AEROSOLS OVER THE ARABIAN SEA - GEOCHEMISTRY AND SOURCE AREAS FOR AEOLIAN DESERT DUST

The temporal and spatial patterns of dust concentrations and geochemis try of aerosols collected over the Arabian Sea, along with atmospheric transport models, were used to identify source areas from the surroun ding desert environments. Seasonally, the highest dust levels occurred during the winter and spring, with probable source areas in Indian/Pa kistan/Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. Spatially, the highest dust lev els were found off the Omani coast and over the Gulf of Oman, where hi gh dust levels persisted throughout the year, suggesting that the Arab ian Peninsula, and perhaps Oman specifically, are the most prominent c ontributors to the annual dust load in the region. (C)1998 Academic Pr ess Limited.