Sporadic transport and deposition of continental aerosols to the Pacific Ocean

Aerosol samples were collected in the surface air over the North Pacific on board a vessel in May and June 1980 and were analyzed for Na, Al, Fe, Mn, and 210Pb. The results of the analysis of duplicate samples show good agreement. The concentration ratios of Fe/Al and Mn/Al are similar to those of crustal material. The concentration of Al in the maritime surface air was usually observed to be 30–50 ng/m3. On June 9, however, an extremely high concentration of 670 ng/m3 of Al was observed at 30°N, 161°E. The Al concentration is still insufficient to explain the accumulation rate of aluminosilicate in the pelagic sediment if the deposition velocity is 1 cm/s, but the nature of the ‘Kosa’ particles is possible to explain it, even though the dust particles are sporadically transported. Although both Al and 210Pb are of continental origin, the behavior of 210Pb is somewhat different from that of Al.

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