Light scatterometry combined with chemometrics can be a practical approach for the analysis of size and concentration of microplastics in water.
The dynamic fragmentation of jointed rock blocks during rockslide avalanches has been investigated by discrete element method simulations for a multiple arrangement of a rock block sliding over a simple slope geometry. The rock blocks are released along an inclined sliding plane and subsequently collide onto a flat horizontal plane at a sharp kink point. The contact force chains generated by the impact appear initially at the bottom frontal corner of the rock block and then propagate radially upward to the top rear part of the block. The jointed rock blocks exhibit evident contact force concentration and discontinuity of force wave propagation near the joint, associating with high energy dissipation of granular dynamics. The corresponding force wave propagation velocity can be less than 200\uffc2\uffa0m/s, which is much smaller than that of an intact rock (1,316\uffc2\uffa0m/s). The concentration of contact forces at the bottom leads to high rock fragmentation intensity and momentum boosts, facilitating the spreading of many fine fragments to the distal ends. However, the upper rock block exhibits very low rock fragmentation intensity but high energy dissipation due to intensive friction and damping, resulting in the deposition of large fragments near the slope toe. The size and shape of large fragments are closely related to the orientation and distribution of the block joints. The cumulative fragment size distribution can be well fitted by the Weibull's distribution function, with very gentle and steep curvatures at the fine and coarse size ranges, respectively. The numerical results of fragment size distribution can match well some experimental and field observations.
", "keywords": ["discrete element method; dynamic fragmentation; force wave; fragment size distribution; jointed rock; rockslide avalanche;", "discrete element method; dynamic fragmentation; force wave; fragment size distribution; jointed rock; rockslide avalanche", "0211 other engineering and technologies", "02 engineering and technology", "551", "530", "01 natural sciences", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/2017JB015210"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JB015210"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Journal%20of%20Geophysical%20Research%3A%20Solid%20Earth", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1002/2017JB015210", "name": "item", "description": "10.1002/2017JB015210", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1002/2017JB015210"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2018-04-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1002/ldr.2726", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-06-24T16:14:58Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2017-02-23", "title": "Conservation Agriculture Had A Poor Impact On The Soil Porosity Of Veneto Low-Lying Plain Silty Soils After A 5-Year Transition Period", "description": "AbstractConservation agriculture practices have been proposed as a set of techniques for improving soil structure properties and related ecosystem services. This study compared conservation agriculture (CA) practices (no\uffe2\uff80\uff90tillage, cover crop and residue retention) and conventional intensive tillage system in order to evaluate their effects on total porosity, pore size distribution, pore architecture and morphology. The experiment was set up in 2010 on four farms of the low\uffe2\uff80\uff90lying Veneto Region plain characterized by silty soils. Almost hundred soil samples were collected in 2015 at four depths down to 50\uffe2\uff80\uff90cm layer and investigated for porosity from micrometre (0\uffc2\uffb70074\uffc2\uffa0\uffce\uffbcm) to macrometre (2\uffc2\uffb75\uffc2\uffa0mm) by coupling mercury intrusion porosimetry and X\uffe2\uff80\uff90ray computed microtomography (\uffce\uffbcCT). Indices of soil morphology and architecture were derived by analysing 3D images and mercury intrusion porosimetry pore size curves. Results suggested that silty soils of Veneto plain are microstructured because much (82%) of the porosity ranged between 0\uffc2\uffb70074 and 30\uffc2\uffa0\uffce\uffbcm. CA practices positively influenced the ultramicroporosity class (0\uffc2\uffb71\uffe2\uff80\uff935\uffc2\uffa0\uffce\uffbcm) (1\uffc2\uffb786E\uffe2\uff80\uff9001 vs 1\uffc2\uffb767E\uffe2\uff80\uff9001\uffc2\uffa0\uffce\uffbcm3\uffc2\uffa0\uffce\uffbcm\uffe2\uff88\uff923) that is strictly linked to soil organic carbon stabilization while no effects were observed in X\uffe2\uff80\uff90ray \uffce\uffbcCT porosity domain (> 26\uffc2\uffa0\uffce\uffbcm). Silty soils of Veneto plain showed a slow reaction to CA because of the poor aggregate stability and low soil organic carbon. However, the positive response of the ultramicropore fraction indicates that a virtuous cycle was initiated between soil organic carbon and porosity, hopefully leading to well\uffe2\uff80\uff90developed macropore systems and, in turn, enhanced soil functions and ecosystem services. Copyright \uffc2\uffa9 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "Conservation agriculture; Mercury intrusion porosimetry; Pore morphology and architecture; Pore size distribution; X-ray computed microtomography; Environmental Chemistry; Development3304 Education; 2300; Soil Science", "13. Climate action", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2726"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Land%20Degradation%20%26amp%3B%20Development", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1002/ldr.2726", "name": "item", "description": "10.1002/ldr.2726", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1002/ldr.2726"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2017-05-12T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.earscirev.2025.105173", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-06-24T16:16:37Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2025-05-25", "title": "Soil bulk density and porosity connecting macro- and micro-scales through geometry.", "keywords": ["granular media", "packing", "particle size distribution", "shape", "grain", "soil"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Robinson, D.A., Friedman, S.P., Thomas, A., Hirmas, D., Sullivan, P.L., Nemes, A.,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2025.105173"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Earth-Science%20Reviews", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.earscirev.2025.105173", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.earscirev.2025.105173", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.earscirev.2025.105173"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2025-09-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.geoderma.2015.04.019", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-06-24T16:17:05Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2015-04-27", "title": "Application of smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) and pore morphologic model to predict saturated water conductivity from X-ray CT imaging in a silty loam Cambisol", "description": "20 This study aims to estimate saturated hydraulic conductivity in a silty loam soil and compare modelled data with 21 experimental ones. The flow characteristics of twelve undisturbed soil cores (5 cm in diameter \u00d7 6 cm high) were 22 measured in the laboratory after performing X-ray computed microtomography (microCT) analysis. MicroCT 3D 23 imaging was integrated with an existing pore morphologic model and a numerical simulation based on mesh-24 free smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) to calculate the water flow through the macropore network 25 (pores N 40 \u03bcm). Results showed that the proposed SPH method was able to predict hydraulic conductivity of 26 large-sized samples as falling in the range of the experimental ones. By contrast the morphologic model generally 27 underestimated the water flow and was slightly affected by the pore shape. Increasing microCT imaging resolu-28 tion and expanding the variability with other soil types will improve the understanding of the role of micropore 29 size and morphology on water conductivity. 30", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "550", "[ SDV.SA.SDS ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences/Soil study", "0207 environmental engineering", "600", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "02 engineering and technology", "Pore size distribution", "[ SDE.IE ] Environmental Sciences/Environmental Engineering", "Saturated hydraulic conductivity", "Soil structure", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "[ SDU.STU.HY ] Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Hydrology", "X-ray computed microtomography"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2015.04.019"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Geoderma", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.geoderma.2015.04.019", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.geoderma.2015.04.019", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.geoderma.2015.04.019"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2015-10-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.still.2005.02.018", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-06-24T16:17:45Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2005-03-11", "title": "Effect Of Tillage And Crop Rotations On Pore Size Distribution And Soil Hydraulic Conductivity In Sandy Clay Loam Soil Of The Indian Himalayas", "description": "Abstract Tillage management can affect crop growth by altering the pore size distribution, pore geometry and hydraulic properties of soil. In the present communication, the effect of different tillage management viz., conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT) and zero-tillage (ZT) and different crop rotations viz. [(soybean\u2013wheat (S\u2013W), soybean\u2013lentil (S\u2013L) and soybean\u2013pea (S\u2013P)] on pore size distribution and soil hydraulic conductivities [saturated hydraulic conductivity ( K sat ) and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity { k ( h )}] of a sandy clay loam soil was studied after 4 years prior to the experiment. Soil cores were collected after 4 year of the experiment at an interval of 75\u00a0mm up to 300\u00a0mm soil depth for measuring soil bulk density, soil water retention constant ( b ), pore size distribution, K sat and k ( h ). Nine pressure levels (from 2 to 1500\u00a0kPa) were used to calculate pore size distribution and k ( h ). It was observed that b values at all the studied soil depths were higher under ZT than those observed under CT irrespective of the crop rotations. The values of soil bulk density observed under ZT were higher in 0\u201375\u00a0mm soil depth in all the crop rotations. But, among the crop rotations, soils under S\u2013P and S\u2013L rotations showed relatively lower bulk density values than S\u2013W rotation. Average values of the volume fraction of total porosity with pores 3 \u00a0m \u22123 under CT, MT and ZT; and 0.592, 0.610 and 0.626\u00a0m 3 \u00a0m \u22123 under S\u2013W, S\u2013L and S\u2013P, respectively. In contrast, the average values of the volume fraction of total porosity with pores >150\u00a0\u03bcm in diameter (pores draining freely with gravity) were 0.124, 0.096 and 0.095\u00a0m 3 \u00a0m \u22123 under CT, MT and ZT; and 0.110, 0.104 and 0.101\u00a0m 3 \u00a0m \u22123 under S\u2013W, S\u2013L and S\u2013P, respectively. Saturated hydraulic conductivity values in all the studied soil depths were significantly greater under ZT than those under CT (range from 300 to 344\u00a0mm\u00a0day \u22121 ). The observed k ( h ) values at 0\u201375\u00a0mm soil depth under ZT were significantly higher than those computed under CT at all the suction levels, except at \u221210, \u2212100 and \u2212400\u00a0kPa suction. Among the crop rotations, S\u2013P rotation recorded significantly higher k ( h ) values than those under S\u2013W and S\u2013L rotations up to \u221240\u00a0kPa suction. The interaction effects of tillage and crop rotations affecting the k ( h ) values were found significant at all the soil water suctions. Both S\u2013L and S\u2013P rotations resulted in better soil water retention and transmission properties under ZT.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "Tillage management", "Loamy sand", "Sandy soils", "550", "Soil hydraulic conductivity", "Soybean based cropping system", "India", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "Pore size distribution", "15. Life on land", "Soil fertility", "630", "6. Clean water", "Crop rotation", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Conservation tillage"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2005.02.018"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Soil%20and%20Tillage%20Research", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.still.2005.02.018", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.still.2005.02.018", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.still.2005.02.018"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2006-04-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.still.2005.02.028", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-06-24T16:17:45Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2005-04-04", "title": "Soil Water Retention As Affected By Tillage And Residue Management In Semiarid Spain", "description": "Abstract Conservation tillage preserves soil water and this has been the main reason for its rapid dissemination in rainfed agriculture in semiarid climates. We determined the effects of conservation versus conventional tillage on available soil water capacity (AWC) and related properties at the end of 5 years of management on a clay loam calcic soil ( Calcic Haploxerept ) in semiarid northern Spain. No-tillage with (NTSB) and without stubble burning (NT), reduced chisel-plough tillage (RT) and conventional tillage with mouldboard plough (MT) were compared in rainfed barley monoculture. Bulk density ( \u03c1 b ), organic matter content (OM), soil water retention (SWR) at matric potentials of 0 to \u22121500\u00a0kPa, and soil water content (SWC) were determined in the driest year of the 5-year study period. Soil OM in the upper 0.15\u00a0m was significantly higher (13%) under NTSB, NT and RT than under MT. Soil \u03c1 b in the upper 0.15\u00a0m under NT and NTSB was greater than under RT and MT, but at a depth of 0.15\u20130.30\u00a0m was greater under RT than under the other treatments. Reorganisation of pore sizes due to tillage treatments affected AWC. Under RT and MT the largest percentage of the total soil porosity was occupied by pores >9\u00a0\u03bcm (equivalent pore diameter), in accordance with lower \u03c1 b . Available water capacity was greater with NT than with RT and MT. Higher SWC under conservation tillage systems (NT, NTSB and RT) than under MT was attributed mainly to greater AWC and to the mulching effect of crop residues. Crop yield in the driest year of the 5-year period was lowest under MT whereas no differences among treatments were found over the 5-year period. Stubble burning did not affect AWC nor barley yield. Tillage had a greater impact on soil properties and on crop yield than crop residue management.