6533b82efe1ef96bd1293ac4
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Number, Mass and Volume Distributions of Mineral Aerosol and Soils of the Sahara
Lothar SchützGuillaume A. D'almeidasubject
Range (particle radiation)Materials scienceOptical microscopeSoil testVolume (thermodynamics)Scanning electron microscopelawSoil waterGeneral EngineeringMineralogyRadiusAerosollaw.inventiondescription
Abstract A direct method will be described to determine the complete mineral size distribution in aerosol (xylene-insoluble component) and soils (water-insoluble component) covering a size range from 0.01 up to 100 μm and 1000 μm radius, respectively, by using a combination of a scanning electron microscope, optical microscope and sieving. Aerosol and soil samples from the Sahara have been investigated. All mineral aerosol size distributions indicate a maximum between 0.06 and 0.08 μm radius and mineral particles have been found in the Aitken size range down to 0.02 μm radius. The concentration decrease toward larger particles is not uniform and shows considerable variations below 0.5 μm and above 5 μm radius. Volume distributions show a fairly stable mode around 3 μm and a highly variable mode around 30 μm radius. Particles below 5 μm radius can be considered as a well mixed mineral background aerosol, traveling long distances, whereas larger particles seem to be of local origin, activated under strong w...
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983-02-01 | Journal of Climate and Applied Meteorology |