Soil crust formation by dust deposition at Shaartuz, Tadzhik, S.S.R.

The shrub-steppe area near Shaartuz, Tadzhik, S.S.R., is shown to be a net accumulator of dust despite being an occasional source of dust. For the accumulation of the dust to form the observed surface crust, a net deposition of about 290–490 g m−2 yr−1 of particles smaller than 20 μm is required, depending on the duration of the deposition period. The particles smaller than 20 μm are mixed with particles brought up from the sandy material below the surface crust by bioturbation and are incorporated into the surface crust. Measurements during the 16 and 20 September 1989 dust storms provided a total deposition of 41.1 g m−2 of particles smaller than 20 μm. Because 10–30 dust storms...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation, Journal Citation; Tags: Atmospheric Environment, crust formation, deposition, dust, loess