Circumstellar dust and circumstellar extinction curves

We have calculated the circumstellar extinction curves produced by dust grains which absorb and scatter the stellar radiation in the shells of pre-main-sequence stars. A Monte Carlo method was used to model the radiative transfer in non-spherical shells. The dependence on the particle size distribution and the dust shell parameters has been examined.The application of the theoretical results to explain the extinction and polarization of the Herbig Be star HD 45677 shows that the dust shell is not disk-like and that very small grains are absent in it.     

Characterization of microbial communities associated with African desert dust and their implications for human and ecosystem health

Desert winds aerosolize several billion tons of soil-derived dust each year, including concentrated seasonal pulses from Africa and Asia. Huge dust events create an atmospheric bridge over continents and oceans, and eject a large pulse of soil-associated microorganisms into the atmosphere. These dust events might therefore have a role in expanding the biogeographical range of some microorganisms by facilitating rare long-distance dispersal events. The goal of this study is to characterize the microbes associated with African dust events and determine if they pose a risk to humans or downwind ecosystems. Air samples were collected by vacuum filtration in a source region （Mali, West Africa） during dust events and plated on R2A media to culture microorganisms. These organisms were compared to those in similar samples collected in the Caribbean during Saharan/Sahelian dust events. A high-volume liquid impinger is currently being tested in Barbados, collecting aerosol samples during African dust events. Over 100 bacteria and fungi （19 genera of bacteria and three genera of fungi） have been characterized from source region dust events.     

Natural siliceous dust and human health： Pathways, toxicity, and impact

Fine atmospheric dust includes mineral particles and aggregates, fibrous minerals and fibrous organic material. Generation, dislodgement and transport （deflation） of natural dust with the finer （〈4 microns） components suspended as silt-size aggregates, is widespread in and adjacent to the world＇s drylands, as well as deriving from volcanic vents. Silica is a highly fibrogenic agent in lung tissue. Long-term inhaling of siliceous dusts can lead to a number of fibrotic lung diseases, including natural （non-occupational） pneumoconioses （notably silicosis, but including asbestosis and others）. Different polymorphs of silica show different levels of toxicity in interaction with lung tissue. Particles with highly active surfaces may release radicals, causing cell damage. Some types of inhaled particulates are degraded by macrophages, but many are highly resistant and persist in the lungs, some stimulating fibroblastic cells to deposit collagen. Silicosis is an inflammation of the lung commonly caused by silicate mineral particles, leading to fibrosis. Three types are recognized： nodular pulmonary fibrosis （simple or chronic silicosis）, acute silicosis, and accelerated silicosis. Generally, finer particulates have greater oxidative capacity than the coarser fractions. They contain more reactive oxygen species, their greater bioreactivity making them more toxic to pulmonary tissue. Nevertheless, inhalation of large dust particles （〉 10μm） may constitute a health risk if the mineralogy is toxic, regardless of where the grains lodge in the respiratory system. Dust may absorb harmful gases, disease-generating bacteria and carcinogenic hydrocarbon compounds. Silica-related respiratory disease may also an exacerbate cardiac problem, and epidemiology suggests a link with tuberculosis. Quantification of dust loading and exposure requires study of spatial and temporal patterns, supported by meteorological analysis, airflow modeling and satellite-borne imagery. Some acute, short-term health impacts have been assessed using atmospheric and health records both before and after a dust storm or by comparison of populations within and outside such events. Analysis of the size, shape, mineralogy and geochemistry of ambient dust particulates provides information on natural dust sources, dust concentrations, and potential particulate toxicity, as well as providing a datum for assessment of human exposure levels.     

Factors controlling the spatial and temporal variability of dust emissions

New field measurement techniques are allowing researchers to better understand how surficial properties affect the temporal and spatial variability of dust emissions. In this paper we review the current understanding of the dust emission process and present new field measurements that examine how three surface properties： roughness, crust strength, and temporal changes of surface properties affect dust emissions. These data were collected using three unique measurement systems developed by our team. Roughness exerts considerable control on the entrainment threshold and emissions of dust from a surface. We have carried out a series of experiments designed to quantify roughness effects on aeolian sediment entrainment and transport in a shear stress partitioning framework. Our results show that the model of Raupach et al. （1993） provides very good agreement with available data to predict the amount of shearing stress on the intervening surface among roughness elements, relatively independent of their size and distribution. However, element size affects the aeolian sediment transport process beyond that attributable only to the reduction of surface shear stress caused by the roughness. Additional interactions of the elements with the saltation cloud appear to reduce the transport efficiency and potentially dust emissions as well. The effect of crust strength on dust emissions was assessed using a newly-developed pin penetrometer, which can measure crust strength in-situ. Previous researchers suggested that variation in crust strength even within a small area could lead to considerable spatial variability in dust emissions. Our measurements showed that crust strength is highly variable over a scale of centimeters. This variability may help to explain some of the observed scatter in field measurements of dust emissions for what appear to be homogeneous surfaces. Variability of dust emissions in time and space was also evaluated using a new instrument, the Portable In-Situ Wind Erosion Lab （PI-SWERL） developed to measure dust emissions from soil surfaces.     

