Climate Resilience Dashboard
EIP Project Tracker
Lake Clarity Tracker
Monitoring Dashboard
Parcel Tracker
Threshold Dashboard
Transportation Tracker
Overview
Basics
Basics
This study addresses the need to accurately estimate the impact of vehicle miles traveled on PM loading to the lake. This will be done by integrating the results of previous and ongoing research, summarizing the location and timing of road dust PM emissions in the basin, summarizing vehicle classes operating on different road types in the basin, summarizing the amount of suspended material that deposits close to the roadway, analyzing the link between road location and the material transported over the lake, assessing the impact of the number and location of trips on lake water clarity, and reconciling estimates of atmospheric deposition fluxes to the lake with prior measurements.
Completed
2008
2008
2011
$172,579
Alan Heyvaert (alan.heyvaert@dri.edu)
09/20/2017
09/20/2017
|
To zoom, hold down the Shift key and drag a rectangle.
|
|
| Location Information | Location Notes |
|---|---|
Organizations
EIP Details
EIP Basics
EIP Basics
04.01.01.0045 - P041 Impacts of Vehicle Activity on Airborne Particle Deposition to Lake Tahoe.
Performance Measures
Expected Performance Measures
Expected Performance Measures
No expected performance measures set for this project.
Reported Performance Measures
Reported Performance Measures
No annual performance measure accomplishments entered for this project.
Funding
Expected Funding
Expected Funding
$172,579
$172,579
$0
| Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown or Unassigned | $172,579 | $172,579 | $0 |
| Grand Total | $172,579 | $172,579 | $0 |
Reported Expenditures
Reported Expenditures
| Total | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (Pacifi... | $172,579 | $43,145 | $43,145 | $43,145 | $43,144 |
| Grand Total | $172,579 | $43,145 | $43,145 | $43,145 | $43,144 |
Photos
Other Details
Watersheds
No watersheds set for this project.
Threshold Categories
-
Estimate the impact of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) on particulate matter (PM) loading to the lake as stated in the Air Quality – Particle Deposition Science - Theme.
-
The results from the study will enable planners to more accurately estimate the effects of growth as well as VMT reduction strategies on lake water clarity. In addition, the project will provide important information on sediment deposition flux to the lake for use in water quality modeling.
Local and Regional Plans
No Local and Regional Plans set for this project.
Related Projects
Related Projects
No Related Projects set for this project.
External Links
No external links entered.
Notes
Notes
| 07/08/2017 10:06 PM | System | Objectives: This study integrates the results of previous and ongoing research to quantitatively examine how road dust emissions and atmospheric deposition are affected by several factors, including season, local wind conditions, vehicle class, vehicle speed, vehicle kilometers driven, road type, road maintenance practices, vegetative density, and proximity of the source road to the lake. Observations of these factors and patterns from several different studies have been combined and analyzed to create a basin-wide emission factor database based on road type and jurisdiction (road jurisdiction is a reasonable indicator based on consistency of traction control application and road maintenance practices). This database was then linked to a traffic demand model to create emission estimates for each of the 7000+ road segments around the basin. |
||
| 07/08/2017 9:58 PM | System | Findings: Proximity to the lake, prevailing wind directions, and traffic patterns play a dominant role in determining which roads have the greatest potential to deposit fine sediment into the lake. It appears that only roads close to the lake have a substantial impact on atmospheric deposition of fine particles. Moreover, most areas around the lake benefit from onshore wind directions during peak traffic times (i.e. daylight hours) that effectively push emissions away from the lake. However, this is not the case in El Dorado County, CA and Douglas County, NV, which are calculated to be responsible for 67% of the paved road dust deposited to the lake. More aggressive measures to reduce the reservoir of suspendable material on roads in these areas will be more cost-effective than applying a blanket policy to the entire road network. Emissions vary both by season and by location. Wintertime Total Suspended Particle (TSP) emissions are ~5 times greater than summertime TSP emissions due to the application of traction control material to the roads during the winter. Vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT) are not evenly distributed in the basin’s urban area; in particular, the South Lake Tahoe area has the highest VKT values in the basin. *** See www.fs.fed.us/PSW/partnerships/tahoescience for additional findings |
||
| 07/08/2017 9:56 PM | System | Management Implications: Based on the current study, it appears that only roads close to the lake have a substantial impact on atmospheric fine particle deposition. Moreover, most areas around the lake benefit by onshore winds during peak traffic times effectively pushing emissions away from the lake. However, this is not the case in El Dorado County and Douglas County, which are calculated to be responsible for 67% of the paved road dust deposited to the lake. More aggressive measures to reduce the reservoir of suspendable material on roads in these areas are likely to be more cost effective than applying a blanket policy to the entire road network. This study has illuminated new details that will help focus emission controls (e.g. street sweeping, anti-icing, reduced VKT) on the part of the basin where they will be most effective (i.e. near shore roadways in Douglas and El Dorado Counties). Substantial uncertainties exist on how controls will improve lake clarity since revised estimates of the contribution of road dust to the lake are orders of magnitude smaller than the total sediment dry deposition loading used in the TMDL. Long-term monitoring of road dust emission potential (or road surface conditions) is essential to ensure that current plans meet their targets. The Road RAM (Road Rapid Assessment Methodology) system provides an excellent opportunity to evaluate whether controls are effectively reducing the suspendable reservoir of material on paved road surfaces in the basin. |