Desert Dust Sources

Dune fields are important dust sources

Research utilizing the PI-SWERL revealed that dune fields can be important sources of desert dust via eolian abrasion and through interactions of saltating sand with playa and fluvial sediments. We contrasted the quartz-dominated Monahans dune field in Texas with the gypsum dunes of White Sands National Park. At White Sands, dry and ephemeral lake beds emitted similar volumes of dust compared to abrasion of gypsum sand in the dune field. At Monahans, quartz abrasion produced low levels of dust, but sand sheets, should they become reactivated by climate change or anthropogenic disturbance, could generate >300 tons per square km per yr.

Publication
Sweeney, M.R., Forman, S.L., and McDonald, E.V., 2022, Contemporary and future dust sources and emissions fluxes from gypsum- and quartz-dominated eolian systems, New Mexico and Texas, USA. Geology v. 50, p. 356-360. Open Access

Dust Emission Processes (send email and I'll send you a pdf copy)

Sweeney, M.R., 2022, Dust emission processes, in Shroder, J.J.F. (Ed.), Treatise on Geomorphology 2^nd ed., v. 7, Elsevier, Academic Press, p. 235-258, doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-818234-5.00015-8.

Testing the Preferential Dust Source Scheme - Northern Chihuahuan Desert (on-going)

This masters thesis research by Gwenn Harsha is using the PI-SWERL to test the emissive potential of landforms in the Chihuahuan Desert to field test a dust emissions scheme supported by dust plume mapping. In addition, she seeks to determine how seasonality influences dust emissions by looking closely at changes in crust strength and soil moisture.

Kicking up dust on Utah's off road vehicle trails (on-going)

This research by undergraduate student Wyatt Wiebelhaus seeks to learn about sources of dust related to off road vehicle trails. Wyatt used the PI-SWERL to measure dust emission potential of undisturbed vs. disturbed (trail) soils and has found so far that trails formed in Lake Bonneville terrace sediments are the most emissive compared to sand dunes or other dry lake deposits.

This research is being funded by an NSF Critical Zone grant in collaboration with Kevin Perry at the University of Utah.

Dust sources along Interstate corridors

This research, with Eric McDonald at Desert Research Institute, seeks to understand sources of dust along Interstate-8 in southern California and southwestern Arizona, and Interstate-10 between Phoenix and Tucson. Dust storms along these busy transportation routes cause frequent visibility problems and brown-out conditions that result in vehicle collisions and even deaths. We are using the PI-SWERL to evaluate potential dust sources in this region. This research is funded by USACE - CRREL.

Coverage in Earth Magazine, 2018: Arizona road hazard has surprising source