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "pore-size distribution", "no-tillage", "crop management", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "6. Clean water", "storage", "conservation tillage", "systems", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "root-growth", "physical-properties", "grain-yield", "organic-matter"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2005.02.028"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Soil%20and%20Tillage%20Research", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.still.2005.02.028", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.still.2005.02.028", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.still.2005.02.028"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2006-05-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1029/2023jd040657", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-06-24T16:18:17Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2024-06-11", "title": "Impact of Dust Source Patchiness on the Existence of a Constant Dust Flux Layer During Aeolian Erosion Events", "description": "AbstractDust emission fluxes during wind soil erosion are usually estimated using a dust concentration vertical gradient, by assuming a constant dust flux layer between the surface and the dust measurement levels. Here, we investigate the existence of this layer during erosion events recorded in Iceland and Jordan. Size\uffe2\uff80\uff90resolved dust fluxes were estimated at three levels between 2 and 4\uffc2\uffa0m using the eddy\uffe2\uff80\uff90covariance method. Dust fluxes were found mainly constant only between the two upper levels in Iceland, the lower dust flux being often stronger and richer in coarse particles, while dust fluxes in Jordan were nearly constant across all levels. The wind dynamics could not explain the absence of a constant dust flux layer in Iceland. We show that the presence of stationary dust source patches in Iceland, related to surface humidity, created a non\uffe2\uff80\uff90uniform dust layer near the surface, named dust roughness sublayer (DRSL), where individual plumes behind each patch interact but do not fully mix. The lowest dust measurement level was probably located within this sublayer while the upper ones were located above, such that there the emitted dust became spatially well\uffe2\uff80\uff90mixed. This explains near the surface in Iceland, the more intermittent dust concentration, its low correlation with the dust concentrations above, and the richer dust flux in coarse particles due to their lower deposition contribution. Our findings highlight the importance of estimating dust fluxes above a dust blending height whose characteristics depend on the dust source patchiness caused by surface humidity or the presence of sparse non\uffe2\uff80\uff90erosive elements.The accumulation of soiling on photovoltaic (PV) modules affects PV systems worldwide. Soiling consists of mineral dust, soot particles, aerosols, pollen, fungi and/or other contaminants that deposit on the surface of PV modules. Soiling absorbs, scatters, and reflects a fraction of the incoming sunlight, reducing the intensity that reaches the active part of the solar cell. Here, we report on the comparison of naturally accumulated soiling on coupons of PV glass soiled at seven locations worldwide. The spectral hemispherical transmittance was measured. It was found that natural soiling disproportionately impacts the blue and ultraviolet (UV) portions of the spectrum compared to the visible and infrared (IR). Also, the general shape of the transmittance spectra was similar at all the studied sites and could adequately be described by a modified form of the \uffc3\uff85ngstr\uffc3\uffb6m turbidity equation. In addition, the distribution of particles sizes was found to follow the IEST-STD-CC 1246E cleanliness standard. The fractional coverage of the glass surface by particles could be determined directly or indirectly and, as expected, has a linear correlation with the transmittance. It thus becomes feasible to estimate the optical consequences of the soiling of PV modules from the particle size distribution and the cleanliness value.
", "keywords": ["Photovoltaic Arrays", "Cleanliness", "Particle", "PV", "02 engineering and technology", "Oceanography", "7. Clean energy", "soiling; experimental; transmittance; spectrum", "Turbidity", "Size", "Materials Science and Engineering", "\u00c5ngstr\u00f6m turbidity equation", "Transmittance", "0202 electrical engineering", " electronic engineering", " information engineering", "Photovoltaic system", "Ultraviolet", "Microscopy", "Soiling", "Energy", "Ecology", "Physics", "Q", "R", "Imaging and sensing", "Geology", "Particle size", "6. Clean water", "Photovoltaic Efficiency", "Chemistry", "Physical chemistry", "Particle (ecology)", "Physical Sciences", "Sunlight", "Medicine", "Infrared", "570", "Particle-size distribution", "PV System", "Energy science and technology", "Science", "Optical spectroscopy", "Partial Shading", "530", "Modelling", "Article", "Environmental science", "Techniques and instrumentation", "Optical physics", "Meteorology", "Artificial Intelligence", "Machine Learning Methods for Solar Radiation Forecasting", "Optical techniques", "Optoelectronics", "Aerosol", "Biology", "Renewable Energy", " Sustainability and the Environment", "Electronics", " photonics and device physics", "Building Integrated Photovoltaics", "Optics", "Photovoltaic Maximum Power Point Tracking Techniques", "FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences", "Materials science", "Photovoltaics", "Optics and photonics", "13. Climate action", "FOS: Biological sciences", "Computer Science", "Solar Thermal Energy Technologies"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://iris.uniroma1.it/bitstream/11573/1625670/2/Smestad_Modelling_2020.pdf"}, {"href": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-56868-z.pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-56868-z"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Scientific%20Reports", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1038/s41598-019-56868-z", "name": "item", "description": "10.1038/s41598-019-56868-z", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1038/s41598-019-56868-z"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2020-01-09T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1039/d2ay01215d", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-06-24T16:18:30Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2022-09-23", "title": "Batch analysis of microplastics in water using multi-angle static light scattering and chemometric methods", "description": "Light scatterometry combined with chemometrics can be a practical approach for the analysis of size and concentration of microplastics in water.
Volcanic soils are important resources because of their unique mineralogical and physical characteristics, and allophanic Andosols represent some of the world\u2019s most fertile soils. However, their unique properties can be lost when cultivated. Most soils in the Central Valley, Mexico, are derived from volcanic materials. This valley encompasses one of the largest water supply systems in the world by volume, but is affected by soil degradation and deforestation. Sustainably managing volcanic soils requires understanding how land use affects their hydrodynamic properties. Gas adsorption and mercury intrusion porosimetry, water retention curves, tension infiltrometry and X-ray tomography were used to describe pore structure characteristics. Two volcanic soils (one Andosol and one derived from indurated tuff \u2013 Tepetates), three land uses (maize monoculture, maize\u2013wheat rotation and fallow) and two horizons (Ap and A2 for maize monoculture and maize\u2013wheat rotation) were studied. Tillage affected topsoil by increasing the sand fraction by 38% and decreasing total porosity and macroporosity by 23% and 40% respectively. Macropore size was reduced and the number of isolated macropores was higher in the tilled layer under maize, compared with untilled subsoil. The plot under maize\u2013wheat rotation had lower allophane content, and saturated hydraulic conductivity was reduced by nearly an order of magnitude and water retention by half, compared with maize and fallow plots. Compared with Andosols, Tepetates showed differences in mineralogical composition with lower contents of amorphous compounds and in its porous network characteristics with twice the total and percolating macroporosity compared with the maize plot. Its high content of organic carbon (3.5%) seemed beneficial for its hydrodynamic properties. Sustainable agricultural management of these volcanic soils requires reducing mechanised tillage, avoiding periods when soil is bare, not applying maize\u2013wheat rotation and applying maize\u2013fallow rotation allowing natural vegetation growth.
