Abstract. The aim of this study is to find a tracer allowing retrieval of the regional origin of mineral dust for Saharan aerosols transported over the North Atlantic Ocean. Because of physical and chemical ffactionation processes occurring at the soil-atmosphere interface mid during the atmospheric transport of dust, clay mineral species seein to be the best candidate. This study shows that the ratio between relative abundance of illite and kaolinire (I/K ratio) is the parameter that is the most sensitive to the regional origin of Saharan dust collected on Sal Island (Cape Verde). By comparing the I/K ratio measured in dust enfitted from the same Saharan source and collected along its transport both on Sal Island and Barbados (Caribbean Sea), we show that this ratio seems to remain unchanged after long-range transport.

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