Characteristics of modern atmospheric dust deposition in snow in the Mt. Yulong region, southeastern Tibetan Plateau

•Snow-free areas on Mt. Yulong region is an important dust source.•There exist strong lateral correlations of dust particles among vertical profiles.•Volume size distributions of dust particles in the snow showed mono-modal structures.

We evaluated the concentration, size and distribution, and temporal variation of insoluble dust micro-particles in the snow, rainfall and water taken from the areas surrounding the Mt. Yulong to define the characteristics of modern atmospheric dust deposition and the contributions of different dust sources. The mean mass concentration (4511 μg kg−1) of micro-particles with 0.57 < d < 26 μm, and the diameter (11.5 μm) of dust contained in the water bodies of the Mt. Yulong are roughly similar to those observed in other sites, implying that dust is primarily supplied through short-range transport from proximal source regions (several or hundreds of km distances). The mean mass concentrations of micro-particles with 0.57 < d < 26 μm is lower in the rainfall than in the snow and the river water, suggesting the rain water is an ideal source/carrier for detecting the characteristics of modern atmospheric micro-particles. Volume size distributions of micro-particles in the snow and water showed single modal structures having volume median diameters from 3 to 26 μm. Number concentrations of micro-particles in the snow were higher than that in the rainfall, the river water contains the least amount of micro-particles. Vertical profiles of the snowpits show that there is a strong lateral correlation among the dust peaks, indicating a regional uniformity of dust deposition and suitability of snow analysis for dust deposition. In addition, the bare rock of snow-free terrain in the Mt. Yulong region and the mineral particles from local rock weathering are also important sources for the dust deposition.