Identifying Seasonal and Diurnal Variations and the Most Frequently Impacted Zone of Aerosols in the Aral Sea Region

Abstract

With the desiccation of the Aral Sea, salt–alkali dust storms have increased in frequency and the surrounding environment has deteriorated. In order to increase our understanding of the characteristics and potential impact zone of atmospheric aerosols in the Aral Sea region, we evaluated seasonal and diurnal variation of aerosols and identified the zone most frequently impacted by aerosols from the Aral Sea region using CALIPSO data and the HYSPLIT model. The results showed that polluted dust and dust were the two most commonly observed aerosol subtypes in the Aral Sea region with the two accounting for over 75% of observed aerosols. Occurrence frequencies of polluted dust, clean continental, polluted continental/smoke, and elevated smoke showed obvious seasonal and diurnal variations, while occurrence frequency of dust only showed obvious seasonal variation. Vertically, the occurrence frequencies of all aerosol subtypes except dust showed significant diurnal variation at all levels. The thickness of polluted dust layers and dust layers exhibited same seasonal and diurnal variations with a value of more than 1.0 km year-round, and the layer thickness of clean continental and polluted continental/smoke shared the same seasonal and diurnal variation features. The zone most severely impacted by aerosols from the Aral Sea region, covering an area of approximately 2 million km2, was mainly distributed in the vicinity of the Aral Sea region, including western Kazakhstan, and most of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The results provide direct support for positioning monitoring of aeolian dust deposition and human health protection in the Aral Sea region.

Profile of desert sandy soils formed in the Aral Sea dried-up seabed

“…There is very little moisture in the profile of desert sandy soils on the water-free lands of the dried-up bottom of the Aral Sea, and in the extremely arid climate they undergo the process of transformation into automorphic soils, but it has been observed that hydromorphic (or halophytic) plants currently survive due to periodic humidity and reduce their range [5,6]. There are no new formations on these soils, they are spread mouldy on the soil.…”

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

“…Dust particles are one of the most important atmospheric pollutants, with multiple effects on air quality [1][2][3], radiative forcing and climate [4][5][6][7], cloud condensation nuclei and the hydrological cycle [5], atmospheric and environmental processes [8][9][10], snow cover and melting glaciers [11,12], ecosystems [13], and human life and welfare [14][15][16]. Desert areas are the main global dust sources [17], while dried lake beds in the continental interior may also significantly contribute to local and regional dust emissions [18][19][20][21]. Due to climate change, intense human intervention, and improper operation and management, many wetlands have been transformed into dry lake beds and dust sources in the last two decades [22][23][24].…”