Final answer:
A more powerful wind would significantly increase the rate of erosion due to the cubic relationship between wind velocity and erosive power.
Step-by-step explanation:
Increased wind power leads to a higher rate of erosion because the wind would have more energy to pick up and transport soil particles and other material. This is particularly impactful in areas with little vegetative cover, where soil is more vulnerable to erosion. Considering wind's erosional role on Earth as well as on other planets like Mars, where despite thinner atmosphere winds still manage to move fine dust particles and shape the landscape, we can see that wind intensity plays a crucial role in shaping natural environments.
The increase in wind speed from 5 m/s to a stronger wind of 50 m/s results in a 1000-fold increase in wind power (since power scales with the cube of wind velocity), which can have a dramatic effect on erosion rates. Just as a gentle breeze has significantly less erosive power, a hurricane-strength wind can cause major geological changes by rapidly wearing down land features and depositing large amounts of debris in new areas.
Additionally, wind erosion can be particularly severe in desert ecosystems, where even small increases in vegetation cover can help reduce erosion rates. On Earth, the loss of vegetative cover, such as forests, can increase the erosional impact of rain, leading to higher rates of erosion and sediment discharge into the oceans.