Fugitive Dust Emissions from Off-Road Vehicle Maneuvers on Military Training Lands

Abstract

<abstract> <bold><sc>Abstract.</sc></bold> Off-road vehicle training can contribute to air quality degradation because of increased wind erosion as a result of soil disruption during high wind events. However, limited information exists regarding the impacts of off-road vehicle maneuvering on wind erosion potential of soils. This study was conducted to determine the effects of soil texture and intensity of training with off-road vehicles on fugitive dust emission potential due to wind erosion at military training installations. Multi-pass military vehicle trafficking experiments involving wheeled and tracked vehicles were conducted at three military training facilities (Fort Riley, Kansas; Fort Benning, Georgia; and Yakima Training Center, Washington) with different vegetative conditions and soil textures. The top 6 cm of soil was collected with minimum disturbance into trays and tested in a laboratory wind tunnel for dust emission potential. In wind tunnel testing, the amount of emitted dust was measured using a Grimm aerosol spectrometer. The dust emission potential due to wind erosion was significantly influenced by soil texture, vehicle type, and number of passes. For the light wheeled vehicle, total dust emissions (<20 μm) increased by 357% and 868% for 10 and 50 passes, respectively, from the undisturbed soil condition. For the tracked vehicle, an average increase in total dust emissions (<20μm) of 569% was observed between undisturbed soil and one pass, with no significant increase in emission potential beyond one pass. For the heavy wheeled vehicle, evaluated only at Yakima, emissions (<20 μm) increased by 2,108% and 5,276% for 10 and 20 passes, respectively, from the undisturbed soil condition. Soil texture also played an important role in dust emission potential. For all treatment effects with the light wheeled vehicle, there was a 1,396% increase in emissions (<20 μm) on loamy sand soil over silty clay loam soil.