TY - JOUR
T1 - Destinations frequently impacted by dust storms originating from southwest Iran
AU - Broomandi, Parya
AU - Karaca, Ferhat
AU - Guney, Mert
AU - Fathian, Aram
AU - Geng, Xueyu
AU - Kim, Jong Ryeol
N1 - Funding Information:
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE) under grant agreement No. 778360 and NU project ( Nazarbayev Research Fund SOE2017004 ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier B.V.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/1/1
Y1 - 2021/1/1
N2 - Deserts can be considered as one of the main sources of dust emissions as they are highly vulnerable to wind erosion, i.e. The lack of vegetative cover, as well as low soil wetness, contribute to the release of particles by wind erosion. The present study examines the seasonal variation in sand and dust storms (SDSs) originating from war-impacted semi-arid bare lands affected by chemical warfare located in southwest Iran for the period of 2007-2018. It employs a synthesis of satellite observations and Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model trajectories. A regression analysis between annual/seasonal absorbing aerosol index distribution and selected parameters indicated strong correlation with surface skin temperature, topsoil layer wetness, and 10-m wind speed. During both cold and warm periods, Kuwait and the Persian Gulf were highly vulnerable to episodic dust incursions as they were identified in the maximum impact zone (frequency of 100%). The Persian Gulf was affected by about 12% of the total air masses during the warm period, which increased to 74% during the cold period. Regarding the vulnerability to the high wind of war-impacted regions presumably contaminated with potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and toxic compounds, the particles of contaminated dust may have been continuously transported over by the strong winds, not only the surrounding region but also long distances including agricultural land and marine environment. The study area would possibly pose a danger to the environment and human health; therefore, a detailed site characterization to investigate the degree of contamination with PTEs and toxic compounds is warranted.
AB - Deserts can be considered as one of the main sources of dust emissions as they are highly vulnerable to wind erosion, i.e. The lack of vegetative cover, as well as low soil wetness, contribute to the release of particles by wind erosion. The present study examines the seasonal variation in sand and dust storms (SDSs) originating from war-impacted semi-arid bare lands affected by chemical warfare located in southwest Iran for the period of 2007-2018. It employs a synthesis of satellite observations and Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model trajectories. A regression analysis between annual/seasonal absorbing aerosol index distribution and selected parameters indicated strong correlation with surface skin temperature, topsoil layer wetness, and 10-m wind speed. During both cold and warm periods, Kuwait and the Persian Gulf were highly vulnerable to episodic dust incursions as they were identified in the maximum impact zone (frequency of 100%). The Persian Gulf was affected by about 12% of the total air masses during the warm period, which increased to 74% during the cold period. Regarding the vulnerability to the high wind of war-impacted regions presumably contaminated with potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and toxic compounds, the particles of contaminated dust may have been continuously transported over by the strong winds, not only the surrounding region but also long distances including agricultural land and marine environment. The study area would possibly pose a danger to the environment and human health; therefore, a detailed site characterization to investigate the degree of contamination with PTEs and toxic compounds is warranted.
KW - Absorbing aerosol index (AAI)
KW - Air pollution modelling
KW - Particulate matter
KW - Sand and dust storms (SDS)
KW - The Persian Gulf
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85091328061&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85091328061&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.atmosres.2020.105264
DO - 10.1016/j.atmosres.2020.105264
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85091328061
SN - 0169-8095
VL - 248
SP - 105264
JO - Atmospheric Research
JF - Atmospheric Research
M1 - 105264
ER -