Study of Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Dust Storms in the Khuzestan Province (Case Study of Dezful City)

Dust is one of the most important sources of air pollution in Dezful city. Due to no enough research and study on physical and chemical characteristics of dust storm in this area, providing a systematic investigation is necessary. In addition of geochemistry of particles Geo- Environmental characteristics of major and trace elements in these particles and their role in environmental pollution is very important. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the physico-chemical properties, size distribution and shape of the falling mineral dusts over Dezful and to identify their origins. The results of XRD studies show that carbonate (Calcite) and silicate (Quartz) minerals are the main minerals in dust of Dezful city. Results of ICP-OES analysis of the dust samples show that the heavy metal concentration such as Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr and Ni are above the natural concentrations. The study of the annual and seasonal changes in meteorological parameters associated with the occurrence of dust storms indicated an agreement between the occurrence of dusty days, temperature and rainfall in summer. The results of this study showed that the likely origin of these particles is of neighboring countries in the south west of Iran and central and western parts of the Khuzestan province.