Vicken Etyemezian

Associate Research Professor
Division of Atmospheric Sciences

EDUCATION:

Dr. Etyemezian currently holds the position of Assistant Research Professor in the Division of Atmospheric Sciences of the Desert Research Institute, where he conducts research and air quality studies. In his present position, Dr. Etyemezian is active in several ongoing air quality studies including BRAVO (Beg Bend Regional Aerosol Visibility Observation study), SNAQS (Southern Nevada Air Quality Study), the Las Vegas Visibility Study, and two DoD studies focusing on dust emissions and quantification from military activities. Dr. Etyemezian's research interests and specialties include direct measurement and quantification of fugitive dust emissions, source apportionment, design of field sampling campaigns for air quality studies, data management, data analysis, and use of GIS systems in air quality engineering.

As principal investigator in the Treasure Valley Road Dust Study (Boise, ID), Dr. Etyemezian improved upon the existing methods for estimating paved and unpaved road dust emissions. Completion of the study, which relied heavily on the novel TRAKER technology, resulted in the most detailed, measurement-based, road dust emissions inventory to date. Dr. Etyemezian is the co-inventor of the TRAKER system (Testing Re-entrained Aerosol Kinetic Emissions from Roads). The ability of TRAKER to obtain highly spatially resolved distributions of potential road dust emissions represents a breakthrough in dust emission measurement and inventory.

Dr. Etyemezian supplements his substantial experience in conducting air quality measurements with the modeling of pollutant dispersion and deposition. Focusing on phenomena occurring immediately downwind of a source, he has demonstrated that for certain atmospheric conditions, PM10 emissions as measured at the source require discounting to allow for the removal of particles by surface roughness elements such as vegetation and buildings.

As part of his doctoral research, Dr. Etyemezian investigated the effects of air pollutants on the degradation of limestone buildings. This work drew heavily on modeling of particle transport and deposition in boundary layer flows, modeling and measurement of particle deposition and rain impingement on outdoor structures, and measurement of air pollutant concentrations, pollutant deposition rates, and meteorological parameters in the field. While obtaining a Master's degree and working as a research assistant at the Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Etyemezian focused on drinking water quality, wastewater treatment, and environmental aquatic chemistry.

RESEARCH AREAS:

• Fugitive dust emissions and controls, source apportionment, dispersion and deposition in the near-source region, and instrument development.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

Etyemezian, V., and H. Kuhns (2005).

Precision and repeatability of the TRAKER vehicle-based paved road dust emission measurement. In Press.

Xu, J., D. DuBois, M. Pitchford, M. Green, and V. Etyemezian (2005).

Attribution of sulfate aerosols in federal Class I areas of the western United States based on trajectory regression analysis. In Press.

Gertler, A., H. Kuhns, C. Damm, J. Gillies, M. Abu-Allaban, V. Etyemezian, R. Clayton, and D. Proffitt (2005).

The impact of winter road sand/salt and street sweeping on road dust re-entrainment. In Press.

Moosmüller, H., R. Varma, W. P. Arnott, H.D. Kuhns, V. Etyemezian, and J.A. Gillies (2005).

Scattering cross section emission factors for visibility and radiative transfer applications: Military vehicles traveling on unpaved roads. J. Air & Waste Manage. Assoc. In press.

Etyemezian, V. E., M. Tesfaye, A. Yimer, J.C. Chow, D. Mesfin, T. Nega, G. Nikolich, J.G. Watson, and M. Wondmagegn (2005).

Results from a pilot-scale air quality study in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Atmos. Environ. In press.

Gillies, J.A., V. Etyemezian, H. Kuhns, D. Nikolich, and D.A. Gillette (2005).

Effect of vehicle characteristics on unpaved road dust emissions. Atmos. Environ., 39:2341 – 2347.

Chow, J., J. Watson, H. Kuhns, V. Etyemezian, D.H. Lowenthal, D. Crow, S. Kohl, J. Engelbracht, and M. Green (2004).

Source Profiles for Industrial, Mobile , and Area Sources in the Big Bend Regional Aerosol Visibility Observational Study. Chemosphere, 54:185 - 208.

Etyemezian, V., J. Gillies, H. Kuhns, D. Gillette, S. Ahonen, D. Nikolic, and J. Veranth (2004).

Deposition and Removal of Fugitive Dust in the Arid Southwestern United States: Measurements and Model Results. JAWMA, 54:1099-1111.

Etyemezian V., H. Kuhns, J. Gillies, M. Green, M. Pitchford, and J. Watson (2003).

Vehicle based road dust emissions measurements (I): Methods and Calibration. Atmos. Environ., 37:4559-4571.

Etyemezian V., H. Kuhns, J. Gillies, J. Chow, K. Hendrickson, M. McGown, and M. Pitchford (2003).

Vehicle based road dust emissions measurements (III): Effect of speed, traffic volume, location, and season on PM10 road dust emissions. Atmos. Environ., 37:4583-4593.

Kuhns, H., V. Bohdan, J. Chow, V. Etyemezian, M. Green, D. Herlocker, S. Kohl, M. McGown, J. Ramsdell, W. Stockwell, M. Toole, and J. Watson (2003).

The Treasure Valley Secondary Aerosol Study I: Measurement and Equilibrium Modeling of Inorganic Secondary Aerosols and Precursors for Southwestern Idaho . Atmos. Environ., 37:4511-4524.

Kuhns H., V. Etyemezian, M. Green, Karin Hendrickson, Michael McGown, Kevin Barton, Marc Pitchford (2003)

Vehicle-based road dust emissions mesasurement (II): Effect of precipitation, winter time road sanding, and street sweepers on PM10 fugitive dust emissions from paved and unpaved roads. Atmos. Environ., 35:4572-4583

Dai, W., C.I. Davidson, V. Etyemezian, and M. Zufall (2001).

Wind Tunnel Studies of Particle Transport and Deposition in Turbulent Boundary Flows. Aer. Sci. and Technol., 35:887-898.

Kuhns, H., Etyemezian, V., Landwehr, D., MacDougall, C., Pitchford, M., and M. Green. (2001).

Testing Re-entrained Aerosol Kinetic Emissions from Roads (TRAKER): A New Approach to Infer Silt Loading on Roadways. Atmos. Environ., 35:2815-2825.

Etyemezian, V., C.I. Davidson, M. Zufall, and W. Dai (2000).

Impingement of Raindrops on a Tall Building. Atmos. Environ., 34:2399-2412.

Davidson, C.I., W. Tang, S. Finger, V. Etyemezian, M.F. Striegel, and S.I. Sherwood (2000).

Soiling Patterns on a Tall Limestone Building: Changes over 60 Years. Environ. Sci. and Technol., 34(4):560-566.

Zufall, M J; W. Dai, C.I. Davidson, and V. Etyemezian (1999).

Dry deposition of particles to wave surfaces: I. Mathematical modeling: Atmos. Environ., 33:4273-4272.

Etyemezian, V., C.I. Davidson, S. Finger, M. Striegel, N. Barabas, and J. Chow (1997).

Vertical Gradients of Pollutant Concentrations and Deposition Fluxes on a Tall Limestone Building. Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, 37(2):187-210.