Anthropogenic dusts

Leys JF, Larney FJ, Muller JF, et al. 1998. Anthropogenic dust and endosulfan emissions on a cotton farm in northern New South Wales, Australia. Sci Total Environ 220 55-70. 

The primary constituents to be measured are the pH of precipitation, sulfates, nitrates, ammonia, chloride ions, metal ions, phosphates, and specific conductivity. The pH measurements help to establish reliable longterm trends in patterns of acidic precipitation. The sulfate and nitrate information is related to anthropogenic sources where possible. The measurements of chloride ions, metal ions, and phosphates are related to sea spray and wind-blown dust sources. Specific conductivity is related to the level of dissolved salts in precipitation. 

It is clear that both atmospheric and surface dusts are complex materials and not all that easy to describe. A summary is given in Fig. 2 of the sources of atmospheric and surface dusts and their inter-connection. Both natural and anthropogenic sources contribute to both dusts. The inter-connection between the two dusts is wet and dry deposition from the atmosphere to the ground, and the re-entrainment of surface dust through wind and human activity into the atmosphere. Dust is an important global component of our earth, and impinges on the wellbeing of people. 

Silicate dust Marine High temperature processes volcanic, rock and plant emissions, forest fires Anthropogenic... 

In many mountain-industrial areas there are 3 1 landscape-functional zones with different extents of the anthropogenic transformation of natural environments. As a rule, the first zone is the spatial complex joining mines, pits and tails site area with almost whole degradation of soil and vegetation cover and high metal concentrations in dust, technogenic depositions, waters and plants. 

Inorganic and organic compounds are often present in the environment in complex forms. Levels of contaminating metals and molecules are variable, depending on the natural conditions and anthropogenic activities. The contaminants may be airborne as vapour, droplets or dust particles, and in the soil in aqueous or particulate forms. In the case of aqueous systems, they can exist as emulsions, as dissolved ions or molecules and as suspended or sedimentary particles. Environmental particles have been reviewed in the first two volumes of this series [1,2]. 

Particulate matter is the term used to describe solid particles and liquid droplets found in the atmosphere. Particulates are produced by a host of natural and anthropogenic sources. Mist and fog are both forms of natural particulates, as are windblown soil, dust, smoke from forest fires, and biological objects, such as bacteria, fungal spores, and pollen. The incomplete combustion of fossil fuels is one of the most important anthropogenic (human-made) sources of particulates. Such processes release unhurned carbon particles, oxides of sulfur and nitrogen, and a host of organic compounds into the air. 

One particular type of source that should be studied carefully Is entrained soil. As shown above, this Is often the greatest contributor of TSP In urban areas. As there Is so much of It present, we need to know concentrations of all measured elements quite well to make an accurate determination of the residual amounts left to be accounted for by other sources. The composition of selved soil Is often used for the soil component, but there may be considerable fractionation Imposed by entrainment, e.g., preferential selection of very fine clay mineral particles. Such fractionation has been demonstrated In the very limited studies of entrainment of particles from soil of known composition (e.g.. Refs. 21, 49). These studies can probably best be done In controlled environments such as wind tunnels. One cannot simply collect ambient particles In the countryside and consider it to be soil, as there are anthropogenic contributions even at great distances from cities ( ). There Is further confusion betwen clean, "continental" dust and "urban" dust. The latter, which Is usually collected near city streets (21, 50), typically has a composition of soil contaminated by anthropogenic emissions, especially from motor vehicles. 

In short, the combination of absorption and scattering of light by mineral dusts, combined with an increase in these due to anthropogenic activities, has the potential to contribute to climate change. However, many uncertainties need to be removed before these effects can be confidently quantified. For example, the infrared absorption depends on the composition of the dust and as seen in Fig. 14.35, this can be quite variable from location to location and even as a function of time from one source. This one effect alone can lead to a large variability in the predicted effects on radiative forcing (Sokolik et al., 1998). 

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