We combined a natural experiment with field surveys and GIS to investigate the effects of dust from recreational trails and access roads on the federally threatened Valley elderberry longhorn beetle ("VELB," Desmocerus californicus dimorphus) and its host plant, elderberry (Sambucus mexicana). Dust is listed in the species recovery plan as a threat to the VELB and unpaved surfaces are common th...

TRAKER is a vehicle-based method for measuring road dust emissions. Particulate matter is sampled in front and behind a vehicle’s tire and the difference in PM concentration (TRAKER signal) is used to infer the airborne flux of particles from the roadway. Two independent tests indicated that the TRAKER signal increases as the cube of the speed for a given road dust loading. Simultaneous measure...

One of the major problems in developing countries is maintenance of roads. Well maintained roads contribute a major portion to the country’s economy. Identification of pavement distress such as potholes and humps not only helps drivers to avoid accidents or vehicle damages, but also helps authorities to maintain roads. This paper discusses previous pothole detection methods that have been devel...

Poor road conditions are a public nuisance, causing passenger discomfort, damage to vehicles, and accidents. In the U.S., road-related conditions are a factor in 22,000 of the 42,000 traffic fatalities each year. Although we often complain about bad roads, we have no way to detect or report them at scale. To address this issue, we developed a system to detect potholes and assess road conditions...

Background and Overview The major sources of fugitive dust emissions are paved and unpaved roads, construction, agricultural operations, minerals industries and wind erosion from both agricultural and non agricultural lands. Fugitive dust in the ambient air is predominantly comprised of coarse particles (between 10 and 2.5um) and is a relatively minor part of fine PM, i.e., PM2.5. However, the ...

Hot-mix asphalt (HMA) surfaces comprise about 90% of the highways and roads in the U.S. Highways and are typically engineered to last 15 years or more, but many have been failing early due to potholes, cracks, raveling, and other problems. This premature road failure unnecessarily wastes millions of taxpayer dollars every year. This paper describes a series of research studies that were conduct...

air pollution is today a major problem for modern societies. it has long been recognized as a potentially lethal form of pollution. increasing pollution levels due to rapid urbanization and growth in emission related to vehicular transportation are now caused major concern. the mobilization of heavy metals into the biosphere by human activities has become an important process in the geochemical...

Salinization of surface water from sodium chloride (road salt) applied to paved roads is a widely recognized environmental concern in the northern hemisphere, yet practical information to improve winter road management to reduce the environmental impacts of this deicer is lacking. The purpose of our study was to provide such information by developing baseline concentrations for sodium and chlor...

Capsule Red-necked Nightjars’ (Caprimulgus ruficollis) choice of road surface type is significantly affected by air temperature, which may lead to increased traffic-induced mortality under cool weather conditions. Aims To assess how seasonality and weather conditions affect road surface use by Red-necked Nightjars and, if so, to identify possible patterns in human-induced mortality as a result ...