From Gustiness to Dustiness—The Impact of Wind Gusts on Particulate Matter Emissions in Field Experiments in La Pampa, Argentina

PANEBIANCO, J. E.; SOMMER, M.; SIEGMUND, NICOLE; ITURRI, L.A.; FUNK, R.; AVECILLA, F.; BUSCHIAZZO, D. E.

DYNAMICS OF ATMOSPHERES AND OCEANS

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Año: 2022

0377-0265

This study delivers the first empirical data-driven analysis of the impact of turbulence induced gustiness on the fine dust emissions from a measuring field. For quantification of the gust impact, a new measure, the Gust uptake Efficiency (GuE) is introduced. GuE provides a percentage of over- or under-proportional dust uptake due to gust activity during a wind event. For the three analyzed wind events, GuE values of up to 150% could be found, yet they significantly differed per particle size class with a tendency for lower values for smaller particles. In addition, a high-resolution correlation analysis among 31 particle size classes and wind speed was conducted; it revealed strong negative correlation coefficients for very small particles and positive correlations for bigger particles, where 5 μm appears to be an empirical threshold dividing both directions. We conclude with a number of suggestions for further investigations: an optimized field experiment setup, a new particle size ratio (PM1/PM0.5 in addition to PM10/PM2.5), as well as a comprehensive data-driven search for an optimal wind gust definition in terms of soil erosivity.