Investigating the vertical distribution of mineral dust masses and their microphysical properties is crucial for accurately assessing the climate effects of dust. However, there are limited studies related to relevant in situ observations over dust source areas. In this study, the near-surface vertical characteristics (within 500 m a.g.l) of dust mass concentrations in five size fractions (PMs: TSP, PM10, PM4, PM2.5, and PM1) were investigated using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in Tazhong (TZ) in the Taklimakan Desert (TD) in July 2021. To the best of our knowledge, the vertical profiles of particle number concentration (PNC), effective radius (Reff), and volume concentration (Cv) were obtained for the first time by UAV over the TD. Four scenarios of clear sky, floating dust, blowing sand, and dust storm were selected based on the classification criteria for PMs. The PMs, PNC, Reff, and Cv decreased with height for all scenarios. From clear-sky to dust-storm scenarios PMs, PNC, Reff, and Cv in the column gradually increased. Reff (Cv) increased from 1.15 μm (0.08 μm3/μm2) to 4.53 μm (0.74 μm3/μm2). The diurnal variations of PMs, PNC, and Reff (Cv) revealed a unimodal pattern, with the peak occurring between 13:00 and 16:00, due to the evolution of wind speed and the atmospheric boundary layer in TZ. Unexpectedly, among the three postprecipitation scenarios (P1, P2, and P3), the PNC of P2 was smaller than those of P1 and P3. The Reff (Cv) for P2 was similar to or greater than that for dust storms, which may be associated with moist dust particles on the ground surface being carried into the air by wind. These investigations add to our understanding of the mineral dust vertical characteristics over the source area, and provide a meaningful reference for colocated lidar inversion and dust simulations.

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