Wet deposition flux of insoluble atmospheric particles, Cinzana, Mali

Wet deposition flux of insoluble atmospheric particles is collected using a passive MTX ARS 1010 automatic deposition sampler (MTX Italia SPA, Modane, Italy). The collector is made of two buckets (30 cm diameter) and a humidity sensor activated an aluminium lid to cover or uncover the buckets whether in case of rain or not. Following the WMO GAW recommendations, the collector opens within 5 seconds of the onset of precipitation of any type or rate; it closes within 120 seconds of the cessation of precipitation. The collector does not open in the absence of precipitation. It is installed at 5.2 m height. The samples are collected manually with a weekly time-step or after each precipitation event. The collection procedure is decomposed into three main phases: (1) rinsing with a large volume of water, (2) decantation during more than 6 hours and siphoning of excess water; (3) drying in an oven at 70°C until complete water evaporation. The collected dust is finally weighted in a pre-weighted pillbox with a balance having a precision of 0.0001 g. Wet deposition flux of insoluble atmospheric particles is expressed as g/m² per sampling period and as g/m²/day by dividing the collected mass by surface of collection and sampling duration (dates of start and end of sampling are given in the data files in UTC). Fluxes are given after subtracting blanks; the blank value is given in the header of each file.