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Mineralogical Characterization of PM<sub>10</sub> over the Central Himalayan Region
oleh: Sakshi Gupta, Priyanka Srivastava, Manish Naja, Nikki Choudhary, Sudhir Kumar Sharma
Format: | Article |
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Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2023-11-01 |
Deskripsi
The air quality of the Himalayan region of India is deteriorating due to the increasing load of particulate matter that is emitted from various local and regional sources, as well as to the transit of dust-related pollutants from the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) and surrounding areas. In this study, the mineralogical characteristics of coarse mode particulate matter (PM<sub>10</sub>) was analyzed using the X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique from January to December 2019 over Nainital (29.39° N, 79.45° E; altitude: 1958 m above mean sea level), a central Himalayan region of India. XRD analysis of PM<sub>10</sub> samples showed the presence of clay minerals, crystalline silicate minerals, carbonate minerals, and asbestiform minerals. It was shown that quartz minerals with significant levels of crystallinity were present in all the samples. Other minerals that are contributing to the soil dust were also observed in the analysis (CaFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub>, CaCO<sub>3</sub>, CaMg(CO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>2</sub>, calcium ammonium silicate hydrate (C-A-S-H), gypsum, kaolinite, illite, augite, and montmorillonite). The minerals ammonium sulphate, hematite, and magnetite were also found in the samples and are suggested to be from biogenic and anthropogenic activities, including biomass burning, fuel combustion, vehicle exhaust, construction activities, etc. This study indicated that the majority of the minerals in PM<sub>10</sub> that were present in this Himalayan region are from soil/crustal dust.