Evaluation of WRF-Chem Predictions for Dust Deposition in Southwestern Iran

Foroushani, Mansour A.; Opp, Christian; Groll, Michael; Nikfal, Amirhossein

doi:10.3390/atmos11070757

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…The dust events over the region are attributed to local emissions from the arid terrains, but mostly to transported dust storms of various intensity from the Mesopotamia plains and deserts in Iraq and Syria. Previous studies have shown that the dust particle size and composition play a major role in source apportionment of the dust storms, emission, and deposition rates [107][108][109][110][111]. The deposited dust in Ahvaz was found to be composed of ~80% of carbonates, followed by quartz (~13%) [112], while a recent work justified this mineralogical composition [113].…”

Section: Evolution Of Dust Days In Sw Iranmentioning

confidence: 97%

Long-Term Variability of Dust Events in Southwestern Iran and Its Relationship with the Drought

et al. 2021

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Dust storms represent a major environmental challenge in the Middle East. The southwest part of Iran is highly affected by dust events transported from neighboring desert regions, mostly from the Iraqi plains and Saudi Arabia, as well as from local dust storms. This study analyzes the spatio-temporal distribution of dust days at five meteorological stations located in southwestern Iran covering a period of 22 years (from 1997 to 2018). Dust codes (06, 07, 30 to 35) from meteorological observations are analyzed at each station, indicating that 84% of the dust events are not of local origin. The average number of dust days maximizes in June and July (188 and 193, respectively), while the dust activity weakens after August. The dust events exhibit large inter-annual variability, with statistically significant increasing trends in all of five stations. Spatial distributions of the aerosol optical depth (AOD), dust loading, and surface dust concentrations from a moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA-2) retrievals reveal high dust accumulation over southwest Iran and surrounding regions. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of the (MODIS)-AOD trend (%) over southwest Iran indicates a large spatial heterogeneity during 2000–2018 with trends ranging mostly between −9% and 9% (not statistically significant). 2009 was the most active dust year, followed by 2011 and 2008, due to prolonged drought conditions in the fertile crescent and the enhanced dust emissions in the Iraqi plains during this period. In these years, the AOD was much higher than the 19-year average (2000 to 2018), while July 2009 was the dustiest month with about 25–30 dust days in each station. The years with highest dust activity were associated with less precipitation, negative anomalies of the vegetation health index (VHI) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) over the Iraqi plains and southwest Iran, and favorable meteorological dynamics triggering stronger winds.

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Section: Evolution Of Dust Days In Sw Iranmentioning

confidence: 97%

Long-Term Variability of Dust Events in Southwestern Iran and Its Relationship with the Drought

et al. 2021

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“…The WRF model is widely used for investigations of local and regional weather conditions [80,81]. In Iran the model has been used for investigations of rainfall, evaporation, and dust concentrations [82][83][84]. In this study, the model area was centered at 32 • N and 55 • W. For the best model performance, initially, different planetary boundary layer (PBL) schemes were coupled in the WRF model, and then the best evaluation between them (quasi-normal scale elimination scheme; QNSE PBL) was chosen for the long-term runs of WRF.…”

Section: Wrf Model Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Importance of Wind Simulations over Dried Lake Beds for Dust Emissions in the Middle East

