Abstract: The sampling efficiency of sand traps affects directly on the measurement of the rate of aeolian sand transport near the ground surface, and thus influences the both studies on the aeolian geomorphology and the protecting engineering against sand drift. However, many kinds of sand traps are being used in China and at abroad, and their sampling efficiencies are not identical each other. So it is of importance to compare their sampling efficiencies in both wind tunnel measurement and field observation so as to select a best kind. This paper compares the sampling efficiencies of three kinds of sand traps used worldwide by the field experiments in Taklimakan Desert under the same conditions (the same underlying surface and the same wind speed). The results are as follows： (1) The quantity of sand trapped by a wedge-shaped sand trap is much more than that by other two kinds, i. e., for 38%～63% and 58%～84% of the former respectively. (2) In the distribution of the trapped sand quantity with height near the ground surface, the drifting sand field can be preferably revealed. In the sand samples trapped by a wedge-shaped sand trap, the content of fine sand is obviously higher but the course one lower than that trapped by other two kinds. These differences are caused by the streamlined and the wetted designs of the wedge-shaped sand trap, which can reduce the resistance pressure on sand drift.

Key words: sand transport, granularity, passive sand trap