AAAR 34th Annual Conference
October 12 - October 16, 2015
Hyatt Regency
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Contribution of Windblown Dust to Atmospheric Nitrogen in the Columbia Plateau
BRENTON SHARRATT, USDA-ARS
Abstract Number: 320 Working Group: Primary and Secondary Aerosols from Agricultural Operations
Abstract Wind erosion contributes to the atmospheric dust load and environmental degradation in the Columbia Plateau of the Pacific Northwest United States. This region has historically exceeded the PM10 (particulate matter ≤10 micrometers in diameter) National Ambient Air Quality Standard due to windblown dust. Nitrogen contained in windblown dust also depletes the soil of a nutrient essential for growth of crops and is of economic importance to farmers. Wind erosion was measured from agricultural fields during 1999-2012 using samplers that trapped sediment at various heights above the eroding surface. Although field sites changed each year, erosion was monitored during the summer fallow phase of a winter wheat - summer fallow rotation when soils are most erodible. Sediment collected in the samplers was analyzed for N by dry combustion. Averaged across years, windblown sediment contained 0.08% N of which a smaller percentage (0.005%) was nitrate/nitrite/ammonia. Nitrogen loss from the field approached 2 kg/ha during singular high wind events. This loss of N represents about 5% of that applied for crop production in the region.