An innovative approach to tracking sediment transport along roads

• Main Authors: Boving Thomas, Lewis Tabatha, Siswoyo Eko
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: EDP Sciences 2019-01-01
• Series: MATEC Web of Conferences
• Online Access: https://www.matec-conferences.org/articles/matecconf/pdf/2019/29/matecconf_icsbe2019_04001.pdf

A study of sediment transport was carried out in the New England area of the United States where large quantities of sediments and other debris accumulate along roads. These sediments are mostly transported by roadway runoff and stormwater drainage structures, where present, tend to concentrate them. However, polluted sediments might also find their way into ecologically sensitive areas. Our research aimed at tracking the transport of these sediments as they move along a road. Further, we attempted to quantify the rate by which the sediments were transported. Glass microbeads in the size range of sand were released as a tracer of sediment transport at six comparable locations. Over a period of 10 months, their movement was tracked using microscopy. Our results indicate that this type of tracer was successful in following along the sediment transport. More research is required to establish this new method under different stormwater runoff regimes or different roadside maintenance conditions.