TITLE:
Frequency and Characteristics of Dust Sediments in Core Samples from Hashylan Wetland, Kermanshah, Iran
AUTHORS:
Esmail Namdadi, Mostafa Karimian Eghbal, Nikou Hamzehpour
KEYWORDS:
Core sampling, Dust, Micromorphology, Mineralogy
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.4 No.3,
March
14,
2016
ABSTRACT: Dust phenomenon
is one of the biggest environmental problems in arid and semiarid regions. In
these areas, lakes and wetlands are natural dust traps and core sampling method
can be an appropriate way to assess the phenomenon of the dust. Therefore, the
purpose of this study is the study of frequency and characteristics of dust
sediments in core samples from Hashilan wetlands, Kermanshah. Four intact core
samples were taken from different parts of the Hashilan wetland in Kermanshah.
Physical, chemical and micromorphological analysis were done. Also clay mineralogy was performed using X-ray analysis (XRD) and shape of particles was
photographed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Considering that four
samples had been taken from different parts of the wetland, the quantitative
differences in dust amount are likely due to the location of the samples. The
results of XRD and thin sections show that the dominant mineralogical
composition of dust particles was clay minerals, quartz and calcite. SEM
results for core sample 1 revealed that most particles had the size between 2
to 50 mm which ranged from fine silt to coarse silt. Considering the
similarities between SEM images for core sample 1 and those from Kermanshah
dust measurement station, it could be said that fine rounded particles detected
at top 30 cm of core samples had Aeolian origin. These findings were in
accordance with the results from dust measurement and weather station of
Kermanshah about increased dust activities in the study area over past 10
years.