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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Rangeland Resources & Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #338777
Title: Estimation of wind erosion from construction of a railway in arid northwest China

Author
item LIU, BENLI - Dunhuang Gobi Research Station
item Wagner, Larry
item NING, DUIHU - International Research And Training Center On Erosion And Sedimentation
item QU, JIANJUN - International Research And Training Center On Erosion And Sedimentation

Submitted to: International Soil and Water Conservation Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/21/2017
Publication Date: 4/26/2017
Citation: Liu, B., Wagner, L.E., Ning, D., Qu, J. 2017. Estimation of wind erosion from construction of a railway in arid northwest China. International Soil and Water Conservation Research. 5:102-108. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.iswcr.201704.005.

Interpretive Summary: A state-of-the-art wind erosion simulation model, the Wind Erosion Prediction System (WEPS) and the Environmental Protection Agency’s AP-42 emission factors were used together to evaluate wind-blown dust emissions from various construction segments of a railway construction project in the dry Gobi land in Northwest China. The influence of various climatic factors as well as the soil surface condition, protective measures, and construction disturbance were taken into account in the analysis. The process-based WEPS model, driven by climate data and using specific detailed management files, was able to adequately express the respective construction stages and the degree of wind erosion disturbance. Taking the Lanzhou-Xinjiang High-speed Railway as a representative study, the diversity in climate, soil, and working schedule conditions along the route were analyzed. The first segment of the construction area (section LXS-15) was used to evaluate the combined methods and quantitatively estimate the segment's total wind erosion emissions.

Technical Abstract: A state-of-the-art wind erosion simulation model, the Wind Erosion Prediction System and the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s AP-42 emission factors formula, were combined together to evaluate wind-blown dust emissions from various construction units from a railway construction project in the dry Gobi land in Northwest China. The influence of the climatic factors: temperature, precipitation, wind speed and direction, soil condition, protective measures, and construction disturbance were taken into account. Driven by daily and sub-daily climate data and using specific detailed management files, the process-based WEPS model was able to express the beginning, active, and ending stages of construction, as well as the degree of disturbance for the entire scope of a construction project. The Lanzhou-Xinjiang High-speed Railway was selected as a representative study because of the diversities of different climates, soil, and working schedule conditions that could be analyzed. The total wind erosion emissions for the first construction area of section LXS-15 with a 14.877 km length was obtained for quantitative analysis.