The PI-SWERL® instrument is a world standard for direct measurement of wind erosion potential and windblown dust emissions. Dust-Solve LLC has unmatched in-house expertise in using the PI-SWERL technology to obtain complete understanding of windblown dust emissions from storage piles, mine tailings, agricultural fields, pristine arid lands as well as landscapes that are impacted by human or natural forces (e.g., construction, desertification, wildfires, drought, grazing). Contextual understanding of windblown emissions provides information that is critical for management or mitigation as appropriate including spatial mapping of erodibility, time-variant effects of atmospheric and soil conditions that can in turn impact surface crusting, prospects and longevity of chemical or physical treatment, and chemical compositions of suspended dusts.

In most instances the wind is not capable of directly lofting into the air small dust particles that are of concern for air quality. Due to how aerodynamics scale with the weight of particles, it is the larger sand-sized grains (about a tenth of a millimeter in diameter and far too large to be considered an air quality concern) that are most easily moved by wind. Under the influence of the shearing stress of the wind, these larger grains launch into the air, pick up additional energy from the wind, and then fall back and impact the surface. The energetic impacts of these so-called “saltators” dislodge other saltators and release massive numbers of small dust particles into the air. So important is this saltation process that there is virtually no prospect of understanding and managing windblown dust without accurate understanding of the availability, size distribution, and movement of saltators in any given system. In recognition of this need, Dust-Solve uses extensively the SANTRI optical gate family of instruments to provide in-field measurement and mapping of saltation flux, grain size, and local wind conditions. Depending on the specific needs, units are used either in conjunction with other field sensors (including sand traps and BSNE) or with built-in datalogging capability. For longer-term installations and monitoring programs, SANTRI units may be leased or purchased from Dust-Solve.

The flexible air quality module concept or FlexAQ concept recognizes that measurement platforms for environmental applications must be highly configurable and adaptable. This is built into every aspect of FlexAQ from the broad range of instruments and sensors that can be used with the platform, flexibility in power supply (line, DC, solar), telemetry and networking options, accessibility for service and maintenance, purpose-built data-logging and controls, and off-the-shelf components integrated with custom hardware and software as meets the needs of the application. The FlexAQ approach arises from decades of hands-on experience in designing, constructing, installing, and operating field systems for measurement of dust, dozens of other air pollutants, and meteorological and environmental parameters. The result is that Dust-Solve is able to provide the most economical, directly applicable measurement platform in support of air quality characterization and management objectives without the limitations of commercial packages, onerous service requirements, or extraneous machinery or software.