‘Dust in the wind’ from source-to-sink: Analysis of the 14–15 April 2015 storm in Utah

et al. 2020

Geoenviron Disasters

In drylands around the world, ephemeral lakes (playas) are common. Dry, wind-erodible playa sediments are potent local and regional sources of dust and PM10 (airborne particles with diameters less than 10 μm). Dust clouds often cause sudden and/or prolonged loss of visibility to travelers on downwind roadways. Lordsburg Playa, in southwestern New Mexico, USA is bisected by Interstate Highway 10. Dust storms emanating from the playa have been responsible for numerous visibility-related road closures (including 39 road closures between 2012 and 2019) causing major economic losses, in addition to well over a hundred dust-related vehicle crashes causing at least 41 lost lives in the last 53 years. In order to improve understanding of the surfaces responsible for the dust emissions, we investigated the critical wind friction velocity thresholds and the dust emissivities of surfaces representing areas typical of Lordsburg Playa’s stream deltas, shorelines, and ephemerally flooded lakebed using a Portable In-Situ Wind ERosion Laboratory (PI-SWERL). Mean threshold friction velocities for PM10 entrainment ranged from less than 0.30 m s− 1 for areas in the delta and shoreline to greater than 0.55 m s− 1 for ephemerally flooded areas of the lakebed. Similarly, we quantified mean PM10 vertical flux rates ranging from less than 500 μg m− 2 s− 1 for ephemerally flooded areas of lakebed to nearly 25,000 μg m− 2 s− 1 for disturbed delta surfaces. The unlimited PM10 supply of the relatively coarse sediments along the western shoreline is problematic and indicates that this may be the source area for longer-term visibility reducing dust events and should be a focus area for dust mitigation efforts.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dust emission source characterization for visibility hazard assessment on Lordsburg Playa in Southwestern New Mexico, USA

et al. 2020

Geoenviron Disasters

“…Goudie (2014), searching newspaper clippings for 12 consecutive months in the period of 2012 to 2013, reported that dust-related fatal highway crashes happened in six states of the U.S. in a single year. Numerous case reports have been published of blowing and drifting dust and sand causing highway crashes, especially multi-vehicle incidents on high-speed roads including interstate highways (Pauley, 1996;Laity, 2003;Goudie, 2014;Deetz et al, 2016;Nicoll et al, 2020). The U.S. National Weather Service reported that dust events are the third largest weather-related cause of highway casualties in the state of Arizona, resulting in at least 157 fatalities and 1324 injuries statewide in 50 years (Lader et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dust Emission Source Characterization for Visibility Hazard Assessment on Lordsburg Playa in Southwestern New Mexico, USA

et al. 2020

Preprint

Ephemeral lakes (playas) at the termination of drainages are a common feature of drylands. When dry, playa sediments can be highly wind-erodible, becoming potent local and regional sources of dust and PM 10 , airborne particles with diameters less than 10 µm, causing potentially sudden loss of visibility to travelers on downwind roadways. Lordsburg Playa, in southwestern New Mexico, USA is bisected by Interstate Highway 10. Dust storms emanating from the playa have been responsible for numerous visibility-related road closures (including 39 road closures between 2012- 2019) causing major economic losses, as well as hundreds of dust-related vehicle crashes, causing 41 lost lives in the last 53 years. We investigated the critical wind friction velocity thresholds and the dust emissivities of surfaces representing areas typical of Lordsburg Playa’s stream deltas, shorelines, and ephemerally flooded lakebed using a Portable In-Situ Wind ERosion Laboratory (PI-SWERL). Mean threshold friction velocities for PM 10 entrainment ranged from less than 0.30 m s -1 for areas in the delta and shoreline to greater than 0.55 m s -1 for ephemerally flooded areas of the lakebed. Similarly, we quantified mean PM 10 vertical flux rates ranging from less than 500 µ g m -2 s -1 for ephemerally flooded areas of lakebed to nearly 25,000 µg m -2 s -1 for disturbed delta surfaces. The apparently unlimited PM 10 supply of the relatively coarse sediments along the western shoreline however is problematic and indicates that this may be the source area for longer-term visibility limiting dust events and should be a focus area for dust mitigation efforts.

“…Goudie (2014), searched newspaper clippings for 12 consecutive months in the period of 2012 to 2013, reported that dust-related fatal highway crashes happened in six states of the U.S. in a single year. Numerous case reports have been published of blowing and drifting dust and sand causing highway crashes, especially multi-vehicle incidents on high-speed roads including interstate highways (Pauley, 1996;Laity, 2003;Goudie, 2014;Deetz et al, 2016;Nicoll et al, 2020). The U.S. National Weather Service reported that dust events are the third largest weather-related cause of highway casualties in the state of Arizona, resulting in at least 157 fatalities and 1324 injuries statewide in 50 years (Lader et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lordsburg Playa is the only dust-emitting playa crossed by an interstate highway in the southwest USA, although ~1000 km north of Lordsburg, Interstate Highway 80 crosses the playa of Great Salt Lake, Utah and has been the location of fatal dust-related tra c wrecks (Nicoll et al, 2020). Plumes of airborne dust and sand crossing the highway close to their source ( Figure 2) therefore represent an immediate hazard to roadway tra c due to sudden loss of visibility and resulting driver disorientation (Ashley et al, 2015;Li et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dust Emission Source Characterization for Visibility Hazard Assessment on Lordsburg Playa in Southwestern New Mexico, USA

et al. 2020

Preprint

In drylands around the world, ephemeral lakes (playas) are common. Dry, wind-erodible playa sediments are potent local and regional sources of dust and PM10 (airborne particles with diameters less than 10 µm). Dust clouds often cause sudden and/or prolonged loss of visibility to travelers on downwind roadways. Lordsburg Playa, in southwestern New Mexico, USA is bisected by Interstate Highway 10. Dust storms emanating from the playa have been responsible for numerous visibility-related road closures (including 39 road closures between 2012-2019) causing major economic losses, in addition to well over a hundred dust-related vehicle crashes causing at least 41 lost lives in the last 53 years. In order to improve understanding of the surfaces responsible for the dust emissions, we investigated the critical wind friction velocity thresholds and the dust emissivities of surfaces representing areas typical of Lordsburg Playa’s stream deltas, shorelines, and ephemerally flooded lakebed using a Portable In-Situ Wind ERosion Laboratory (PI-SWERL). Mean threshold friction velocities for PM10 entrainment ranged from less than 0.30 m s-1 for areas in the delta and shoreline to greater than 0.55 m s-1 for ephemerally flooded areas of the lakebed. Similarly, we quantified mean PM10 vertical flux rates ranging from less than 500 µg m-2 s-1 for ephemerally flooded areas of lakebed to nearly 25,000 µg m-2 s-1 for disturbed delta surfaces. The unlimited PM10 supply of the relatively coarse sediments along the western shoreline is problematic and indicates that this may be the source area for longer-term visibility reducing dust events and should be a focus area for dust mitigation efforts.