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NARSTO Workshop on Innovative Methods for Emission Inventory Development and Evaluation University of Texas, Austin October 14-17, 2003 |
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PI-SWIRL: A New Technique for Measuring Wind Blown Dust Emission Potential
Vic Etyemezian1, Sean Ahonen1, John Gillies1, Hampden Kuhns1, Hans Moosmüller1,
Djordje Nikolic1, and Marc Pitchford2
1 The Desert Research Institute, Las Vegas, NV
2 NOAA, Las Vegas, NV
Ambient air quality standards for particulate matter (PM) are violated in numerous locations across North America. In many of these locations, fugitive dust is thought to be responsible for a substantial share of the problem. The magnitude of PM emission in the form of windblown fugitive dust depends on the wind speed as a function of height above the surface and the wind erosion potential of the surface. Macro-scale factors that affect the wind erosion potential of a surface include the degree of vegetative cover and fetch length. Micro-scale effects include surface roughness , the surface matrix particle size distribution, and the matrix particle adhesion characteristics.
A new device is being tested for its ability to rapidly and repeatably measure the wind erosion potential of a soil surface. The Portable In-Situ WInd eRosion Laboratory (PI-SWIRL) was developed at DRI. Unlike conventional field wind tunnels, the device is easy to set up in the field, requiring only between 10 and 15 minutes for a measurement that covers approximately one square meter of surface area. The PI-SWIRL is intended to measure the inherent tendency for a soil to erode and emit PM in response to a shear stress generated immediately above the soil. The presence or extent of medium- and large-scale vegetative cover is not directly accounted for by the PI-SWIRL. This paper will focus on a discussion of the design of the PI-SWIRL as well as some preliminary data.