Gobi is a type of desert pavement in Asia over which aeolian saltation generates atmospheric dust. However, the high‐frequency behavior of aeolian saltation over gobi is still poorly understood. In this study, coupled high‐frequency observations of three‐dimensional (3‐D) wind speed (U) and saltation particle count rate in a vertical array of Sensit sensors were performed in a gobi region of Milan County, southern Xinjiang, China. The results revealed that aeolian saltation over a gobi surface exhibited an intermittent phenomenon, and the level of the intermittency was governed by the relative wind strength (s), which is consistent with that of sand surfaces. The threshold wind speed (U_t) decreased exponentially with increasing transport activity parameter (AP), and a prominent decrease in U_t was examined when the AP values reached 0.7; comparatively, for sand surfaces, a linearly declining trend occurred over the whole AP range of 0–1. The saltating particles over the gobi surface were distributed in layers of 0.08–0.30 m with an average value of 0.20 ± 0.04 m, which was significantly larger than that of sand surfaces. The relationship between the instantaneous sand transport rate (Q) and U over the gobi surface was also relatively poor and could be improved by lagging Q by 2 s. The mechanism for the collision between saltating particles and the gobi bed, which is rigid and complex in texture, was significantly different from that of the soft and deforming sand bed, causing the difference in aeolian saltation between gobi and sand surfaces.

Wind‐blown sand over Gobi can cause severe sand abrasion. The vertical flux profiles, especially that of the kinetic energy (KE), determine the erosion intensity. However, the vertical distribution of the KE flux of wind‐blown sand over Gobi remains poorly understood. Here, we report comprehensive field‐based measurements of the vertical flux profiles of wind‐blown sand over three typical Gobi surfaces during four transport events. The results show that unlike the exponential decrease in the particle count flux with height, the KE flux profile curve was non‐monotonic and could be well fitted by a Pearson VII function. The height where the maximum KE flux density occurred (kink points) ranged from 0.09 to 0.15 m above the ground. In addition, the non‐monotonic KE flux profiles primarily emerged during periods of strong transport and were mainly caused by large saltating sand particles due to their high KE as they rebounded from the grain‐bed collision.

Here, we present the results of turbulent flow structures and their influence on aeolian sand transport over gobi surfaces based on quadrant analysis. The results show that the classified turbulent structures over gobi accounted for 43%–44% of the time frequency and contributed ∼97% to the Reynolds stress, yet the contribution rates to sand transport rate ranged from 45% to 52%. Sweeps (Quadrant 4) and ejections (Q2) were the two most frequent events and accounted for 70% of the total frequency for the classified turbulent structures. Sweeps made a major contribution of 51%–57% to sand transport rate over gobi. Outward interactions (Q1) were relatively rare, but they individually entrained as much sand as sweeps of comparable magnitude and duration. The turbulent structures over gobi show similar behaviors comparable to those of water flows over gravel riverbeds or rough seabeds yet different from those of air flow over flat sand surfaces.