7/8/2014, ARS Project: Assessment of the Emission and Dispersion of Gases and Particulates from Agricultural Operations (408180) Annual Report

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Research Project: Assessment of the Emission and
Dispersion of Gases and Particulates from Agricultural

Operations
Location: Air Quality of Agricultural Systems Research
2005 Annual Report

1.What major problem or issue is being resolved and how are you
resolving it (summarize project aims and objectives)? How serious is
the problem? What does it matter?

Measurement of atmospheric constituents and the coupling of these
concentrations into dispersion models is a difficult task. Traditional
approaches have used a modified form the Gaussian dispersion
model; however, this approach is not applicable to situations typical of
agricultural operations. The reasons for these problems are the
extremely inhomogeneous nature of the surface and the variability in
the emission rates. If improvements are to be made in both the
measurement and estimation of dispersion from a source for
agricultural operations then improvements need to be made in the
ability to accurately measure different gases and particulates in the
atmosphere. Improvements in the estimation of turbulent transfer
coefficients typical of agricultural settings need to be evaluated. Both
of these problems are complex and have not been adequately
addressed. Increasing our ability to both measure concentrations and
predict dispersion would enhance our understanding of the impact of
agricultural operations on air quality. These improvements would be
used to provide assessments of the impact of different operations
and be able to provide accurate assessments of the impact of
management practices that enhance air quality.

2.List the milestones (indicators of progress) from your Project Plan.
Evaluate an improved Lidar (Light detection and ranging) system for
measurement of particulate plumes from livestock and cotton ginning
facilities.

Deploy the Lidar into different areas to evaluate differences among
facilities Couple Lidar measurements with dispersion models to
determine the downwind transport of particulates.

Evaluate methods to measure trace gases, including volatile organic
compounds, which improve the capability of accurate measurements
of these gases in the atmosphere.

Deploy the instrumentation into livestock facilities to compare
instrument performance with standard methods.

Couple gas measurements with micrometeorological observations in
limited fetch conditions to evaluate dispersion models.

Compare current micrometeorological models for their ability to
estimate fluxes in limited fetch conditions.

Develop and conduct studies to characterize the turbulence regime in
limited fetch conditions.

Conduct field scale studies with Lidar and Trace gas instruments
coupled with the improved micrometeorological models to quantify the
improvement in estimation of downwind concentrations and plume
dynamics.

4a.What was the single most significant accomplishment this past
year?

A portable Lidar has been developed and tested in the laboratory to
evaluate the performance specifications and computer software. This
technology will be evaluated in a field scale experiment in late
summer 2005 to evaluate the ability of the Lidar to detect and track
the movement of particulate plume generated from a swine
production unit and from controlled release experiments. Techniques

Project Team
Hatfield, Jerry

Project Annual Reports
FY 2006
FY 2005
FY 2004

Related National Programs
Air Quality (203)

Manure and Byproduct
Utilization (206)

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7/8/2014 ARS Project: Assessment of the Emission and Dispersion of Gases and Particulates from Agricultural Operations (408180) Annual Report

for the evaluation of the spectral characteristics of turbulence data to
determine the effect of buildings on the flow regime have been
developed and will be used in the field campaign to evaluate the
impact of buildings on turbulence in limited fetch conditions.

4b. List other significant accomplishments, if any.
This project has focused on the development of the Lidar and
measurements of gases and turbulence as a single focus.

5.Describe the major accomplishments over the life of the project,
including their predicted or actual impact.

The major accomplishment has been the development and testing of
the portable Lidar system.

7.List your most important publications in the popular press and
presentations to organizations and articles written about your work.
(NOTE: List your peer reviewed publications below).

Bingham, G.E., Wilkerson, T.D., Zavyalov, V., Cornelsen, S.S., Swasey,
J., and Hacock, J. 2005. AGLITE: A portable Lidar for agricultural
practice optimization. 31st Conference on Remote Sensing of the
Environment. St. Petersburg, RU. CD-ROM.

Last Modified: 11/08/2007
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