Physical properties of suspended dust during moist and low wind conditions in Iceland

• We measured a dust event which occurred during wet and low wind/windless conditions as the result of surface heating in August 2013. Maximum particle number concentration (PM similar to 0.3-10 mu m) reached 149,954 particles cm(-3) min(-1) while mass concentration (PM<10 m) was 1757 g m-3 min-1. The suspended dust was very fine with the highest number of particles in the size range 0.3-0.337 mu m, followed by particles 1.5-5 mu m in diameter. Close-to-ultrafine particle size distributions showed a significant increase in number with the severity of the measured dust event (during dust peaks). Number concentrations were well correlated with mass concentrations. The mineralogy and geochemical compositions showed that glaciogenic dust contains sharp-tipped shards with bubbles and 80 % of the particulate matter is volcanic glass rich in heavy metals. Wet dust particles were mobilized within < 4 hours. This is the first scientific study of particle size distributions in an Icelandic dust event including findings on initiation of dust suspension.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

atmospheric measurements

dust storm event

surface heating

dust aerosol

climate aspects

2010 EYJAFJALLAJOKULL ERUPTION

PARTICULATE MATTER

VOLCANIC SOILS

SAHARAN DUST

TRANSPORT

STORM

ASH

MYRDALSJOKULL

ATMOSPHERE

DEPOSITION

Agriculture

Multidisciplinary

EPIL WS

1957

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE

V255

P104

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)