a ground layer

[suprunp]

"But such uprisings as the Ole Miss riots seldom come without victims. It had been a nasty night of fighting and resentment, and trails of blood and a ground layer of thick, powdery teargas residue lingered that following day. In the end, there were two people dead and 166 wounded."
(The source)

'a ground layer' should mean roughly ' a layer that lies on the ground'.

Have I understood it correctly?

Thanks.

[bhaisahab]

"But such uprisings as the Ole Miss riots seldom come without victims. It had been a nasty night of fighting and resentment, and trails of blood and a ground layer of thick, powdery teargas residue lingered that following day. In the end, there were two people dead and 166 wounded."
(The source)

'a ground layer' should mean roughly ' a layer that lies on the ground'.

Have I understood it correctly?

Thanks.

I suppose that's what is meant, but it's badly expressed, I would say "a layer of thick, powdery tear gas residue on the ground".