In situ measurements of particle load and transport in dust devils

In situ (mobile) sampling of 33 natural dust devil vortices reveals very high total suspended particle (TSP) mean values of 296 mg m−3 and fine dust loadings (PM10) mean values ranging from 15.1 to 43.8 mg m−3 (milligrams per cubic meter). Concurrent three-dimensional wind profiles show mean tangent...

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Main Authors: Metzger, S., Balme, M., Towner, Martin, Bos, B., Ringrose, T., Patel, M.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Academic Press 2011
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/40945
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author Metzger, S.
Balme, M.
Towner, Martin
Bos, B.
Ringrose, T.
Patel, M.
author_facet Metzger, S.
Balme, M.
Towner, Martin
Bos, B.
Ringrose, T.
Patel, M.
author_sort Metzger, S.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description In situ (mobile) sampling of 33 natural dust devil vortices reveals very high total suspended particle (TSP) mean values of 296 mg m−3 and fine dust loadings (PM10) mean values ranging from 15.1 to 43.8 mg m−3 (milligrams per cubic meter). Concurrent three-dimensional wind profiles show mean tangential rotation of 12.3 m s−1 and vertical uplift of 2.7 m s−1 driving mean vertical TSP flux of 1689 mg m−3 s−1 and fine particle flux of ~1.0 to ~50 mg m−3 s−1. Peak PM10 dust loading and flux within the dust column are three times greater than mean values, suggesting previous estimates of dust devil flux might be too high. We find that deflation rates caused by dust devil erosion are ~2.5–50 μm per year in dust devil active zones on Earth. Similar values are expected for Mars, and may be more significant there where competing erosional mechanisms are less likely.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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last_indexed 2025-11-14T09:05:22Z
publishDate 2011
publisher Academic Press
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-409452018-03-29T09:06:49Z In situ measurements of particle load and transport in dust devils Metzger, S. Balme, M. Towner, Martin Bos, B. Ringrose, T. Patel, M. In situ (mobile) sampling of 33 natural dust devil vortices reveals very high total suspended particle (TSP) mean values of 296 mg m−3 and fine dust loadings (PM10) mean values ranging from 15.1 to 43.8 mg m−3 (milligrams per cubic meter). Concurrent three-dimensional wind profiles show mean tangential rotation of 12.3 m s−1 and vertical uplift of 2.7 m s−1 driving mean vertical TSP flux of 1689 mg m−3 s−1 and fine particle flux of ~1.0 to ~50 mg m−3 s−1. Peak PM10 dust loading and flux within the dust column are three times greater than mean values, suggesting previous estimates of dust devil flux might be too high. We find that deflation rates caused by dust devil erosion are ~2.5–50 μm per year in dust devil active zones on Earth. Similar values are expected for Mars, and may be more significant there where competing erosional mechanisms are less likely. 2011 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/40945 10.1016/j.icarus.2011.03.013 Academic Press restricted
spellingShingle Metzger, S.
Balme, M.
Towner, Martin
Bos, B.
Ringrose, T.
Patel, M.
In situ measurements of particle load and transport in dust devils
title In situ measurements of particle load and transport in dust devils
title_full In situ measurements of particle load and transport in dust devils
title_fullStr In situ measurements of particle load and transport in dust devils
title_full_unstemmed In situ measurements of particle load and transport in dust devils
title_short In situ measurements of particle load and transport in dust devils
title_sort in situ measurements of particle load and transport in dust devils
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/40945