Soil tillage promotes changes in soil structure. The magnitude of the changes varies with the nature of the soil, tillage system and soil water content and decreases over time after tillage. The objective of this study was to evaluate short-term (one year period) and long-term (nine year period) effects of soil tillage and nutrient sources on some physical properties of a very clayey Hapludox. Five tillage systems were evaluated: no-till (NT), chisel plow + one secondary disking (CP), primary + two (secondary) diskings (CT), CT with burning of crop residues (CTb), and CT with removal of crop residues from the field (CTr), in combination with five nutrient sources: control without nutrient application (C); mineral fertilizers, according to technical recommendations for each crop (MF); 5 Mg ha-1 yr-1 of poultry litter (wetmatter) (PL); 60 m\uffc2\uffb3 ha-1 yr-1 of cattle slurry (CS) and; 40 m\uffc2\uffb3 ha-1 yr-1 of swine slurry (SS). Bulk density (BD), total porosity (TP), and parameters related to the water retention curve (macroporosity, mesoporosity and microporosity) were determined after nine years and at five sampling dates during the tenth year of the experiment. Soil physical properties were tillage and time-dependent. Tilled treatments increased total porosity and macroporosity, and reduced bulk density in the surface layer (0.00-0.05 m), but this effect decreased over time after tillage operations due to natural soil reconsolidation, since no external stress was applied in this period. Changes in pore size distribution were more pronounced in larger and medium pore diameter classes. The bulk density was greatest in intermediate layers in all tillage treatments (0.05-0.10 and 0.12-0.17 m) and decreased down to the deepest layer (0.27-0.32 m), indicating a more compacted layer around 0.05-0.20 m. Nutrient sources did not significantly affect soil physical and hydraulic properties studied.
", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "distribui\u00e7\u00e3o de tamanho de poros", "bulk density", "pore size distribution", "manure", "dejetos animais", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "densidade do solo", "6. Clean water"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1590/s0100-06832008000400008"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Revista%20Brasileira%20de%20Ci%C3%AAncia%20do%20Solo", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1590/s0100-06832008000400008", "name": "item", "description": "10.1590/s0100-06832008000400008", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1590/s0100-06832008000400008"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2008-08-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5194/acp-23-7177-2023", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-06-24T16:22:18Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2023-06-29", "title": "Insights into the size-resolved dust emission from field measurements in the Moroccan Sahara", "description": "Abstract. The particle size distribution (PSD) of mineral dust has a strong effect on the impacts of dust on climate. However, our understanding of the emitted dust PSD, including its variability and the fraction of super-coarse dust (diameter >10\u2009\u00b5m), remains limited. Here, we provide new insights into the size-resolved dust emission process based on a field campaign performed in the Moroccan Sahara in September\u00a02019 in the context of the FRontiers in dust minerAloGical coMposition and its Effects upoN climaTe (FRAGMENT) project. The obtained dust concentration and diffusive flux PSDs show significant dependencies upon the friction velocity (u*), wind direction and type of event (regular events versus haboob events). For instance, the number fraction of sub-micrometre particles increases with u*, along with a large decrease in the mass fraction of super-coarse dust. We identify dry deposition, which is modulated by u* and fetch length, as a potential cause for this PSD variability. Using a resistance model constrained with field observations to estimate the dry deposition flux and thereby also the emitted dust flux, we show that deposition could represent up to \u223c90\u2009% of the emission of super-coarse particles (>10\u2009\u00b5m) and up to \u223c65\u2009% of the emission of particles as small as \u223c5\u2009\u00b5m in diameter. Importantly, removing the deposition component significantly reduces the variability with u* in the PSD of the emitted dust flux compared with the diffusive flux, particularly for super-coarse dust. The differences between regular and haboob event concentration and diffusive flux PSDs are suspected to result from a smaller and variable dust source fetch during the haboob events, and/or an increased resistance of soil aggregates to fragmentation associated with the observed increase in relative humidity along the haboob outflow. Finally, compared to the invariant emitted dust flux PSD estimated based on brittle fragmentation theory, we obtain a substantially higher proportion of super-micrometre particles in the dust flux. Overall, our results suggest that dry deposition needs to be adequately considered to estimate the emitted PSD, even in studies limited to the fine and coarse size ranges (<10\u2009\u00b5m).
Mineral dust particles suspended in the atmosphere span more than three orders of magnitude in diameter, from less than 0.1 \u00b5m to more than 100 \u00b5m. This wide size range makes dust a unique aerosol species with the ability to interact with many aspects of the Earth system, including radiation, clouds, hydrology, atmospheric chemistry, and biogeochemistry. This review focuses on coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols, which we respectively define as dust particles with a diameter between 2.5 - 10 \u00b5m and 10 - 62.5 \u00b5m. We review several lines of observational evidence indicating that coarse and super-coarse dust particles are transported farther than previously expected and that the abundance of these particles is substantially underestimated in current global models. We synthesize previous studies that used observations, theories, and model simulations to highlight the impacts of coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols on the Earth system, including their effects on dust-radiation interactions, dust-cloud interactions, and atmospheric chemistry, and biogeochemistry. In addition, we examine several limitations in the representation of coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols in current model simulations and in remote-sensing retrievals. Because these limitations substantially contribute to the uncertainties in simulating the abundance and impacts of coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols, we offer some recommendations to facilitate future studies. Overall, we conclude that an accurate representation of coarse and super-coarse properties is critical in understanding the overall impacts of dust aerosols on the Earth system.
