Spatial variability of unpaved road dust PM10 emission factors near El Paso, Texas

J Air Waste Manag Assoc. 2005 Jan;55(1):3-12. doi: 10.1080/10473289.2005.10464602.

Abstract

The testing re-entrained aerosol kinetic emissions from roads technique is compared with distance-based emission factors (EFs; g/VKT) measured downwind of a dirt road by using towers instrumented with real-time meteorological and particle sensors at multiple heights. The emission potential (EP), defined as the EF divided by the vehicle speed (m/sec), and weight index permits the intercomparison of emissions from multiple roadways surveyed by the TRAKER vehicle. A survey of 72 km of unpaved roads on the Ft. Bliss Military Base near El Paso, Texas, indicated that 60% of all measured EPs fell between 6.7 (g/VKT)/(m/sec) and 9.6 (g/VKT)/(m/sec). The EP measured across the base was approximately 50% lower than those collected in the vicinity of the instrumented towers. This implies that EFs measured for other vehicles on the same test section should be reduced by 50% to more accurately represent EFs for the entire military base. Using geographic information system-based soil maps, the inferred EFs are related to differences in soil types over the survey area. Variations among five different soil types accounted for <10% of variation in EP. Individual measurements using the testing re-entrained aerosol kinetic emissions from roads technique did show larger spatial variations in EP; however, these were not effectively captured by the soil classifications, partly because of the comparatively coarse spatial classification used in the soil survey data.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aerosols / analysis*
  • Data Collection
  • Environmental Monitoring
  • Geographic Information Systems*
  • Kinetics
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Soil Pollutants / analysis*
  • Texas
  • Vehicle Emissions / analysis*

Substances

  • Aerosols
  • Soil Pollutants
  • Vehicle Emissions