Eolian transportation Particles are transported by winds through suspension, saltation, and creep. Small particles may be held in the atmosphere in suspension . Upward currents of air support the weight of suspended particles and hold them indefinitely in the surrounding air. Typical winds near the Earth's surface suspend particles less than 0.2 millimeters in diameter and scatter them aloft as dust or haze. Saltation moves small particles in the direction of the wind in a series of short hops or skips.
Saltation is downwind movement of particles in a series of jumps or skips.
A saltating grain may hit other grains that jump up to continue the saltation. The grain may also hit larger grains that are too heavy to hop, but that slowly creep forward as they are pushed by saltating grains. Surface creep accounts for as much as 25 percent of grain movement in a desert. Eolian turbidity currents are better known as dust storms . Air over deserts is cooled significantly when rain passes through it.