Emission, deposition and geochemical characteristics of aeolian dust in the eastern Kumtag Desert, China

Dust has a variety of significant impacts on geochemical cycles, climate change and human health. The emission, deposition, grain size distribution and geochemical composition of aeolian dust in the eastern Kumtag Desert were studied. The aeolian dust mainly came from the Kumtag sandy and gravel deserts based on grain size and geochemical composition data. The horizontal aeolian sediment flux per unit width in the study area was 385.12 kg m(-1) year(-1). The calculated dust emission rates for PM10, PM20 and PM63 were 0.39, 0.61 and 1.72 t ha(-1) year(-1), respectively. The mean dust deposition rate was 1.08 t ha(-1) year(-1). Dust deposited in the study region contained P, Fe, Mg, Ca, Na and K at rates of 0.07, 3.16, 1.81, 6.17, 2.65 and 1.47 g m(-2) year(-1), respectively, which are very important for regional ecosystems. The above results provide an important scientific basis for quantitative evaluations of the impacts of dust and sandstorm disaster prevention.