Atmospheric Aerosols Measured during the U.S. JGOFS Arabian Sea Process Study

Sampling was frequently stopped, whenever sampling conditions were no longer suitable depending upon ship maneuvers and relative wind direction (to prevent ship exhaust contamination). Thus the concentration value at any particular date represents a time integrated sample. The samples were analyzed by short and long irradiation neutron activation analysis.

The short irradiation analysis yielded concentrations of aluminum, calcium, manganese, magnesium, sodium, silicon, titanium, and vandium. Long irradiation analysis yielded concentrations of arsenic, bromine, cerium, cobolt, chromium, cesium, europium, iron, gadolinium, hafnium, mercury, lanthanum, lutetium, neodymium, rubidium, antimony, scandium, selenium, samarium, strontium, tantalum, terbium, thorium, thulium, uranium, ytterbium and zinc.

The total mass of sample per volume of pumped air yielded the dust concentration. Concentrations are in micrograms per cubic meter of pumped air. The data is public domain and can be retrieved on-line at "usjgofs.whoi.edu/jg/dir/jgofs/" [This information was obtained from U.S. JGOFS website at WHOI.]