Dust mass and horizontal aeolian sediment flux data from a sampler network on the Colorado Plateau, USA

These data were compiled to assess time series data of aeolian sediment collections across varying climates, vegetation cover, and land uses on the Colorado Plateau. The objectives of our study were to interpret aeolian erosion and deposition processes and measure horizontal sediment flux over the span of two decades amid rapidly changing climate conditions and multiple land use changes within the study area. These data represent the seasonally accumulated horizontal sediment flux from different landscapes within the Colorado Plateau measured using Big Springs Number Eight (BSNE) dust samplers. These data were collected in Grand, San Juan, and Wayne County, Utah and Mesa Country, Colorado with sample collections ranging from 1998 to 2023. These data were collected by the United States Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Canyonlands Research Station staff based in Moab, Utah during field sampling trips that occurred three times per year to collect sediment samples and process collected samples in the laboratory. These data can be used to understand long-term patterns of aeolian sediment flux within a range of Colorado Plateau ecosystems and investigate how land management decisions at certain sites has impacted aeolian sediment fluxes.