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UP: Fachverband Umweltphysik

UP 8: Poster

UP 8.3: Poster

Mittwoch, 11. März 2026, 15:00–17:00, P1

Laboratory studies of the charging state of giant mineral dust — •Lea Sophie Ebel^1,2, Alexei Kiselev¹, Thomas Leisner¹, and Martina Klose-Albinger² — ¹IMKAAF, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany — ²IMKTRO, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

Giant mineral dust particles, characterized by a diameter ≥ 63 µm, are observed to travel thousands of kilometers in the atmosphere from the Sahara across the Atlantic ocean to America. Mechanisms counteracting the expected fast gravitational settling of giant aerosols and, therefore, enabling their long-range transport are not yet sufficiently understood. The charging state of mineral dust and its interaction with the atmospheric electric potential gradient are proposed as a force potentially large enough to counteract gravity.

To assess the role of charge in long-range dust transport, single mineral dust particles collected from various desert dust sources are charged and inserted into acoustic and electrodynamic traps to measure charge decay and their aerodynamic properties. Additionally, the morphology and mineralogical composition of the particles are characterized via Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to link the charge decay to these properties.

Understanding the exact mechanisms behind the long-range transport of giant mineral dust is crucial to improving the dust representation in weather and climate models and to better quantifying dust climate impacts.

Keywords: Mineral dust; Aerosols; Scanning Electron Microscopy; Electrodynamic Balance; Acoustic trap