A COMPARISON OF CHARACTERISTICS OF AEROSOL FROM DUST STORMS IN CENTRAL-ASIA WITH SOIL-DERIVED DUST FROM OTHER REGIONS

Aerosol samples from dust storms were collected in Tadzhikistan (Soviet Central Asia)during September 1989, as a part of the joint U.S.S.R.-U.S. Dust Experiment. Physico-chemical characteristics of deposited dust were compared with those of soil-derived dust collected in other regions. Particle mass-size distributions appear to be characterized by a common log-normal mode between 1 and 10 mu m. Chemical composition of the sampled material shows that the dust is particularly rich in calcium and silicon and poor in iron. Estimated mineral composition of dust indicates that this enrichment in Ca and Si for the Soviet Asian dust must be related to high contents of carbonate and quartz, respectively. Different Fe/Al also suggest a specific chemical composition for clay minerals in the Asian dust.