CHARACTERIZATION OF METALS AND SOLIDS IN URBAN HIGHWAY WINTER SNOW AND SPRING RAINFALL-RUNOFF

Urban highways are a nonpoint source of metal elements and solids. These constituents are generated from traffic activities, pavement degradation, roadway maintenance, and atmospheric deposition. Pavement degradation and abrasion generates solids ranging in size from submicron particles to gravel-size aggregates. These constituents accumulate on the highway until they are transported from the pavement by traffic-induced turbulence or precipitation-runoff processes. Total metal elements and solids concentration are higher in snow washoff from urban highways than rainfall runoff. One reason is the snow washoff volume is less than the volume generated during a rainfall-runoff event. Another reason is that the residence time of a highway snowbank can range from hours to months depending on weather conditions. In addition, porous snow banks act as repositories that trap metals and solids. Metal elements and solids in urban highway winter snow and spring runoff at one highway site located along I-75 in Cincinnati, Ohio, are described and compared. Both snow and rainfall-runoff samples were fractionated into particulate-bound and dissolved metals. Solids characterization included dissolved, inorganic, and organic fractions. Results from snow samples taken at daily intervals from late January through mid-February 1995 indicate a significant increase in metal elements and solids accumulation for several days after two snow events. Results from runoff events in April 1995 indicate that the particulate-bound metal element washoff response was a function of rainfall intensity. In contrast, the dissolved response exhibited a dependence on the solubility of the metal element. Metal elements in rainfall-runoff were predominately dissolved as compared with more particulate-bound metals in snowfall.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198196152300118
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=CHARACTERIZATION+OF+METALS+AND+SOLIDS+IN+URBAN+HIGHWAY+WINTER+SNOW+AND+SPRING+RAINFALL-RUNOFF&author=J.+Sansalone&author=S.+Buchberger&publication_year=1996
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309062217
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1523, Geometric and Other General Design Issues.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Sansalone, J J
  • Buchberger, S G
• Publication Date: 1996

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 147-159
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1523
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Concentration (Chemistry); Field studies; Metals; Pollutants; Rainfall; Runoff; Snow; Solids; Spring; Urban highways; Winter
• Uncontrolled Terms: Field data
• Geographic Terms: Cincinnati (Ohio)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Hydraulics and Hydrology; I26: Water Run-off - Freeze-thaw;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00730219
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309062217
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Dec 12 1997 12:00AM