ARS | Publication request: BIOLOGICAL FINGERPRINTING OF DUST AEROSOLS

Submitted to: Dust Aerosol, Loess Soils and Climate Change Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: December 1, 1998
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Our soil resource is being depleted by wind and water erosion. In order to implement control measures to reduce nonpoint dust emissions, it is necessary to distinguish among the relative contributions from specific regions. Since soil is composed of distinct microbial and the remains of plant communities, biological analyses may aid in identifying the source of displaced particles. Fatty acid methyl ester fingerprints were generated and were found to be unique and reproducible, although slight variations in the profiles were evident with sampling time. The fingerprints from samples taken from road sites were dissimilar from agricultural sites. Agricultural soils exhibited unique patterns depending on their origin. The successful development of this method will provide a powerful tool for identifying sources of displaced soil. This information will nto only assist in source identification, but will aid in verifying modeling efforts of wind and sediment movement.