New method for measurement of barchans parameters Case study: Lut desert, Iran

This research has attempted to measure the parameters of barchan dunes as one of the desert landforms. This has been conducted by a field survey using cartographic techniques. In the field, two barchan dunes have completely been surveyed by total station equipment. Using the sample points a novel method has been devised to measure the barchans parameters. The method is mainly based on geometric relations and Cartesian coordinate system. All the parameters of the dunes have been measured by both the common methods of previous studies and the new method of this study. By this research, some new parameters have also been added to the dune analysis studies. The method has proved to bemore precise relative to the previous methods for measurements of barchans. These mea surements make it possible to compare the dunes in different areas of the world and also for different periods of time. Many parameters of the dunes can also be examined more easily.