits of sand absorption (Ahn 2000).
4.6 Textural Characteristics
Experimentally, it is found that the sand grains of dunes are spherical in shape, well rounded and have smooth surfaces (MacCarthy 1935; Kuenen 1960; Folk 1978; Goudie and Watson 1981; Goudie et al. 1987). The rounding of sand grains by wind action is 100–1000 times faster than round- ing by fluvial abrasion (Kuenen 1960). The quartz grains of sand dunes are mostly not well rounded, the exception cases being where quartz grains have been reworked from older clastic sedimentary rocks (Goudie and Watson 1981;
Goudie et al. 1987).
The studied dune sands consist mainly of equant shape sand-sized grains (Table 2 and Fig. 11a). Based on their roundness degree, the studied dune sands consist of sub- angular (26.51%), sub-rounded (25.74%), rounded (14.69%), angular (12.23%), well rounded (11.24%) and very angular (9.62%, Table 2 and Fig. 11b). The dominance of equant and well-rounded to rounded grains (Table 2 and Fig. 11) reflects the higher ability of wind to abrasion in desert regions. Addi- tionally, these dunes have nearly equal quantities of rounded
Fig. 10 Grain size distribution curves of the studied dune sands
0 20 40 60 80 100
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100
Grain size (mm in log scale)
Finer (%)
Sample No. 2 Sample No. 8 Sample No. 22
Fig. 11 Relative frequency of different forms and roundness classes of the studied dune sands (average values)
grains (well rounded, rounded and sub-rounded grains, 51.64%) and angular grains (sub-angular, angular and very angular, 48.36%). The highest content of sub-angular, angu- lar and very angular grains (48.36%) occurs mostly within the coarser fractions of the studied dune sands. This refers to locally near sources of these sand dune particles as well as short distance of transportation. This bimodal of angularity and roundness of sand grains is attributed to local trans- portation by channels from the surrounding basement hills and then re-worked by wind action (Folk 1978). Another interesting finding is that coarser dune sand grains are char- acterized by higher angularity than finer grains (Fig. 11).
This may be attributed to the fact coarser dune sand grains usually creep along dune surface and consequently subjected to less abrasion than finer ones, which mostly move by salta- tion (Thomas 1987). On the contrary, the roundness of dune grains increases with increasing grain size of aeolian sedi- ments (Ashour 1985; Khalaf and Gharib 1985).
The sand dunes in the western regions of Saudi Arabia are composed mainly of mono-crystalline quartz type owing to enrichment of quartz in hyper-arid climatic conditions rather than chemical weathering. Most quartz particles resist mechanical destruction even during prolonged trans- port in high energy aeolian environments (Garzanti et al.
2012). Few grains composed of carbonate rock fragments are recorded within the studied dune sands especially in southern sites (9, 10 and 11) and having NW–SE migration direction. These carbonate rock fragments may be derived from carbonate sand-sized particles of the western coastal areas of the Red Sea.
4.7 Workability and Strength of Sand Bricks
The workability and strength tests are done to assess the effectiveness of dune sands–cement–water mixture as sta- bilizer material to minimize and reduce the environmental hazards of sand dunes in the study area. The slump test val- ues (workability) of the studied dune sand–cement–water (54–63 mm, Table 3) are represented by medium workability degree and acceptable as stabilizer mixture of sand dunes (Wilby 1991). Consequently, the obtained values of com- pressive strength of the studied sand–cement–water (ranging from 8.61 to 9.24 MPa, Table 3 and Fig. 12) indicated that the strength values are more sufficient to stabilize dune sands against wind movement and migration.
5 How to Reduce the Environmental Hazards of Sand Dunes
this problem by effectively methods, there are two long- term successful methods: surface chemical stabilization and covering the surface area in special sites of a dune itself by coarse-grained gravels or crushed stone. Coarse gravel or/and crushed (rock, concrete and brick) can be
Table 3 Workability and uniaxial compressive strength of sandy bricks of the studied dune sands
Site no. Dune no. Slump (mm) UCS (MPa)
1 2 56 9.24
4 58 8.92
2 6 55 9.13
8 57 8.91
3 10 54 9.17
12 61 8.76
4 14 59 8.91
16 62 8.67
5 18 60 8.84
20 59 8.94
6 22 63 8.69
24 55 9.19
7 26 57 8.95
28 55 9.13
8 30 59 9.17
32 61 8.77
9 34 63 8.61
36 57 8.91
10 38 58 8.79
40 55 9.22
11 42 56 9.06
44 54 9.18
Average 58.00 8.95
Fig. 12 Workability and compressive strength of sandy bricks of the study dune sands
ones due to their higher angularity which helps trapping the moved dune sands more efficiently. Generally, a rough surface tends to reduce the velocity of the wind immedi- ately above it.
Binding materials (silt, clay, organic matter and cement) would hold dune sands together and would make wind ero- sion more difficult. The suitable binding materials should be of low cost, resistant to wind erosion, permeable and non-toxic (Armbrust and Dickerson 1971). Some chemi- cal additives, such as oil, bitumen and latex, are useful as dune-stabilizing materials but vary in their long-term cost and environmental impact. Recently, bitumen, lime, cement, resin, latex and other chemical additives are used as sand dune-stabilizing materials (Armbrust and Dickerson 1971;
Barr and McKenzie 1976).
The present area has relatively high temperature and thus bitumen and oil materials can be easily oxidized and cracked owing to alternate shrinkage and expansion in response to temperature changes. Consequently, cement is considered more suitable and effective than bitumen and oil. Addition- ally, the porosity of fine aggregates (sands) is controlled generally by gradation of grain, shape, roundness degree, and lastly, grain fabric (Bell 1978). The highest porosity is attained when all the grains are of the same size. Thus, the studied dune sands are well bonded and cemented when mixed with cement and water owing to its higher porosity and permeability (Fig. 13b).
6 Conclusion
The most important findings and recommendations are:
• The coastal area of south Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia represents a typical arid and windy desert environment, where active and movable sand dunes are causing haz- ards to the development and settlements.
• Field investigations should be conducted to recognize wind erosion and examine evidences of dune move- ment, which is useful in assessing natural hazards of dune migration.
• The wind regime plays a major role in forming and shaping of these sand dunes. These sand dunes are migrating towards the main asphaltic roads, which con- nects Jeddah and the southern coastal governorates.
• Dune hazard maps using aerial photographs and remote sensing techniques must be constructed to illustrate sites of unstable sand dunes and their migration direc- tions and migration rates. Consequently, the most effec- tive and hazardous sites should be stabilized using a long-term suitable method using chemical treatment and coarse gravels or both as a thin layer (5 cm) cover- ing windward face and eddies of dunes.
Acknowledgements The authors are deeply grateful to Prof. Dr.
Zekâi Şen and Prof. Dr. Mansour Almazroui (Editors-in-Chief), and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable time and the comments they raised that have improved the rigor of the work.
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