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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lubbock, Texas » Cropping Systems Research Laboratory » Wind Erosion and Water Conservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #245534
Title: Dust Emissions from Undisturbed and Disturbed, Crusted Playa Surfaces: Cattle Trampling Effect

Author
item Zobeck, Teddy
item Baddock, Matthew
item Van Pelt, Robert - Scott
item Frederickson, Eddie

Submitted to: American Geophysical Union
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/14/2009
Publication Date: 12/17/2009
Citation: Zobeck, T.M., Baddock, M.C., Van Pelt, R.S., Fredrickson, E.L. 2009. Dust Emissions from Undisturbed and Disturbed, Crusted Playa Surfaces: Cattle Trampling Effect[abstract]. American Geophysical Union. December 14-17, 2009. San Francisco, California.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Dry playa lake beds can be a significant source of fine dust emissions during high wind events in arid and semiarid landscapes. The physical and chemical properties of the playa surface control the amount and properties of the dust emitted. In this study, we use a field wind tunnel to quantify the dust emissions from a bare, fine-textured playa surface located in the Chihuahua Desert at the Jornada Experimental Range, near Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA. We tested natural, undisturbed crusted surfaces and surfaces that had been subjected to two levels of domestic animal disturbance. The animal disturbance was provided by trampling produced from one and ten passes along the length of the wind tunnel by a 630 kg Angus-Hereford cross cow (Fig. 1). The trampling broke the durable crust and created loose erodible material. Each treatment (natural crust, one pass, and ten passes) was replicated three times. A push-type wind tunnel with a 6 m long, 0.5 m wide, and 1 m high test section was used to generate dust emissions under controlled conditions (Fig. 2). Clean medium sand was dropped onto the tunnel floor to act as an abrader material. The tunnel wind speed was equivalent to 15 m/s at a height of 2 m over a smooth soil surface. The tunnel was initially run for ten minutes, with no abrader added. A second 30 minute run was subsequently sampled as abrader was added to the wind stream. Dust and saltating material were collected using an isokinetic slot sampler at the end of the tunnel. Total airborne dust was collected on two 25 cm x 20 cm glass fiber filters (GFF) and measured using a GRIMM particle monitor every 6 sec throughout each test run. Disturbance by trampling generated increased saltating material and airborne dust. The amount of saltating material measured during the initial (no abrader added) run was approximately 70% greater and 5.8 times the amount of saltating material measured on the one pass and ten pass plots, respectively, compared with that observed on the undisturbed plots. The total amount of dust measured during the initial (no abrader added) run on GFF on the one pass and ten pass plots was almost twice and three times, respectively, that observed on the undisturbed plots. The ten pass treatment generated about 75% more PM10 dust than the undisturbed plots during the 30 minute abrader run.