Abstract. Characterizing physico-chemical properties of dust-emitting sediments in arid regions is fundamental to understand the effect of dust on climate and ecosystems. For high-latitude dust (HLD), this knowledge is scarce. This study focuses on the particle size distribution (PSD), mineralogy, cohesion, iron (Fe) mode of occurrence and Visible Near Infra-Red (VNIR) reflectance spectra of dust-emitting sediments from dust-hotspots in Iceland (HLD region). Extensive analysis was conducted on top sediments collected from seven dust-sources and an intensive at Jokuls\u00e1 basin including top sediments, sediments and aeolian ripples. Fully and minimally dispersed PSDs evidenced remarkable similarities with an average median diameter of 56\u00b169 and 55\u00b162 \u00b5m. Mineralogical analyses showed the prevalence of amorphous phases (68\u00b126 %), feldspars (17\u00b113 %), and pyroxenes (9.3\u00b17.2 %), aligned with the reflectance spectra. Fe content reached 9.5\u00b10.40 wt %, mainly in silicate structures (80\u00b16.3 %), complemented by magnetite (16\u00b15.5 %), hematite/goethite (4.5\u00b12.7 %), and readily exchangeable Fe-ions or Fe nano-oxides (1.6\u00b10.63 %). Icelandic top sediments have coarser PSD compared to the high dust-emitting crusts from mid-latitude arid regions, distinctive mineralogy, and threefold bulk Fe content, with a large presence of magnetite. The congruence between fully and minimally dispersed PSDs underscores a reduced particle aggregation and cohesion of Icelandic top sediments, suggesting that aerodynamic entrainment of dust may also play a role upon emission in this region, aside of saltation bombardment. The analysis of an extensive sampling in Dyngjusandur allowed this study to present a conceptual model to encapsulate Iceland's rapidly evolving high dust-emitting environments.
Abstract. Understanding the effect of dust upon climate and ecosystems needs comprehensive analyses of the physiochemical properties of dust-emitting sediments in arid regions. Here, we analyse a diverse set of crusts and aeolian ripples (n=55) from various dust-hotspots within the Mojave Desert, California, USA, with focus on their particle size distribution (PSD), mineralogy, aggregation/cohesion state and iron mode of occurrence characterization. Our results showed differences in fully and minimally dispersed PSDs, with crusts average median diameters (92 and 37 \u00b5m, respectively) compared to aeolian ripples (226 and 213 \u00b5m, respectively). Mineralogical analyses unveiled variations between crusts and ripples, with crusts enriched in phyllosilicates (24 vs 7.8 %), carbonates (6.6 vs 1.1 %), Na-salts (7.3 vs 1.1 %) and zeolites (1.2 and 0.12 %), while ripples enriched in feldspars (48 vs 37 %), quartz (32 vs 16 %), and gypsum (4.7 vs 3.1 %). Bulk Fe content analyses indicate higher concentrations in crusts (3.0\u00b11.3 wt %) compared to ripples (1.9\u00b11.1 wt %), with similar Fe speciation proportions; nano Fe-oxides/readily exchangeable Fe represent ~1.6 %, hematite/goethite ~15 %, magnetite/maghemite ~2.0 % and structural Fe in silicates ~80 % of the total Fe. We identified segregation patterns in PSD and mineralogy differences within the Mojave basins, influenced by sediment transportation dynamics and precipitates due to groundwater table fluctuations. Mojave Desert crusts show similarities with previously sampled crusts in the Moroccan Sahara for PSD and readily exchangeable Fe, yet exhibit differences in mineralogical composition, which could influence the emitted dust particles characteristics.
Abstract. One of the challenges in studying desert dust aerosol along with its numerous interactions and impacts is the paucity of direct in-situ measurements, particularly in the areas most affected by dust storms. Satellites typically provide columnintegrated aerosol measurements, but observationally-constrained continuous 3D dust fields are needed to assess dust variability, climate effects and impacts upon a variety of socio-economic sectors. Here, we present a high resolution regional reanalysis data set of desert dust aerosols that covers Northern Africa, the Middle East and Europe along with the Mediterranean sea and parts of Central Asia, and the Atlantic and Indian Oceans between 2007 and 2016. The horizontal resolution is 0.1\u00b0 latitude\u2009\u00d7\u20090.1\u00b0 longitude, and the temporal resolution is 3 hours. The reanalysis was produced using Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter (LETKF) data assimilation in the Multiscale Online Non-hydrostatic AtmospheRe CHemistry model (MONARCH) developed at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC). The assimilated data are coarse-mode dust optical depth retrieved from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Deep Blue Level 2 products. The reanalysis data set consists of upper air (dust mass concentrations and extinction coefficient), surface (dust deposition and solar irradiance fields, among them) and total column (e.g., dust optical depth and load) variables. Some dust variables, such as concentrations and wet and dry deposition, are expressed for a binned size distribution that ranges from 0.2 to 20\u2009\u03bcm in particle diameter. Both analysis and first-guess (analysis-initialized simulation) fields are available for the variables that are diagnosed from the state vector. A set of ensemble statistics is archived for each output variable, namely the ensemble mean, standard deviation, maximum and median. The spatial and temporal distribution of the dust fields follows well-known dust cycle features controlled by seasonal changes in meteorology and vegetation cover. The analysis is statistically closer to the assimilated retrievals than the first-guess, which proves the consistency of the data assimilation method. Independent evaluation using AERONET dust-filtered optical depth retrievals indicates that the reanalysis data set is highly accurate (mean bias\u2009=\u2009\u22120.05, RMSE\u2009=\u20090.12, r\u2009=\u20090.81 when compared to retrievals from the spectral de-convolution algorithm on a 3-hourly basis). Verification statistics are broadly homogeneous in space and time with regional differences that can be partly attributed to model limitations (e.g., poor representation of small-scale emission processes), presence of aerosols other than dust in the observations used in the evaluation, and differences in the number of observations among seasons. Such a reliable high-resolution historical record of atmospheric desert dust will allow a better quantification of dust impacts upon key sectors of society and economy, including health, solar energy production and transportation. The reanalysis data set (Di Tomaso et al., 2021) is distributed via a Thematic Real-time Environmental Distributed Data Service (THREDDS) at BSC and freely available at http://hdl.handle.net/21.12146/c6d4a608-5de3-47f6-a004-67cb1d498d98.
Abstract. Characterizing physico-chemical properties of dust-emitting sediments in arid regions is fundamental to understand the effect of dust on climate and ecosystems. For high-latitude dust (HLD), this knowledge is scarce. This study focuses on the particle size distribution (PSD), mineralogy, cohesion, iron (Fe) mode of occurrence and Visible Near Infra-Red (VNIR) reflectance spectra of dust-emitting sediments from dust-hotspots in Iceland (HLD region). Extensive analysis was conducted on top sediments collected from seven dust-sources and an intensive at Jokuls\u00e1 basin including top sediments, sediments and aeolian ripples. Fully and minimally dispersed PSDs evidenced remarkable similarities with an average median diameter of 56\u00b169 and 55\u00b162 \u00b5m. Mineralogical analyses showed the prevalence of amorphous phases (68\u00b126 %), feldspars (17\u00b113 %), and pyroxenes (9.3\u00b17.2 %), aligned with the reflectance spectra. Fe content reached 9.5\u00b10.40 wt %, mainly in silicate structures (80\u00b16.3 %), complemented by magnetite (16\u00b15.5 %), hematite/goethite (4.5\u00b12.7 %), and readily exchangeable Fe-ions or Fe nano-oxides (1.6\u00b10.63 %). Icelandic top sediments have coarser PSD compared to the high dust-emitting crusts from mid-latitude arid regions, distinctive mineralogy, and threefold bulk Fe content, with a large presence of magnetite. The congruence between fully and minimally dispersed PSDs underscores a reduced particle aggregation and cohesion of Icelandic top sediments, suggesting that aerodynamic entrainment of dust may also play a role upon emission in this region, aside of saltation bombardment. The analysis of an extensive sampling in Dyngjusandur allowed this study to present a conceptual model to encapsulate Iceland's rapidly evolving high dust-emitting environments.
