Comparison of Physico-Chemical Characteristics of Asian Dust Collected In Korea and China during 2005 - 2007.

 In spring, “Asian Dust” originating from the arid areas in Central China, is transported into Eastern China, Korea, Japan and even the Pacific Ocean carrying other chemical species together with the original soil components. To interpret the origin and the influence of Asian dust storms on the soil environments in Korea, Asian dust samples collected from Korea and China were analyzed for the physical and chemical properties including mineral compositions. Dust samples were collected during Asian dust storms in the period of 2005-2007 from 3 sites in China and 6 sites in Korea. Mineralogy, total elements, particle size, pH, and exchangeable cations of Asian dust particles were determined.
For all dust samples collected in both Korea and China during the experimental period, the particle size was below 50µm in diameter, and average size of sample’s diameter decreased as sampling position moving from China to Korea.  The mineral compositions were quartz > feldspar > illite >> kaolin > calcite and some other clay minerals. Illite, found as one of the major minerals in dust particle is not a major mineral that can be observed in Korean soils.  The amount of the sum of extractable Ca, Mg, K and Na was about 10- times greater than the CEC and pH (1:5) of suspension ranged between 8.5~9.0, both of which are probably due to its relative high accumulation of calcite in Asian dust particles.
 Using cluster analysis, collected Asian dust samples in China and Korea showed a significant physico-chemical and mineralogical variation according to sampling sites, collection period and passing routes. Comparison of similarity and difference in physico-chemical characteristics of Asian dust particle collected in China and Korea could be a good criterion for determining source area and the delineating the area influenced by Asian dust storm events.