Grain size dependence of barchan dune dynamics

The dependence of the barchan dune dynamics on the size of the grains involved is investigated experimentally. Downsized barchan dune slices are observed in a narrow water flow tube. The relaxation time from an initial symmetric triangular heap towards an asymmetric shape attractor increases with dune mass and decreases with grain size. The dune velocity increases with grain size. In contrast, the velocity scaling and the shape of the barchan dune is independent of the size of the grains.