Abstract. Understanding the effect of dust upon climate and ecosystems needs comprehensive analyses of the physiochemical properties of dust-emitting sediments in arid regions. Here, we analyse a diverse set of crusts and aeolian ripples (n=55) from various dust-hotspots within the Mojave Desert, California, USA, with focus on their particle size distribution (PSD), mineralogy, aggregation/cohesion state and iron mode of occurrence characterization. Our results showed differences in fully and minimally dispersed PSDs, with crusts average median diameters (92 and 37 \u00b5m, respectively) compared to aeolian ripples (226 and 213 \u00b5m, respectively). Mineralogical analyses unveiled variations between crusts and ripples, with crusts enriched in phyllosilicates (24 vs 7.8 %), carbonates (6.6 vs 1.1 %), Na-salts (7.3 vs 1.1 %) and zeolites (1.2 and 0.12 %), while ripples enriched in feldspars (48 vs 37 %), quartz (32 vs 16 %), and gypsum (4.7 vs 3.1 %). Bulk Fe content analyses indicate higher concentrations in crusts (3.0\u00b11.3 wt %) compared to ripples (1.9\u00b11.1 wt %), with similar Fe speciation proportions; nano Fe-oxides/readily exchangeable Fe represent ~1.6 %, hematite/goethite ~15 %, magnetite/maghemite ~2.0 % and structural Fe in silicates ~80 % of the total Fe. We identified segregation patterns in PSD and mineralogy differences within the Mojave basins, influenced by sediment transportation dynamics and precipitates due to groundwater table fluctuations. Mojave Desert crusts show similarities with previously sampled crusts in the Moroccan Sahara for PSD and readily exchangeable Fe, yet exhibit differences in mineralogical composition, which could influence the emitted dust particles characteristics.
The relatively poor simulation of the below-ground processes is a severe drawback for many ecosystem models, especially when predicting responses to climate change and management. For a meaningful estimation of ecosystem production and the cycling of water, energy, nutrients and carbon, the integration of soil processes and the exchanges at the surface is crucial. It is increasingly recognized that soil biota play an important role in soil organic carbon and nutrient cycling, shaping soil structure and hydrological properties through their activity, and in water and nutrient uptake by plants through mycorrhizal processes. In this article, we review the main soil biological actors (microbiota, fauna and roots) and their effects on soil functioning. We review to what extent they have been included in soil models and propose which of them could be included in ecosystem models. We show that the model representation of the soil food web, the impact of soil ecosystem engineers on soil structure and the related effects on hydrology and soil organic matter (SOM) stabilization are key issues in improving ecosystem-scale soil representation in models. Finally, we describe a new core model concept (KEYLINK) that integrates insights from SOM models, structural models and food web models to simulate the living soil at an ecosystem scale.
Dust emission fluxes during wind soil erosion are usually estimated using a dust concentration vertical gradient, by assuming a constant dust flux layer between the surface and the dust measurement levels. Here, we investigate the existence of this layer during erosion events recorded in Iceland and Jordan. Size\uffe2\uff80\uff90resolved dust fluxes were estimated at three levels between 2 and 4\uffc2\uffa0m using the eddy\uffe2\uff80\uff90covariance method. Dust fluxes were found mainly constant only between the two upper levels in Iceland, the lower dust flux being often stronger and richer in coarse particles, while dust fluxes in Jordan were nearly constant across all levels. The wind dynamics could not explain the absence of a constant dust flux layer in Iceland. We show that the presence of stationary dust source patches in Iceland, related to surface humidity, created a non\uffe2\uff80\uff90uniform dust layer near the surface, named dust roughness sublayer (DRSL), where individual plumes behind each patch interact but do not fully mix. The lowest dust measurement level was probably located within this sublayer while the upper ones were located above, such that there the emitted dust became spatially well\uffe2\uff80\uff90mixed. This explains near the surface in Iceland, the more intermittent dust concentration, its low correlation with the dust concentrations above, and the richer dust flux in coarse particles due to their lower deposition contribution. Our findings highlight the importance of estimating dust fluxes above a dust blending height whose characteristics depend on the dust source patchiness caused by surface humidity or the presence of sparse non\uffe2\uff80\uff90erosive elements. Abstract. Understanding the effect of dust upon climate and ecosystems needs comprehensive analyses of the physiochemical properties of dust-emitting sediments in arid regions. Here, we analyse a diverse set of crusts and aeolian ripples (n=55) from various dust-hotspots within the Mojave Desert, California, USA, with focus on their particle size distribution (PSD), mineralogy, aggregation/cohesion state and iron mode of occurrence characterization. Our results showed differences in fully and minimally dispersed PSDs, with crusts average median diameters (92 and 37 \u00b5m, respectively) compared to aeolian ripples (226 and 213 \u00b5m, respectively). Mineralogical analyses unveiled variations between crusts and ripples, with crusts enriched in phyllosilicates (24 vs 7.8 %), carbonates (6.6 vs 1.1 %), Na-salts (7.3 vs 1.1 %) and zeolites (1.2 and 0.12 %), while ripples enriched in feldspars (48 vs 37 %), quartz (32 vs 16 %), and gypsum (4.7 vs 3.1 %). Bulk Fe content analyses indicate higher concentrations in crusts (3.0\u00b11.3 wt %) compared to ripples (1.9\u00b11.1 wt %), with similar Fe speciation proportions; nano Fe-oxides/readily exchangeable Fe represent ~1.6 %, hematite/goethite ~15 %, magnetite/maghemite ~2.0 % and structural Fe in silicates ~80 % of the total Fe. We identified segregation patterns in PSD and mineralogy differences within the Mojave basins, influenced by sediment transportation dynamics and precipitates due to groundwater table fluctuations. Mojave Desert crusts show similarities with previously sampled crusts in the Moroccan Sahara for PSD and readily exchangeable Fe, yet exhibit differences in mineralogical composition, which could influence the emitted dust particles characteristics. Volcanic soils are important resources because of their unique mineralogical and physical characteristics, and allophanic Andosols represent some of the world\u2019s most fertile soils. However, their unique properties can be lost when cultivated. Most soils in the Central Valley, Mexico, are derived from volcanic materials. This valley encompasses one of the largest water supply systems in the world by volume, but is affected by soil degradation and deforestation. Sustainably managing volcanic soils requires understanding how land use affects their hydrodynamic properties. Gas adsorption and mercury intrusion porosimetry, water retention curves, tension infiltrometry and X-ray tomography