Assessment of geochemical and sedimentological characteristics of atmospheric dust in Shiraz, southwest Iran

Pradhan, B; Jahandari, A

Assessment of geochemical and sedimentological characteristics of atmospheric dust in Shiraz, southwest Iran

Pradhan, B

Jahandari, A

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Geoscience Frontiers, 2019
Issue Date:: 2019-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Pradhan, B https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9863-2054	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Jahandari, A	en_US
dc.date.accessioned	2020-04-10T06:17:42Z
dc.date.available	2020-04-10T06:17:42Z
dc.date.issued	2019-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Geoscience Frontiers, 2019	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1674-9871	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/139938
dc.description.abstract	© 2019 China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and Peking University Geogenic dust is commonly believed to be one of the most important environmental problems in the Middle East. The present study investigated the geochemical characteristics of atmospheric dust particles in Shiraz City (south of Iran). Atmospheric dust samples were collected through a dry collector method by using glass trays at 10 location sites in May 2018. Elemental composition was analysed through inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. Meteorological data showed that the dustiest days were usually in spring and summer, particularly in April. X-ray diffraction analysis of atmospheric dust samples indicated that the mineralogical composition of atmospheric dust was calcite + dolomite (24%)>palygorskite (18%)>quartz (14%)>muscovite (13%)>albite (11%)>kaolinite (7%)>gypsum (7%)>zircon = anatase (3%). The high occurrence of palygorskite (16%–23%) could serve as a tracer of the source areas of dust storms from the desert of Iraq and Saudi Arabia to the South of Iran. Scanning electron microscopy indicated that the sizes of the collected dust varied from 50 μm to 0.8 μm, but 10 μm was the predominant size. The atmospheric dust collected had prismatic trigonal–rhombohedral crystals and semi-rounded irregular shapes. Moreover, diatoms were detected in several samples, suggesting that emissions from dry-bed lakes, such as Hoor Al-Azim Wetland (located in the southwest of Iran), also contributed to the dust load. Backward trajectory simulations were performed at the date of sampling by using the NOAA HYSPLIT model. Results showed that the sources of atmospheric dust in the studied area were the eastern area of Iraq, eastern desert of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Khuzestan Province. The Ca/Al ratio of the collected samples (1.14) was different from the upper continental crust (UCC) value (UCC = 0.37), whereas Mg/Al (0.29), K/Al (0.22) and Ti/Al (0.07) ratios were close to the UCC value (0.04). This condition favours desert calcisols as the main mineral dust sources. Analysis of the crustal enrichment factor (EFcrustal) revealed geogenic sources for V, Mo, Pb, Sr, Cu and Zn (<2), whereas anthropogenic sources affected As, Cd, Cr and Ni.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Geoscience Frontiers	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.gsf.2019.08.004	en_US
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess
dc.title	Assessment of geochemical and sedimentological characteristics of atmospheric dust in Shiraz, southwest Iran	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.for	0402 Geochemistry	en_US
utslib.for	0403 Geology	en_US
utslib.for	0404 Geophysics	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology/School of Information, Systems and Modelling
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CAMGIS - Centre for Advanced Modelling and Geospatial lnformation Systems
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
utslib.copyright.embargo	2021-09-07T00:00:00+1000
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US

Abstract:

© 2019 China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and Peking University Geogenic dust is commonly believed to be one of the most important environmental problems in the Middle East. The present study investigated the geochemical characteristics of atmospheric dust particles in Shiraz City (south of Iran). Atmospheric dust samples were collected through a dry collector method by using glass trays at 10 location sites in May 2018. Elemental composition was analysed through inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. Meteorological data showed that the dustiest days were usually in spring and summer, particularly in April. X-ray diffraction analysis of atmospheric dust samples indicated that the mineralogical composition of atmospheric dust was calcite + dolomite (24%)>palygorskite (18%)>quartz (14%)>muscovite (13%)>albite (11%)>kaolinite (7%)>gypsum (7%)>zircon = anatase (3%). The high occurrence of palygorskite (16%–23%) could serve as a tracer of the source areas of dust storms from the desert of Iraq and Saudi Arabia to the South of Iran. Scanning electron microscopy indicated that the sizes of the collected dust varied from 50 μm to 0.8 μm, but 10 μm was the predominant size. The atmospheric dust collected had prismatic trigonal–rhombohedral crystals and semi-rounded irregular shapes. Moreover, diatoms were detected in several samples, suggesting that emissions from dry-bed lakes, such as Hoor Al-Azim Wetland (located in the southwest of Iran), also contributed to the dust load. Backward trajectory simulations were performed at the date of sampling by using the NOAA HYSPLIT model. Results showed that the sources of atmospheric dust in the studied area were the eastern area of Iraq, eastern desert of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Khuzestan Province. The Ca/Al ratio of the collected samples (1.14) was different from the upper continental crust (UCC) value (UCC = 0.37), whereas Mg/Al (0.29), K/Al (0.22) and Ti/Al (0.07) ratios were close to the UCC value (0.04). This condition favours desert calcisols as the main mineral dust sources. Analysis of the crustal enrichment factor (EFcrustal) revealed geogenic sources for V, Mo, Pb, Sr, Cu and Zn (<2), whereas anthropogenic sources affected As, Cd, Cr and Ni.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/139938