Mineral dust comprises a great fraction of the global aerosol loading,but remains the largest uncertainty in predictions of the future climate due to its complexity in composition and physico-chemical properties.In this work,a case study characterizing Asian dust storm particles was conducted by multiple analysis methods,including SEM-EDS,XPS,FT-IR,BET,TPD/mass and Knudsen cell/mass.The morphology,elemental fraction,source distribution,true uptake coefficient for SO 2,and hygroscopic behavior were studied.The major components of Asian dust storm particles are aluminosilicate,SiO 2 and CaCO 3,with organic compounds and inorganic nitrate coated on the surface.It has a low reactivity towards SO 2 with a true uptake coefficient,5.767×10-6,which limits the conversion of SO 2 to sulfate during dust storm periods.The low reactivity also means that the heterogeneous reactions of SO 2 in both dry and humid air conditions have little effect on the hygroscopic behavior of the dust particles.
