The GATE Grind

GATE 2026 AG – Question 22

Soil and Water Conservation Engineering · Soil and Water Erosion · 1 mark · Multiple choice

In the wind-erosion relation used here, how does the transported soil amount vary?

  1. Directly with the cube of threshold wind velocity and inversely with the square of mean particle diameter.
  2. Directly with the cube of actual wind velocity and inversely with the square of mean particle diameter.
  3. Directly with the cube of actual-minus-threshold wind velocity and the square of mean particle diameter.
  4. Directly with the cube of actual-minus-threshold wind velocity and the square root of mean particle diameter.

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Correct answer: (D) Directly with the cube of actual-minus-threshold wind velocity and the square root of mean particle diameter.

Explanation

The exam uses the simplified transport scaling $q\propto(v-v_t)^3\sqrt d$ for wind speed above its threshold. The speed excess measures the wind available to sustain transport;its cube gives the strong sensitivity to wind. The particle-size factor is a square root rather than a square or inverse square. This selects **D**. It is the specified empirical scaling, not a universal law for every particle-size regime.

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