Source profiles and fingerprints of fine and coarse sands resuspended from soils sampled in central inner mongolia

Abstract

Fingerprints and source profiles of fine and coarse sands that originate from Central Inner Mongolia during Asian continental sandstorms (ACS) can be used to identify the origin of Asian sands and to trace them as they travel downwind. Soil samples collected at various land surfaces in Central Inner Mongolia were resuspended using a dry powder atomizer in an enclosure chamber. The resuspended sands were then sampled by two dichotomous samplers situated at the bottom of the enclosure chamber for fine (PM_2.5) and coarse (PM_2.5-10) sands, respectively. The chemical composition of sands, including water-soluble ionic species, metallic contents, and carbonaceous contents, were further analyzed. Results from resuspension tests indicated that the soils contained considerably more coarse particles than fine. Moreover, Mg, K, Al, and Fe in coarse sand had strong correlations with each other. The ratio of Mg, K, Fe (or Al) to Al (or Fe) and OC/EC in the coarse sands can be used as the fingerprints of Asian sands originating from Central Inner Mongolia.