The evolution of corrosion behavior of 316L stainless steels exposed to salt lake atmosphere for 8 years was investigated. The results showed that the stainless steel in salt lake atmosphere had a greater corrosion rate during the initial exposure time and relatively lower corrosion rate during the subsequent exposure time. Dust depositions accumulated on the downward surface caused severe local corrosion of stainless steel. As exposure time prolonged, the relative amount of Croxide and Feoxide in the corrosion products gradually increased, which may directly affect the corrosion rate of stainless steels. Moreover, the maximum pit depth followed a power function with respect to exposure time.
