Abstract
Mineralogy of Asian dust collected in Fukuoka, Southwest Japan, was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning/transmission electron microscopy (SEM/TEM) in detail. The dust consisted of only silicates ; quartz, albite, orthoclase, amphibole and phyllosilicates (muscovite/illite, biotite, chlorite, kaolin group minerals and smectite). This mineral composition for silicates is very close to that of a certified reference specimen for Asian dust (CJ-1) which was collected from the loess plateau in China. However, carbonate minerals abundant in CJ-1 are missing in Fukuoka dust. Probably the carbonate and other water-soluble minerals were dissolved by rain or during sample collection using water. Observation and X-ray chemical analysis in SEM revealed their morphologies and chemical compositions. Amphibole, biotite and chlorite are major Fe-bearing minerals in the dust. Among them, fine chlorite particles may be a good Fe-supplier for microorganism living in the shallow area of the ocean.
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