Measuring dust emissions from wind-erodible surfaces | Ruben Andersen and Cameron McNaughton

We welcomed Dr. Cameron McNaughton from RWDI to share the findings of a field study measuring dust emissions from a mine tailings storage facility (TSF) in remote South Australia. The webinar reviewed dust emissions from mine tailings, with a focus on the physical mechanisms and a comparison of how emissions are parameterised then modelled, versus how they can be measured directly in the field. The session highlighted the first ever use in Australia of a Portable In-Situ Wind ERosion Laboratory (PI-SWERL) and discussed the results of a study designed to evaluate the long-term wind erosion potential of the mine’s TSF materials.

The presentation covered:
• How material properties of erodible surfaces and mine tailings affect their potential to produce fugitive dust.
• How dust emissions are parameterised and then modelled to assess their potential impacts on human health and the environment.
• In-situ measurements of dust emissions fluxes as a function of wind speed both from natural surfaces and a TSF located in remote South Australia.
• Discussion on the long-term wind erosion potential (>100 years) of the mine’s TSF materials based on the findings of the study.

The webinar highlighted our ability to measure dust emissions fluxes in-situ from undisturbed natural or manmade surfaces, as compared to emissions parameterisation in models using empirical equations. For dust-prone areas of arid and semi-arid Australia the use of the PI-SWERL can improve model predictions of the: “if”, “when”, and “how much” dust is emitted.