were used to describe pore structure characteristics. Two volcanic soils (one Andosol and one derived from indurated tuff \u2013 Tepetates), three land uses (maize monoculture, maize\u2013wheat rotation and fallow) and two horizons (Ap and A2 for maize monoculture and maize\u2013wheat rotation) were studied. Tillage affected topsoil by increasing the sand fraction by 38% and decreasing total porosity and macroporosity by 23% and 40% respectively. Macropore size was reduced and the number of isolated macropores was higher in the tilled layer under maize, compared with untilled subsoil. The plot under maize\u2013wheat rotation had lower allophane content, and saturated hydraulic conductivity was reduced by nearly an order of magnitude and water retention by half, compared with maize and fallow plots. Compared with Andosols, Tepetates showed differences in mineralogical composition with lower contents of amorphous compounds and in its porous network characteristics with twice the total and percolating macroporosity compared with the maize plot. Its high content of organic carbon (3.5%) seemed beneficial for its hydrodynamic properties. Sustainable agricultural management of these volcanic soils requires reducing mechanised tillage, avoiding periods when soil is bare, not applying maize\u2013wheat rotation and applying maize\u2013fallow rotation allowing natural vegetation growth. Abstract. Characterizing physico-chemical properties of dust-emitting sediments in arid regions is fundamental to understand the effect of dust on climate and ecosystems. For high-latitude dust (HLD), this knowledge is scarce. This study focuses on the particle size distribution (PSD), mineralogy, cohesion, iron (Fe) mode of occurrence and Visible Near Infra-Red (VNIR) reflectance spectra of dust-emitting sediments from dust-hotspots in Iceland (HLD region). Extensive analysis was conducted on top sediments collected from seven dust-sources and an intensive at Jokuls\u00e1 basin including top sediments, sediments and aeolian ripples. Fully and minimally dispersed PSDs evidenced remarkable similarities with an average median diameter of 56\u00b169 and 55\u00b162 \u00b5m. Mineralogical analyses showed the prevalence of amorphous phases (68\u00b126 %), feldspars (17\u00b113 %), and pyroxenes (9.3\u00b17.2 %), aligned with the reflectance spectra. Fe content reached 9.5\u00b10.40 wt %, mainly in silicate structures (80\u00b16.3 %), complemented by magnetite (16\u00b15.5 %), hematite/goethite (4.5\u00b12.7 %), and readily exchangeable Fe-ions or Fe nano-oxides (1.6\u00b10.63 %). Icelandic top sediments have coarser PSD compared to the high dust-emitting crusts from mid-latitude arid regions, distinctive mineralogy, and threefold bulk Fe content, with a large presence of magnetite. The congruence between fully and minimally dispersed PSDs underscores a reduced particle aggregation and cohesion of Icelandic top sediments, suggesting that aerodynamic entrainment of dust may also play a role upon emission in this region, aside of saltation bombardment. The analysis of an extensive sampling in Dyngjusandur allowed this study to present a conceptual model to encapsulate Iceland's rapidly evolving high dust-emitting environments. The relatively poor simulation of the below-ground processes is a severe drawback for many ecosystem models, especially when predicting responses to climate change and management. For a meaningful estimation of ecosystem production and the cycling of water, energy, nutrients and carbon, the integration of soil processes and the exchanges at the surface is crucial. It is increasingly recognized that soil biota play an important role in soil organic carbon and nutrient cycling, shaping soil structure and hydrological properties through their activity, and in water and nutrient uptake by plants through mycorrhizal processes. In this article, we review the main soil biological actors (microbiota, fauna and roots) and their effects on soil functioning. We review to what extent they have been included in soil models and propose which of them could be included in ecosystem models. We show that the model representation of the soil food web, the impact of soil ecosystem engineers on soil structure and the related effects on hydrology and soil organic matter (SOM) stabilization are key issues in improving ecosystem-scale soil representation in models. Finally, we describe a new core model concept (KEYLINK) that integrates insights from SOM models, structural models and food web models to simulate the living soil at an ecosystem scale. Mineral dust particles suspended in the atmosphere span more than three orders of magnitude in diameter, from less than 0.1 \u00b5m to more than 100 \u00b5m. This wide size range makes dust a unique aerosol species with the ability to interact with many aspects of the Earth system, including radiation, clouds, hydrology, atmospheric chemistry, and biogeochemistry. This review focuses on coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols, which we respectively define as dust particles with a diameter between 2.5 - 10 \u00b5m and 10 - 62.5 \u00b5m. We review several lines of observational evidence indicating that coarse and super-coarse dust particles are transported farther than previously expected and that the abundance of these particles is substantially underestimated in current global models. We synthesize previous studies that used observations, theories, and model simulations to highlight the impacts of coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols on the Earth system, including their effects on dust-radiation interactions, dust-cloud interactions, and atmospheric chemistry, and biogeochemistry. In addition, we examine several limitations in the representation of coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols in current model simulations and in remote-sensing retrievals. Because these limitations substantially contribute to the uncertainties in simulating the abundance and impacts of coarse and super-coarse dust aerosols, we offer some recommendations to facilitate future studies. Overall, we conclude that an accurate representation of coarse and super-coarse properties is critical in understanding the overall impacts of dust aerosols on the Earth system. Abstract. The particle size distribution (PSD) of mineral dust has a strong effect on the impacts of dust on climate. However, our understanding of the emitted dust PSD, including its variability and the fraction of super-coarse dust (diameter >10\u2009\u00b5m), remains limited. Here, we provide new insights into the size-resolved dust emission process based on a field campaign performed in the Moroccan Sahara in September\u00a02019 in the context of the FRontiers in dust minerAloGical coMposition and its Effects upoN climaTe (FRAGMENT) project. The obtained dust concentration and diffusive flux PSDs show significant dependencies upon the friction velocity (u*), wind direction and type of event (regular events versus haboob events). For instance, the number fraction of sub-micrometre particles increases with u*, along with a large decrease in the mass fraction of super-coarse dust. We identify dry deposition, which is modulated by