[Magnetic property of dustfall in a Northwest China valley city and its environmental implications].

Lanzhou is one of the seriously polluted cities in Northwest China. Dustfall samples collected in Lanzhou and the countryside Huanghuatan were studied using magnetic methods. The results reveal that the content of magnetic mineral in dustfall samples from Lanzhou is much higher than that of Huanghuatan. At the same time, it has a much higher lever in winter than that of other seasons. The main magnetic minerals in the dustfall from both places are magnetite, maghemite and hematite, and the main magnetic grain sizes in dustfall samples are mainly pseudo single-domain(PSD) and multi-domain(MD). Although the air in Lanzhou is polluted seriously, the air quality has been improved greatly during the past decades and controlled well in recent years. Compared with other cities, air pollution in Lanzhou is affected significantly by urban terrain. This research also reveals that environmental magnetism has become a more and more important method in air pollution study.