[1] Characteristics of optical and chemical properties of dust aerosol over Beijing and their relation were studied in the spring dust season, 2006 to understand the impact of dust and anthropogenic aerosol on the regional climate. Two dust plumes (DS1 and DS2) were identified with contrasting physicochemical properties. Strong absorbing of aerosol at 439 nm was observed, probably due to the si...

Reviewers' comments: This manuscript describes the use of a four-wavelength (266 nm, 355 nm, 532 nm, 1064 nm) photoacoustic spectrometer to measure the absorption of various mineral dust (MD) components in aerosol form. The measured absorption values are combined with aerosol size distribution and mass measurements to derive mass specific absorption coefficients (MAC’s) for all seven components...

Partitioning of major and trace components in PM10–PM2.5–PM1 at an urban site in Barcelona (Spain) in the Western Mediterranean was studied in the period 2005–2006. Particular attention was paid to the partitioning of mineral matter and to the evidence of possible interactions of mineral matter with other pollutants (gaseous pollutants and secondary PM). The results showed a high contribution o...

Mixtures of organic compounds with mineral dust are ubiquitous in the atmosphere, whereas the formation pathways and hygroscopic behavior of these mixtures are not well understood. In this study, in situ DRIFTS, XRD, and a vapor sorption analyzer were used to investigate the heterogeneous reaction of acetic acid on α-Al(2)O(3), MgO, and CaCO(3) particles under both dry and humid conditions whil...

This report provides estimates of the external radiation exposure and whole body effective dose received by residents of the continental U.S. during the period 1953-2000 from nuclear weapons tests. Doses were calculated for tests carried out in the Pacific by the U.S. and U.K. and by the U.S.S.R. at various sites in the former Soviet Union during the years 1952-62. Estimates are given on a coun...

Rossiter, C. E. (1972). Brit. J. indusir. Med., 29, 31-44. Relation between content and composition of coalworkers' lungs and radiological appearances. The relation between radiological category of simple pneumoconiosis and dust content of the lung has been studied on a mixed group of 221 miners, of whom 76 had progressive massive fibrosis radiologically. The average radiological scores based o...

Both Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI) satellite observations suggest that the narrow heterogeneous Red Sea coastal region is a frequent source of airborne dust that, because of its proximity, directly affects the Red Sea and coastal urban centers. The potential of soils to be suspended as airborne mineral dust depen...

[1] Airborne mineral dust can influence the climate by altering the radiative properties of the atmosphere, but the magnitude of the effect is uncertain. An idealized global model is developed to study the dust-climate system. The model determines the dust longwave and shortwave direct radiative forcing, as well as the resulting temperature changes, based on the specified dust distribution, hei...

Co-analysis of Galileo imaging observations of the gas and dust components of Io’s plumes suggests that the deposits produced by Prometheus-type plumes are made up of pyroclastic particles that are entrained with the gas flow. Peletype plumes, in contrast, deposit material that could be condensed from the gas phase. Introduction: Many outstanding questions remain to be answered about Io’s spect...

Soil dust is a major constituent of airborne particles in the global atmosphere. Dust plumes frequently cover huge areas of the earth; they are one of the most prominent and commonly visible features in satellite imagery. Dust is believed to play a role in many biogeochemical processes, but the importance of dust in these processes is not well understood because of the dearth of information abo...