Jo Nield was first introduced to Gobabeb in 2013 and has returned almost every year since.  Her work involves wind-blown (aeolian) sand transport and the dynamic feedbacks between surface topography and wind patterns in desert landscapes. To aid her research she uses an instrument called a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) that is able to capture high resolution maps of the surface and the sand moving above it.

With colleagues from the UK and US, she is currently leading The Origin of Aeolian Dunes’ (TOAD for short) project in collaboration with Gobabeb. TOAD aims to understand how sand patches and protodunes initiate and grow on the interdune areas around Gobabeb. 

Alongside fieldwork at Gobabeb, she also regularly undertakes fieldwork on Namibia's Skeleton coast and is also working on a project looking at synergies between dusty surfaces in the Namib and Atacama deserts.

You can find out more details on the TOAD project here:
https://cmg.soton.ac.uk/research/projects/the-origin-of-aeolian-dunes-toad/

Jo’s Southampton web profile is here:
https://www.southampton.ac.uk/people/5x5p5c/doctor-jo-nield

@GobabebRSH