Size and elemental composition of dry-deposited particles during a severe dust storm at a coastal site of Eastern China

Abstract

Dry-deposited particles were collected during the passage of an extremely strong dust storm in March, 2010 at a coastal site in Qingdao (36.15°N, 120.49°E), a city located in Eastern China. The size, morphology, and elemental composition of the particles were quantified with a scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray instrument (SEM–EDX). The particles appeared in various shapes, and their size mainly varied from 0.4 to 10μm, with the mean diameters of 0.5, 1.5, and 1.0μm before, during, and after the dust storm, respectively. The critical size of the mineral particles settling on the surface in the current case was about 0.3–0.4μm before the dust storm and about 0.5–0.7μm during the dust storm. Particles that appeared in high concentration but were smaller than the critical size deposited onto the surface at a small number flux. The elements Al, Si and Mg were frequently detected in all samples, indicating the dominance of mineral particles. The frequency of Al in particles collected before the dust storm was significantly lower than for those collected during and after the dust storm. The frequencies of Cl and Fe did not show obvious changes, while those of S, K and Ca decreased after the dust arrival. These results indicate that the dust particles deposited onto the surface were less influenced by anthropogenic pollutants in terms of particle number.