Table 3 Origin of desert dust storms and composition of minerals (in the nine potential dust source regions in the world)
Dust source regions | Origin of dust storm | Composition of minerals |
|---|---|---|
Australian dust | New South Wales and north-east South Australia | Aluminum, iron, manganese [106]. |
North Africa (Sahara) dust | Bodélé Depression and area covering eastern Mauritania, western Mali and southern Algeria. | Clay minerals, quartz, calcium, magnesium, carbonate [105]. |
Asian dust (Central Asia) | Taklamakan Desert in XinJiang Province of China and the Gobi Desert located in Inner Mongolia | Aluminosilicate, cadmium, calcium, manganese, nickel, arsenic, silicon dioxide, calcium carbonate, and organic compounds coated by nitrate [131]. |
Arabian Peninsula | Sudan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Gulf | Mixture of silicate minerals, clays, quartz, carbonates, oxides, sulfates, and salts in varying proportions [103]. |
Western China | The western desert in China | Aluminum, iron, magnesium, and scandium [132] |
Eastern China | Source regions to the northeast of the Tibetan Plateau | Magnesium, aluminum, silicon, potassium, calcium and iron; Illite is the principal clay mineral, and quartz [132]. |
North America | Central US, deserts of Arizona, cities of Yuma and Phoenix, New Mexico, Texas, and Canada during the Dust Bowl | Sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, cobalt, PM10 > 1000 μg m␣3 [133]. |
South America | Argentine loess, Southern Ocean sediments and Antarctic dust, and Puna-Altiplano plateau | Sandy silts [134]. |
South Africa | Namibian desert lands, Kalahari, and Karoo | Fine grained alluvial and lacustrine sediments [135]. |