INFLUENCE OF ASIAN DUSTS ON THE PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF ATMOSPHERIC AEROSOLS IN TAIWAN DISTRICT USING THE PENGHU ISLANDS AS AN EXAMPLE

1. Introduction In the early months of each year, Asian dusts transport frequently from Northwest China and Mongolia to the Pa-cific-Rim countries (Kagawa et al., 2001; Uno et al., 2002). It causes significant environmental effects such as ambient air quality deterioration, atmospheric visibility impairment, radiation energy reduction, mineral deposition, and acid rain neutralization (Terada et al., 2002; Zhang & An, 1999). During Asian dust periods, significant increases of atmos-pheric …