U.S. Geologic Survey

Six years of surface and subsurface temperature data has been collected on a permeable pavement research installation managed by the USGS in Madison, WI. While impressive pollutant reduction data has been well documented via peer-reviewed technical papers, temperature data has not yet been analyzed. This project should better characterize the thermal response of permeable interlocking concrete pavers, pervious concrete, and porous asphalt to freeze-thaw cycles during winter months and the associated implications for management of deicers in cold-weather climates. Information learned from similar studies since 2006 will be integrated into the analyses to provide a holistic sense of the current state-of-science by identifying patterns of behavior during winter months. Investigation of data at the Madison study location, as well as available data sets from previous studies, should identify the timing and duration of sub-surface temperatures compared to air temperatures and impacts of solar gain, surface color, and pavement types on snow melt patterns.

Compilation and review of the past several years of temperature data at the site has begun including removal of erroneous data and correcting data where appropriate. This is a significant task because each of the 4 permeable pavement tests plots monitored contains 27 individual sensors plus air and runoff temperature (83 total sensors). Temperature data was taken at 1-minute intervals. Data analysis begins in March then summarizing a draft manuscript in April with the expectation of delivering a draft report by the end of May. That should enable a published technical paper September 2021.