亚洲沙尘暴的遥感监测方法研究 --以中国-日本合作研究区为例

介绍了亚洲沙尘暴遥感监测的一些新方法,并对监测结果与数据进行了综合分析,这些结果能够为GCM全球尺度沙尘模型提供参数和验证数据。本次研究结果为亚洲沙尘暴的中长期预测/预警系统提供了新的遥感技术方法。     

中国沙尘暴天气的新特征及成因分析

2000～2002年,中国北方地区频频发生沙尘暴天气,给当地和广大下游地区工农业生产、交通运输、空气质量和人民的日常生活都带来了极大危害。沙尘暴天气呈现频次高、发生时间提前、发生期时间长、强度大、影响范围广等新特征。对气候变化和地理环境背景的分析研究表明,近年来中国北方沙尘暴频繁爆发的原因主要是:1)近两年处于反厄尔尼诺(拉尼娜)事件的高峰期,使东亚冬季风频繁,导致大风天气频繁发生;2)在沙尘暴发生季节,中国北方降水明显减少,气温回升迅速且温度偏高于往年,使解冻的地表土层疏松,为沙尘暴的发生提供了丰富的沙源;3)近年来中国北方干旱加剧、土地荒漠化严重,使原本广阔的戈壁沙漠面积更加扩大,有利于沙尘暴天气的发生,这与不合理的土地利用状况有关。     

动物体内青石棉纤维变化特征的显微研究

石棉纤维粉尘注入动物体内后，一部分形成石棉小体或石棉斑，一部分仍为裸露纤维。石棉小体内的纤维表面基团和组织内的某些蛋白反应可形成新的表面介体。粉尘在动物体内引起的动物病变主要是纤维化组织包裹和间皮瘤，机体以吞噬、包裹、缠绕，或以生化溶解方式排解粉尘。纤维自身则出现变短、尖部圆化、折断、分叉现象，也可以出现溶解、迁移、表面化学反应等。肺泡内纤维的碳酸盐化现象是体内纤维溶解和反应的新方式。动物体内间皮瘤可生长在注入部位也可在非注入部位，某种毒性衍生物质的生成和迁移是引起病变的主要原因。体内纤维粉尘的溶解是一个非常缓慢的过程，细小粉尘易于溶解和迁移。体内粉尘的膜阻滞现象在腹膜、胸膜上较为常见，在膜部位不易生成间皮瘤，肿瘤多引发在膜的内侧。但膜可以弱纤维化包裹。     

Regional characteristics of dust events in China

The regional characteristics of dust events in China has been mainly studied by using the data of dust storm, wind-blown sand and floating dust from 338 observation stations through China from 1954 to 2000. The results of this study are as follows: (1) In China, there are two high frequent areas of dust events, one is located in the area of Minfeng and Hotan in the South Xinjiang Basin, the other is situated in the area of Minqin and Jilantai in the Hexi Region. Furthermore, the spatial distributions of the various types of dust events are different. The dust storms mainly occur in the arid and semiarid areas covering the deserts and the areas undergoing desertification in northern China. Wind-blown sand and floating-dust not only occur in the areas where dust storms occur, but also extend to the neighboring areas. The range of wind-blown sand extends northeastward and southeastward, but floating-dust mainly extends southeastward to the low-latitude region such as the East China Plain and the area of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Compared with wind-blown sand, the floating-dust seldom occurs in the high latitude areas such as North Xinjiang and Northeast China. (2) The affected areas of dust storms can be divided into seven sub-regions, that is, North Xinjiang Region, South Xinjiang Region, Hexi Region, Qaidam Basin Region, Hetao Region, Northeastern China Region and Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Region. The area of the most frequent occurrence of dust storms and floating-dust is in South Xinjiang Region, and of wind-blown sand in the Hexi Region. In general, the frequency of dust events in all the seven regions shows a decreasing tendency from 1954 to 2000, but there are certain differences between various dust events in different regions. The maximum interannual change and variance of dust events during this time happened in South Xinjiang Region and Hexi Region. The dust events generally occur most frequently in April in most parts of China. The spring occurred days of dust events occupied 60-70% of the whole year in Hetao Region and Northeastern China Region. However, in South Xinjiang Region and North Xinjiang Region, which was less affected by monsoon climate, dust events may occur at any time of the year, less than 50% of the events in this region occur during spring. In the remaining three regions 50-60% of the dust events occur in spring of a year.     

成都市浮尘物理与化学特征的初步研究

通过对成都市一环、二环路交叉处和纵贯市区人民路浮尘进行粒度、X射线衍射物相、元素组成等分析,研究了成都市浮尘的成分、元素含量、组合特征及其在空间的分布特征,对降低浮尘污染提出了初步建议.     

新疆哈图金矿微球粒的发现及其地质意义

采自新疆哈图金矿区各地层单元和含矿脉体中的基岩人工重砂样品普遍含有一种“微球粒”物质。通过“微球粒”的一般特征，表面、断面结构、矿物组成和化学成分的研究，认为属消融型宇宙尘。并据此提出区内玄武质母岩浆在形成玄武岩的过程中同化、熔融了含宇宙尘的局部老地层物质；为区内金矿化提供含矿热液的花岗岩属重熔型花岗岩。