Characteristics of atmospheric dust deposition in snow on Glacier No. 72, Mount Tuomuer, China

Abstract

Wind-blown mineral dust derived from the crustal surface is an important atmospheric component affecting the Earth's radiation budget. Deposition of dust particles was measured in snow on Glacier No. 72, Mount Tuomuer, in the western Tian Shan, China. The mean concentration of dust particles (measured as the number of particles) with 0.57 < d < 26 μm in the snow pack is 706 × 10mL-1, with a mean mass concentration of 3806 μg kg -1. Dust number size distribution showed the dominant particles with d < 2 μm, while volume size distribution showed single-modal structures having volume median diameters from 3 to 25? μm. Results were compared with data from other sites in the Tian Shan and various Northern Hemisphere sites. A backward trajectory model was also employed to examine the transport process of dust particles in this region. Most of the air mass originated from southern China, e.g., the Taklimakan Deserts in springtime, during the Asian dust period. Transport of dust from southern Chinese deserts to adjacent mountains is in agreement with a growing body of evidence on the importance of dust inputs to alpine regions.