Measurement of atmospheric particle size distribution during sand/duststorm in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract This paper presents new results of measuring and analyzing atmospheric sand/dust particles during storms. Particles are collected at various heights in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a typical arid inland city. It is found that most of the particle size distributions can be described by a lognormal or normal distribution depending on the storm condition and height. The average diameter of sand/dust particles decreases with the increase of height according to a power law.