RIS ID
16208
Abstract
Dust deposition in the Wollongong-Port Kembla region, New South Wales, Australia, arising from local industrial and mining activities, has been of major concern since the early 1960s. Reports dealing with dust deposition rates in the region have been published by different organisations where the data have been averaged for the region. This provides a general trend for the deposition rates for the whole region without considering the trends occurring in specific locations. This study was the first to examine the trends observed at 35 individual gauges to identify more localised trends in dust deposition rates in the Wollongong-Port Kembla region, and also to try and identify the contribution of some of the possible dust sources. The coverage span of the data was from 1991-2003. These data were compared with two guidelines. The results indicated that the trend for dust deposition rates in the Wollongong-Port Kembla region is, generally, decreasing, but the patterns for different gauges varied both spatially and temporally. Several factors were suspected to influence dust deposition rates, including meteorological conditions, mainly wind direction, proximity to dust sources, dust control devices installed by industry, and other nearby activities that could affect the deposition rate measurements. Deposition rates in some residential areas exceeded the guidelines for recommended action. Further speciation and characterisation analyses of dust samples are needed to confirm their sources.
Included in
Life Sciences Commons, Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons, Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons
Publication Details
Morrison, R. J., Fadhel, B. A. and Goss, K. (2006). Dust deposition rates in the Wollongong-Port Kembla area, New South Wales, Australia. Air Quality and Climate Change, 40 (4), 48-54.