Chemical Composition and Mineralogy of Harmattan Dust from Kano and Zaria Cities in Northern Nigeria

This study was conducted to obtain the mineral composition of the various fractions of Harmattan dust separated according to their specific gravities. Soil dust is a major constituent of airborne particles in the global atmosphere. The generation and transport of dust are processes that continue to this day, playing an important role in geochemical and geophysical processes, including the addition of nutrients to soils and to the oceans. Mineral dust suspended in the atmosphere interacts with the solar and earth’s thermal radiation thereby affecting the climate radiative budget. Studies on the Harmattan dust mineralogy were carried out after separation into six fractions by means of heavy liquid solutions. The major components were; quartz, haematite, illite, micas, feldspars, kaolinite and chlorite. There is increased interest in the properties of small airborne particles because of the role that they play in many environmental processes. Much of this interest stems from the possible impact of aerosol on climate-related processes that involves radiation and cloud. For this reason aerosol, studies are focused on the chemical and physical properties of aerosols that relate to radiation and to hygroscopic behavior.