After the war Bagnold studied engineering at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, obtaining an MA before returning to active duty with the British Army in 1920 with the Royal Corps of Signals. He served in Cairo and the North West Frontier, India, where he was again mentioned in dispatches.[10] In both of these locations, he spent much of his leave exploring the local deserts. After having read Ahmed Hassanein's "Lost Oasis" he spent one such expedition in 1929 using a Ford Model A automobile and two Ford lorries exploring the vast swathe of desert from Cairo to Ain Dalla which was an area reputed to contain the mythical city of Zerzura. After a brief period of half-pay, he left the Army in 1935, but rejoined upon the outbreak of the Second World War.[10]
Desert exploration
Bagnold and his travelling companions were early pioneers in the use of motor vehicles to explore the desert. In 1932 Bagnold explored the Mourdi Depression, in present-day Chad, and found implements dated to the Palaeolithic period in the valley.[11] Bagnold wrote of his travels in the book Libyan Sands: Travel in a Dead World (first published 1935; reprinted by Eland in 2010).[12] He is credited with developing a sun compass, which is not affected by magnetic iron ore deposits or by metal vehicles as a magnetic compass might be. During the 1930s his group also began the practice of reducing tyrepressure when driving over loose sand.
In addition Bagnold is credited with devising a method of driving over the large sand dunes found in the "sand seas" of the Libyan Desert. He wrote, "I increased speed. ... A huge glaring wall of yellow shot up high into the sky. The lorry tipped violently backwards—and we rose as in a lift, smoothly without vibration. We floated up on a yellow cloud. All the accustomed car movements had ceased; only the speedometer told us we were still moving fast. It was incredible ..." However, noted Fitzroy Maclean, "too much dash had its penalties. Many of the dunes fell away sharply at the far side and if you arrived at the top at full speed, you were likely to plunge headlong over the precipice. ... and end up with your truck upside down on top of you."
Bagnold, RA 1947. 波による砂の移動:非常に低密度の砂を用いた小規模実験。土木学会誌 27(5554):447–469.
Bagnold, RA 1951. 非常に低い水流速度の測定。Nature 167:1025–1027.
Bagnold, RA 1951. 流体の流れによる無凝集性粒状層の運動。British Journal of Applied Physics 2(2):29–34.
バグノルド、RA 1951 年。砂漠の物理学のいくつかの問題。 Bulletin de l'Institut Fouad premier du désert 1(2):27–34。
バグノルド、RA 1951年。南アラビアの砂層。地理学ジャーナル117(1):78–86。
バグノルド、RA 1953年。「陸上航行」。航海学会誌 6:184–193。
RA バグノルド、1953 年。セーブルとレジームの砂丘の形態。所収: Actions éoliennes、phénomènes d'évaporation et d'hydrologie superficielle dans les régions arides、国立科学研究センター (CNRS)、パリ、Colloques internationaux 35、23 ~32 ページ。
Bagnold, RA 1953. 風で吹き飛ばされた砂の表面運動と気象学の関係。In: Desert Research, Proceedings of the International Symposium, Jerusalem, 7–14 May 1952, Research Council of Israel, Special Publication 2, pp. 89–93.
Bagnold, RA 1954. 乾燥砂漠の物理的側面。Cloudsley-Thompson, JL (編)『砂漠の生物学、1952年にロンドンで開催されたシンポジウムの議事録』、Institute of Biology、ロンドン、pp. 7–12。
Bagnold, RA 1954. せん断下におけるニュートン流体中の大きな固体球の無重力分散に関する実験。Proceedings of the Royal Society of London A 225(1160):49–63.
Bagnold, RA 1955. 輸送流体とほぼ同じ密度の大きな粒子に関するいくつかの水路実験とその意義。土木学会論文集 4(3):174–205.