VEHICLE IMPACTS ON VEGETATION COVER AT CAMP ATTERBURY, INDIANA, USA: PART 3. PREDICTING CUMULATIVE IMPACT OF A MILITARY TRAINING EVENT.

Vehicle and troop tracking systems are increasingly being used during military training events to improve the quality of the training by providing detailed information for real-time and post training analysis. The Deployable Force-on-Force Instrumented Range System (DFIRSTTM) is an example of one of these systems currently being used by U.S. Army National Guard units. Information from these vehicle tracking systems can be used to improve Army installation environmental impact assessments and monitoring programs. DFIRST™ vehicle tracking systems were installed on over 80 military vehicles as part of a 12-day live training exercise at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. From the original DFIRST™ dataset one training day was selected for detailed analysis. Vehicle tracking systems monitored vehicle locations while actively participating in a training exercise. Vehicle locations were used to calculate vehicle dynamic properties (velocity and turning radius). Vehicle dynamic and static (weight, type) properties and were used to predict vegetation loss using models previously developed for use at Camp Atterbury. USEPA 1979 AP-42 dust model was used to estimate dust emissions. Average distance traveled per vehicle was 17.2 km/day with an average of 0.2 km/day off-road. The training event resulted in an estimated 2662.8 m2 of vegetation loss and 465.1 kg of PM 2.5 dust generated for the period of analysis. This study demonstrates the use of emerging vehicle tracking systems, fielded to support improved training, can be used to assess environmental impacts associated with training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]