Characterization of the Khamaseen (spring) dust in Jordan

During the spring each year, the Eastern Mediterranean is affected by Khamaseen dust cyclones sourced from the North African Sahara. In order to characterize Khamaseen dust in Jordan, we collected dust from ten localities during the spring of 2006. The collected dust was analyzed for grain size, mineralogy, and chemical composition. The dust is predominantly aluminosilicates (clay minerals and feldspars), quartz and carbonates with minor amounts of phosphate. The particles are mostly subrounded to subangular and generally between 5 and 20 μm in size. The majority of the elements analyzed have a natural abundance and distribution. However, several elements such as As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Se and Zn have higher than natural abundances due to anthropogenic enrichment by various enrichment factors. The analyzed dust samples are chemically homogenous, indicating a similar provenance and good mixing by the Khamaseen winds. The rare earth elements patterns are similar to those of the upper continental crust composition and average shale. Total amount of dust deposited on Jordan during the spring of 2006 is around 0.3 million tons.

[1]  E. Klitzsch,et al.  Paleozoic and Mesozoic Geological History of Northeastern Africa Based Upon New Interpretation of Nubian Strata (1) , 1990 .

[2]  F. Grousset,et al.  Holocene Saharan dust deposition on the Cape Verde Islands: sedimentological and Nd‐Sr isotopic evidence , 1996 .

[3]  G. Brindley.  The chemistry of clay minerals (developments in sedimentology, 15) , 1975 .

[4]  O. Torres,et al.  ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERIZATION OF GLOBAL SOURCES OF ATMOSPHERIC SOIL DUST IDENTIFIED WITH THE NIMBUS 7 TOTAL OZONE MAPPING SPECTROMETER (TOMS) ABSORBING AEROSOL PRODUCT , 2002 .

[5]  M. Kuisi,et al.  Uranium and Potentially Toxic Metals During the Mining, Beneficiation, and Processing of Phosphorite and their Effects on Ground Water in Jordan , 2008 .

[6]  M. Dabard,et al.  Ti/Nb ratios of clastic terrigenous sediments used as an indicator of provenance , 1991 .

[7]  R. Chester,et al.  The impact of desert dust across the Mediterranean , 1996 .

[8]  Belal S. Amireh.  Heavy and clay minerals as tools in solving stratigraphic problems: A case study from the Disi Sandstone (Early Ordovician) and the Kurnub Sandstone (Early Cretaceous) of Jordan , 1994 .

[9]  John M. McArthur,et al.  Post-Depositional Alteration of the Carbonate-Fluorapatite Phase of Moroccan Phosphates , 1980 .

[10]  Nick Middleton,et al.  Saharan dust: sources and trajectories , 2001 .

[11]  S. Koritnig.  Geochemistry of phosphorus—I. The replacement of Si4+ by P5+ in rock-forming silicate minerals , 1965 .

[12]  A. Avila,et al.  Mineralogical composition of African dust delivered by red rains over northeastern Spain , 1997 .

[13]  J. J. Kasper-Zubillaga,et al.  Rare earth elements of the Altar Desert dune and coastal sands, Northwestern Mexico , 2008 .

[14]  Scott M. McLennan,et al.  Rare earth elements in sedimentary rocks; influence of provenance and sedimentary processes , 1989 .

[15]  Barak Herut,et al.  Dry atmospheric inputs of trace metals at the Mediterranean coast of Israel (SE Mediterranean): sources and fluxes , 2001 .

[16]  G. Mckay,et al.  Geochemistry and mineralogy of rare earth elements , 1989 .

[17]  W. Maenhaut,et al.  Elemental Composition of Mineral Aerosol Generated from Sudan Sahara Sand , 2001 .

[18]  N. Middleton,et al.  Saharan dust storms: nature and consequences , 2001 .

[19]  A. Abed,et al.  On the chemical variability of phosphatic particles from Jordanian phosphorite deposits , 1996 .

[20]  E. Ganor,et al.  The Mineralogical and Chemical Properties and the Behaviour of Aeolian Saharan Dust Over Israel , 1996 .

[21]  E. Sholkovitz.  Rare earth elements in the sediments of the North Atlantic Ocean, Amazon Delta, and East China Sea; reinterpretation of terrigenous input patterns to the oceans , 1988 .

[22]  A. Fleet.  Chapter 10 - Aqueous and Sedimentary Geochemistry of the Rare Earth Elements , 1984 .

[23]  E. Ganor,et al.  The chemical composition of aerosols settling in Israel following dust storms , 1991 .

[24]  M. Ulibarri,et al.  Interactions of pesticides with clays and layered double hydroxides: a review , 2008, Clay Minerals.

[25]  N. Kubilay,et al.  Trace elements in atmospheric particulates over the Eastern Mediterranean; Concentrations, sources, and temporal variability , 1995 .

[26]  Yinon Rudich,et al.  Trans boundary transport of pollutants by atmospheric mineral dust. , 2006, Environmental science & technology.

[27]  Konrad B. Krauskopf,et al.  Introduction to geochemistry , 1967 .

[28]  S. Dultz,et al.  Dust deposition over the Dead Sea , 2003 .

[29]  K. Pye.  Aeolian dust transport and deposition over crete and adjacent parts of the mediterranean sea , 1992 .

[30]  Richard Washington,et al.  North African dust emissions and transport , 2006 .

[31]  R. Howie,et al.  An Introduction to the Rock-Forming Minerals , 1966 .

[32]  A. Notholt.  Economic phosphatic sediments: mode of occurrence and stratigraphical distribution , 1980, Journal of the Geological Society.

[33]  K. H. Wedepohl.  Environmental influences on the chemical composition of shales and clays , 1971 .

[34]  M. Desbois,et al.  Present Transport and Deposition Patterns of African Dusts to the North-Western Mediterranean , 1989 .

[35]  S. Taylor,et al.  The continental crust: Its composition and evolution , 1985 .