We present an analysis of the dust continuum emission at 870um in order to investigate the mass distribution of clumps within infrared dark clouds (IRDCs). We map six IRDCs with the Large APEX BOlometer CAmera (LABOCA) at APEX, reaching an rms noise level of 28-44mJy/beam. The dust continuum emission coming from these IRDCs was decomposed by using two automated algorithms, Gaussclumps and Clumpfind. We identify 510 and 352 sources with Gaussclumps and Clumpfind, respectively, and estimate masses and other physical properties assuming a uniform dust temperature. The mass ranges are 6-2692M_{sun}(Gaussclumps) and 7-4254M{sun} (Clumpfind) and the ranges in effective radius are around 0.10-0.74pc (Gaussclumps) and 0.16-0.99pc (Clumpfind). The mass distribution, independent of the decomposition method used, is fitted by a power law, dN/dM{prop.to}M^alpha^, with an index (alpha) of -1.60+/-0.06.

Cone search capability for table J/A+A/561/A148/table3 (Sources found with Gaussclumps algorithm)

Cone search capability for table J/A+A/561/A148/table4 (Sources found with Clumpfind algorithm)