A review of the roles of mineral dust in atmospheric chemical reactions

A considerable amount of mineral dust is circulating in the atmosphere. The chemistry of mineral dust plays an important role in not only the transformation of the material in the atmosphere but also in its climatic influence. In this paper, the mineral dust is first described in terms of chemistry and then the recent advances in the study of chemical reactions involving mineral dusts in the atmosphere are reviewed. Carbonate dust is the most reactive and vulnerable to chemical attack. Carbonates provide the acidic pollution with neutralizing agents, and SO₂ with sites for oxidation reactions. Their surfaces become deliquescent with the absorption of nitrate. The step wise processes are displayed to show how other species are involved in the reactions. The reactions where by iron becomes more soluble are also reviewed. They are also important ones with respect to the climatic implication of dust.