In order to understand the role of atmospheric particles in the soiling of glass, a field experiment was performed in the centre of Paris on a Na-Ca float glass (atmosphere side), either sheltered and unsheltered from the rain. In parallel, the air was filtered to characterise the particulate content of the atmosphere of Paris and to compare it with the particulate deposited onto the glass samples. The samples were weighted before and after exposure. The atmospheric particles deposited onto the glass surface and onto the air filters were studied by ASEM (morphology, grain size, number, chemical composition) and classified in marine, terrigenous, anthropogenic, biogenic and undetermined categories. For the air filter as for the glass, the anthropogenic category is dominant and represented by microsoots (diesel exhausts) and prisms of sulphate of calcium.
