Assessing the contribution of water to the mass closure of PM10

In the case of desert dust episodes, water was up to 10% of total PM10 mass; the specific water contribution linked to desert dust (released in the temperature range 100-180 °C) constituted about 5% of the mass of soil components. In other environmental situations, such as urban environments, marine atmosphere and rural areas, the concentration of PM-bound water was below 2-3 μg/m3.