SCARCE campaign - Deposited mineral dust and soil material datasets

This repository contains datasets of atmospheric mineral dust and soil material collected during the SCARCE (Synchronized Characterization of Aerosol, Radon, and Carbon Dioxide Exchanges in Drylands) campaign. The campaign took place from March 27, 2023, to November 9, 2023, at the Guadiana-UGR (37.91ºN, 3.23ºW, 370 m asl) and Balsa Blanca stations (36.94ºN, 2.03ºW, 205 m asl) in southern Spain. It was conducted within the framework of the INTEGRATYON3 project (PID2020-117825GB-C21 and PID2020-117825GB-C22), funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. The aim of the campaign was to characterize depositing mineral dust particles and surrounding soils collected in both stations. Guadiana-UGR station (labelled as “Olivar”) is located at an olive-growing area in Úbeda (Jaén). On the other hand, Balsa Blanca station (labelled as “Cabo Gata”) is in a Mediterranean scrubland in the heart of Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park (Almería). Atmospheric dust collection was carried out using a standard sedimentable particle sampler (model MCV PS), consisting of a metallic tripod structure that connects a collecting funnel (upper part) to a tank (lower part) where the sample was collected (Molinero-García et al., 2022). The soil material was collected through compound samples from the upper part of the soil profile (0-2 cm depth) in both stations. The dataset includes the following analyses for both soil material and atmospheric mineral dust: 1.- X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis with a Brucker AXS D8 Advance equipment (Cu-Kα radiation, between 3 and 70° 2θ; speed 2° min-1). 2.- Minor element content (including rare earth elements [REE]) determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) with a quadrupole ion filter NEXION 300D PERKIN-ELMER, USA (detection limits < 0.0001 mg kg−1). The samples were previously disaggregated in HNO3 and HF. 3.- Scanning electron Microscopy (SEM) images obtained by FIB-FE-SEM UHR AMBER X TESCAN. The SEM images are grouped by sample. However, within each sample, there are subfolders labeled as "Area...", indicating the location of the analysis on the Scaning Electron Microscope. This information does not influence the interpretation of the images For more information about the datasets contact Juan Luis Guerrero-Rascado ([e-mail]) and Alberto Molinero-García ([e-mail]).