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    Original Research Papers

    Dust concentration and flux in ice cores from the Tibetan Plateau over the past few decades

    Authors:

    Guangjian Wu ,

    Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, CN
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    Tandong Yao,

    Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences; State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, CN
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    Baiqing Xu,

    Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, CN
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    Lide Tian,

    Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences; State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, CN
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    Chenglong Zhang,

    Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, CN
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    Xuelei Zhang

    Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, CN
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    Abstract

    In this paper, we provide the concentrations and fluxes of dust particles (1–30μm diameter), quantitatively calculated, in several shallow ice cores recovered from the northern (Dunde), western (Muztagata), central (Tanggula) and southern (Dasuopu and Everest) parts of the Tibetan Plateau over the past few decades. Dust concentrations from the northern and western Tibetan Plateau are 2–10 times higher, and from the central Tibetan Plateau is five times higher, respectively, than in the southern part. Dust flux in ice cores is highly dependent on mass concentration, but does not necessarily correlate with accumulation. Dust flux in Dunde (about 798μg cm−2 a−1) is 10 times higher, and that in Muztagata (342μg cm−2 a−1) is four times higher, respectively, than the dust flux in the central Himalayas (77–103μg cm−2 a−1). The quantitative assessment of dust flux in ice cores accords with the aerosol optical depth, and both suggest that the general dust transport route is from northwest to southeast over the Tibetan Plateau. Our results reveal the basic properties of upper level tropospheric dust over the Tibetan Plateau, which is useful for the study of the climatic effects of this dust.

    How to Cite: Wu, G., Yao, T., Xu, B., Tian, L., Zhang, C. and Zhang, X., 2010. Dust concentration and flux in ice cores from the Tibetan Plateau over the past few decades. Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology, 62(3), pp.197–206. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0889.2010.00457.x
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      Published on 01 Jan 2010
    Peer Reviewed
     CC BY 4.0
     Accepted on 8 Apr 2010            Submitted on 24 Nov 2009

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