u* and fetch length, as a potential cause for this PSD variability. Using a resistance model constrained with field observations to estimate the dry deposition flux and thereby also the emitted dust flux, we show that deposition could represent up to \u223c90\u2009% of the emission of super-coarse particles (>10\u2009\u00b5m) and up to \u223c65\u2009% of the emission of particles as small as \u223c5\u2009\u00b5m in diameter. Importantly, removing the deposition component significantly reduces the variability with u* in the PSD of the emitted dust flux compared with the diffusive flux, particularly for super-coarse dust. The differences between regular and haboob event concentration and diffusive flux PSDs are suspected to result from a smaller and variable dust source fetch during the haboob events, and/or an increased resistance of soil aggregates to fragmentation associated with the observed increase in relative humidity along the haboob outflow. Finally, compared to the invariant emitted dust flux PSD estimated based on brittle fragmentation theory, we obtain a substantially higher proportion of super-micrometre particles in the dust flux. Overall, our results suggest that dry deposition needs to be adequately considered to estimate the emitted PSD, even in studies limited to the fine and coarse size ranges (<10\u2009\u00b5m). Light scatterometry combined with chemometrics can be a practical approach for the analysis of size and concentration of microplastics in water. Light scatterometry combined with chemometrics can be a practical approach for the analysis of size and concentration of microplastics in water. Abstract. One of the challenges in studying desert dust aerosol along with its numerous interactions and impacts is the paucity of direct in-situ measurements, particularly in the areas most affected by dust storms. Satellites typically provide columnintegrated aerosol measurements, but observationally-constrained continuous 3D dust fields are needed to assess dust variability, climate effects and impacts upon a variety of socio-economic sectors. Here, we present a high resolution regional reanalysis data set of desert dust aerosols that covers Northern Africa, the Middle East and Europe along with the Mediterranean sea and parts of Central Asia, and the Atlantic and Indian Oceans between 2007 and 2016. The horizontal resolution is 0.1\u00b0 latitude\u2009\u00d7\u20090.1\u00b0 longitude, and the temporal resolution is 3 hours. The reanalysis was produced using Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter (LETKF) data assimilation in the Multiscale Online Non-hydrostatic AtmospheRe CHemistry model (MONARCH) developed at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC). The assimilated data are coarse-mode dust optical depth retrieved from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Deep Blue Level 2 products. The reanalysis data set consists of upper air (dust mass concentrations and extinction coefficient), surface (dust deposition and solar irradiance fields, among them) and total column (e.g., dust optical depth and load) variables. Some dust variables, such as concentrations and wet and dry deposition, are expressed for a binned size distribution that ranges from 0.2 to 20\u2009\u03bcm in particle diameter. Both analysis and first-guess (analysis-initialized simulation) fields are available for the variables that are diagnosed from the state vector. A set of ensemble statistics is archived for each output variable, namely the ensemble mean, standard deviation, maximum and median. The spatial and temporal distribution of the dust fields follows well-known dust cycle features controlled by seasonal changes in meteorology and vegetation cover. The analysis is statistically closer to the assimilated retrievals than the first-guess, which proves the consistency of the data assimilation method. Independent evaluation using AERONET dust-filtered optical depth retrievals indicates that the reanalysis data set is highly accurate (mean bias\u2009=\u2009\u22120.05, RMSE\u2009=\u20090.12, r\u2009=\u20090.81 when compared to retrievals from the spectral de-convolution algorithm on a 3-hourly basis). Verification statistics are broadly homogeneous in space and time with regional differences that can be partly attributed to model limitations (e.g., poor representation of small-scale emission processes), presence of aerosols other than dust in the observations used in the evaluation, and differences in the number of observations among seasons. Such a reliable high-resolution historical record of atmospheric desert dust will allow a better quantification of dust impacts upon key sectors of society and economy, including health, solar energy production and transportation. The reanalysis data set (Di Tomaso et al., 2021) is distributed via a Thematic Real-time Environmental Distributed Data Service (THREDDS) at BSC and freely available at http://hdl.handle.net/21.12146/c6d4a608-5de3-47f6-a004-67cb1d498d98.
Semi-arid regions of Central Asia suffer from wind erosion due to expanding steppe conversion and unsustainable farming practices. This dataset contains empirical data from a test site with loamy sand, where a mobile wind tunnel was used to assess the soil's erodibility under real conditions. Field experiments were conducted on different initial conditions that are typical for the most erosive time of the year:
\n- a bare surface with a cloddy structure after recent steppe conversion
\n- a weak crust on a plot with barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)
\n- a plot with loose material in the rows maize plants (Zea mays L.).
\nSubsequently, different levels of mechanical stresses (low, moderate, high) were considered to analyze the effect of the disruptive forces soils experience during field cultivation on possible soil losses.
\nThis data collection includes typical surface characteristics (pH, electrical conductivity, texture, soil organic carbon, soil moisture) along with erodible fraction (%) and roughness length (mm) from the topsoil layer (0-25 mm depth) measured before each wind tunnel experiment and resulting total soil loss (g/m2) (Part 1/5). It also contains the mass of aeolian sediments from different heights for each experimental run (Part 2/5). The dry aggregate size distribution (Part 3/5) determined by laser diffraction of aeolian sediments and natural depositions are also included. The topsoil, aeolian sediments, and natural depositions were analyzed for particle size distribution (Part 4/5) and soil organic carbon (Part 5/5).
\nThe parent table (Part 0/5) contains the index of all tables forming this data collection. Related datasets are listed in the metadata element 'Related Identifier'.
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\nThe supplement information details how the vertical distribution of the horizontal sediment loss was used to quantify wind erosion. Therefore, the sediment mass collected in the MWAC was related to the inlet area and the open floor area inside the mobile wind tunnel. Total soil loss (g/m2) was derived from semi-logarithmic regression by fitting the total mass of caught sediments (qz) at the height (z) to ln(z).
\nDataset version 1.0