Wind Erosion:
An International Symposium/Workshop

An Index of PM₁₀ Potential Emission from Soil

Omar F. Carvacho, Lowell L. Ashbaugh, and Robert G. Flocchini

Abstract

The ability of soil to release PM₁₀ into the air under controlled laboratory conditions depends in a complex manner on the soil type. In general, the smaller soil particle size fractions emit more PM₁₀ per unit mass of soil; some soils, however, emit little PM₁₀ from the small size fraction. Soils with the same soil classification do not necessarily have equivalent potential to emit PM₁₀. We have developed and evaluated a readily measurable index of potential PM₁₀ emissions from soils in the laboratory that may improve our ability to estimate actual soil PM₁₀ emissions for different activities. Ongoing experiments at UC Davis will explore the ability of the PM₁₀ index to predict the emissions of soils under real-world activities.