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This study describes the Aeolian dust deposition (ADD) in 4 sites of Northern France. Between December 2009 and March 2012, we sampled (i) Aeolian dust every four weeks, and (ii) 6 episodes of forecasted high atmospheric dust load mainly from the Saharan desert, the largest source of Aeolian dust in the world. These samples were treated with oxygen peroxide to remove organic matter so as to only compare the mineral fraction of the samples in the 4 sampling sites and to analyze their mineralogy. The solid samples contained the hardly soluble part of Aeolian dust (H-ADD). Its deposition was of 1.9 +/- 0.3 g m(-2) year(-1) with a seasonal pattern of high deposition from spring to early autumn and a low deposition in winter. H-ADD deposition during the forecasted episodes of high atmospheric load did not systematically exceed the deposition rate during the rest of the sampling period. This indicates that such episodes little contributed to the annual H-ADD rate. The mineralogy revealed a heterogeneous set of minerals dominated by silicates with a common basis of major types (quartz, feldspars, mica, chlorite, kaolinite and interlayered clay minerals in every sample) with randomly trace minerals (Fe-oxides, sulfates, amphibole, talc, gibbsite and carbonates). The chemistry of H-ADD led to a dominant input of Si (up to 4.4 kg ha(-1) year(-1)), while the nutrients inputs of Ca, K, Mg and P from ADD and the atmospheric organics (APD) in openfield were together of 1.5 +/- 0.5 kg ha(-1) year(-1) with a high contribution of soluble minerals and organic matter of ca. 40% for Mg and K, and of ca. 80% for Ca and P. Nutrient inputs from APD are especially an interesting source of P for forests developed on acidic soils. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.