Hamzeh,

Abadi,

Kaskaoutis

et al. 2023

Atmosphere

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Dust storms are one of the major environmental hazards affecting the Middle East countries, and largely originate in vast deserts and narrow dried lake beds. This study analyzes the inter-annual variation in dust weather conditions from 2000 to 2020 using data obtained from ten meteorological stations located around dried (completely or partly) lakes in Northwest (Urmia Lake) and South (Bakhtegan Lake) Iran. Since the wind regime is one of the most important factors controlling dust emissions in the dust source areas, wind speed simulations from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model for 134,113 grid points covering the Middle East area, with a resolution of 5 km, were analyzed and compared with wind measurements at the stations around Urmia and Bakhtegan Lakes from 2005 to 2015. The analysis shows that the annual number of dust days was highly variable, presenting a significant increase at the stations around Urmia Lake during 2008–2011 and at the stations around Bakhtegan Lake in 2007–2012. Eleven years of WRF simulations of the mean diurnal wind patterns revealed that the highest 10 m wind speed occurred mostly around the local noon (12 to 15 UTC), generally coinciding with the majority of the reported dust codes within this time frame, as a result of the association between wind speed and dust emissions (dust weather conditions) around these lake basins. Consequently, accurate wind simulation has high importance for unbiased numerical prediction and forecasting of dust conditions. The comparison between the measured mean monthly 10 m wind speed and WRF-simulated 10 m wind speed revealed that the model overestimated wind data in all the stations around the Bakhtegan Lake but performed better at reconstructing the wind speeds at stations around Urmia Lake. Furthermore, notable differences were observed between measured and simulated wind directions, thus leading to uncertainties in the simulations of the dust-plume transport.

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“…Westphal et al (1987) used numerical models to characterize the dust transport for areas without or with only a small number of meteorological stations. Foroushani et al (2020) (UNEP et al 2016), while the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) provides operational information on dust, sand, smoke, and volcanic aerosols affecting the save operation of the transport system and the use of solar power (CAMS-Copernicus Atmoshere Monitoring Service 2021).…”

Section: Sds Observation By Remote Sensing and Lidar (Summary)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Due to the existence of a very large number of case studies on SDS problems, including analyses both on-site and using remote sensing detection methods (Furman 2003;Miller 2003;Goudie and Middleton 2006;Walker et al 2009; Engelbrecht and Derbyshire 2010; Akhlaq et al 2012;Ginoux et al 2012;Groll et al 2013;Lancaster et al 2013;Rashki et al 2013;Sissakian et al 2013;Nabavi et al 2016;Opp et al 2016;Middleton 2017;Abbasi et al 2018;Groll et al 2018;Groll et al 2019;Foroushani et al 2020), the objective of this study is not to repeat these published results. The majority of SDS publications do not focus on a comprehensive approach integrating the causes, the wide range of effects on different natural, economic, and social spheres, and the side-effects associated with SDS consequences.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Causes and Effects of Sand and Dust Storms: What Has Past Research Taught Us? A Survey

Opp

Groll

Abbasi

et al. 2021

JRFM

Self Cite

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Barren ground and sites with low coverage by vegetation (e.g., dunes, soil surfaces, dry lakes, and riverbeds) are the main source areas of sand and dust storms (SDS). The understanding of causes, processes (abrasion, deflation, transport, deposition), and influencing factors of sandy and dusty particles moving by wind both in the boundary layer and in the atmosphere are basic prerequisites to distinguish between SDS. Dust transport in the atmosphere modulates radiation, ocean surface temperature, climate, as well as snow and ice cover. The effects of airborne particles on land are varied and can cause advantages and disadvantages, both in source areas and in sink or deposition areas, with disturbances of natural environments and anthropogenic infrastructure. Particulate matter in general and SDS specifically can cause severe health problems in human respiratory and other organs, especially in children. Economic impacts can be equally devastating, but the costs related to SDS are not thoroughly studied. The available data show huge economic damages caused by SDS and by the mitigation of their effects. Management of SDS-related hazards utilizes remote sensing techniques, on-site observations, and protective measures. Integrated strategies are necessary during both the planning and monitoring of these measures. Such integrated strategies can be successful when they are developed and implemented in close cooperation with the local and regional population and stakeholders.

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Evaluation of WRF-Chem Predictions for Dust Deposition in Southwestern Iran

Cited by 15 publications

References 58 publications

Long-Term Variability of Dust Events in Southwestern Iran and Its Relationship with the Drought

Long-Term Variability of Dust Events in Southwestern Iran and Its Relationship with the Drought

The Importance of Wind Simulations over Dried Lake Beds for Dust Emissions in the Middle East

Causes and Effects of Sand and Dust Storms: What Has Past Research Taught Us? A Survey

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