Atmospheric dust aerosols over the Eastern Pamirs: major element concentrations and composition |
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| Authors: | Guangjian Wu Baiqing Xu Chenglong Zhang Shaopeng Gao |
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| Institution: | (1) Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China |
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| Abstract: | This study measured the major element concentrations and compositions of atmospheric dust aerosol samples collected weekly
for nearly 2 years at Mt. Muztagata, a remote and high-elevation site (38°17′N, 75°01′E, 4,430 m) in the Eastern Pamirs. Inductively
coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP–MS) results show that on the weekly timescale, air at Muztagata contained average element
Al concentrations of 842 ng m−3 between June 2004 and December 2005, and 509 ng m−3 between June 2005 and April 2006. The dust load over the Eastern Pamirs appears to be far lower (by more than an order of
magnitude) than those in northern China. The Muztagata dust aerosols show Ca/Al ratios (~0.7) and Fe/Al ratios (~0.7) that
differ from that in northern China. The general homogeneity exists in the major element compositions, expect Ca/Al ratios
which show minor but clear seasonal variations. Element ratios vary with aerosol concentration. Results indicate that concentrations
and compositions of Asian dust change significantly between different emission regions, and confirm that major element ratios
can be used to efficiently characterize the dust aerosols composition at different sites in northern China. |
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