Wind barriers offer short-term solution to fugitive dust
AuthorsDavid A. Grantz
David L. Vaughn
Robert J. Farber
Authors AffiliationsD.A. Grantz is Plant Physiologist and Extension Air Quality Specialist; D.L. Vaughn is Staff Research Associate, Department of Botany and Plant Sciences and Statewide Air Pollution Research Center, UC Riverside; R.J. Farber is Senior Research Scientist, Southern California Edison Company, Rosemead; B. Kim is Air Quality Specialist, South Coast Air Quality Management District, Diamond Bar; T. VanCuren is Air Pollution Research Specialist, California Air Resources Board, Sacramento; R. Campbell is District Conservationist, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Lancaster.
Hilgardia 52(4):14-18. DOI:10.3733/ca.v052n04p14. July 1998.
Wind-blown fugitive dust is a widespread problem in the arid west resulting from land disturbance or abandonment and increasingly limited water supplies. Soil-derived particles obstruct visibility, cause property damage and contribute to violations of health-based air quality standards for fine particles (PM-10). These dry lands are often difficult to revegetate, yet they may require immediate stabilization. We evaluated the effectiveness of three types of mechanical wind barriers, which can be Installed more rapidly and more reliably than revegetation, in suppressing dust emissions. Wind fences, furrows and scattered roughness elements, such as plastic cones, are shown to reduce fugitive dust emissions in areas of the Mojave Desert that resisted revegetation.
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