Wind-Blown Dust and Sand

Wind-blown Dust and Sand Expertise

  • Aeolian Sand and Dust Thresholds

  • Dust Emission Rates with Wind Tunnels

  • Numerical Modeling of Near-Surface Dust Transport

  • Dust Emission Control Estimates

  • AERMOD to Estimate Fugitive Dust Transport and Dispersion

Arid lands are subject to dust and sand storms caused by large wind-induced shear stresses over lands with reservoirs of soil materials which can become suspended. Conditions such as drought, poor agricultural practices, mining, and construction can causes lands to become more susceptible to wind erosion. The suspension of particulate matter (PM-10 and PM-2.5) can impact visibility and human health. For these reasons, the mechanisms causing dust and sand storms along with the ability to control them is an active area of research.

Publications and Technical Reports


J.A. Roney and B.R. White, “Comparison of a two-dimensional numerical dust transport model with experimental dust emissions from soil surfaces in a wind tunnel”, Atmospheric Environment, Volume 44, Issue 4, February 2010, Pages 512-522.


J.A. Roney and B.R. White, “Estimating Fugitive Dust Emission Rates using an Environmental Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel”, Atmospheric Environment 40, 7668-7685, 2006.


J.A. Roney and B.R. White, “Definition and Measurement of Dust Aeolian Thresholds”, Journal of Geophysical Research—Earth Surface, Vol. 109, F01013, doi:10.1029/2003JF000061, 2004.


J.A. Roney, "Physical Modeling and Numerical Simulation of Factors Leading to High PM10 Emission Fluxes from Ground Source Fugitive Dust with Emphasis on Owens (dry) Lake Soils", Ph.D Dissertation, Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA, 2001.


B.R. White and J.A. Roney, “Simulation and Analysis of Factors Leading to High PM10 Emissions Fluxes at Owens Dry Lake Using an Environmental Wind Tunnel”, Final Report prepared for the California Air Resource Board (CARB), 2000, Interagency Agreement No. 97-718.


Presentations


J.A. Roney, “Wind-Tunnel Physical Modeling and Numerical Simulation of Fugitive Dust Entrainment”, Presentation to the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Iowa State University, March 21, 2001


J.A. Roney, D. Kim, R.V. Coquilla, and B.R. White, “Simulation and Analysis of Factors Leading to High PM10 Emissions Fluxes at Owens Dry Lake Using an Environmental Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel”, Poster Presentation, AGU Fall Meeting, 1999.


D. Kim, J.A. Roney, R.V. Coquilla, and B.R. White, “Wind Tunnel Methods for Estimating Atmospheric Fugitive Dust Emissions”, Poster Presentation, AGU Fall Meeting, 1999.