NEW DELHI, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- India's federal ministry of science and technology Thursday said a study has shown mineral dust, biomass burning, secondary sulfate, secondary nitrate from northwest India and Pakistan, polluted cities like Delhi, the Thar Desert, and the Arabian Sea area.

And also, the long-range transported marine mixed aerosols are the main sources of aerosols in the central Himalayan region.

"This dust transport and forest fires are the main sources of total suspended particles (TSP), particularly in pre-monsoon period (March-May) when TSP concentration peaks in the region," the ministry quoting the study said.

According to the ministry, the study on source apportionment of atmospheric pollution, which elucidates the atmospheric chemistry, emission source origins, and transport pathways of aerosol over the central Himalayan region, will help in the assessment of contributions and temporal variability of sources that influence the area through regional transport as well as climate impacts assessment.

The Himalayan region, which has a unique role in the Asian climate is considered a vulnerable environment.

"Several chemical speciation studies have been performed for carbonaceous aerosols and inorganic species over the western and central Himalayan regions during the last decade, reporting the dominance of transported aerosol plumes from the Indo-Gangetic Plains," the ministry said.

The study was carried out by the researchers at the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) along with Indian and foreign collaborators.

It revealed the predominance of mineral dust in spring and summer and biomass burning and secondary sulfate in winter. Enditem

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