The Identification of Iran’s Moisture Sources Using a Lagrangian Particle Dispersion Model

Abstract

Iran has faced many water shortage crises in the past. Iran’s moisture sources for precipitation were identified by Lagrangian approach using the FLEXible PARTicle dispersion model (FLEXPART) v9.0 model. The results demonstrate that Iran receives its moisture from both continental and oceanic sources. During the wet season, moisture uptake from the Arabian Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Mediterranean Sea is dominant, while during the dry season, the role of the Red Sea, the Caspian Sea, and the Persian Gulf is intensified. Studying drought conditions by comparing 1-month, 6-month, and 12-month standardized precipitation index (SPI) with (E-P) values of oceanic and continental moisture sources (E stands for the evaporation and P the precipitation) using multiregression model demonstrates that among oceanic sources the Arabian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Indian Ocean affect SPI values and among continental sources, moisture from bare grounds and cultivated lands influences SPI values during wet season. However, no correlation exists between oceanic and continental (E-P) and SPI values during the dry season. The results obtained by this study can be used by meteorologists and hydrology scientists for future water management programmes in Iran.

The Stable Isotope Characteristics of Precipitation in the Middle East Highlighting the Link between the Köppen Climate Classifications and the δ18O and δ2H Values of Precipitation

“…During the months of the cold and wet period, the moisture flux over the Middle East prevails from the west, transporting moisture from the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Persian Gulf. This is in agreement with previous studies [26,39]. A visual analysis reveals that the convergence of the moisture flux prevails over the Middle East during the cold and wet period.…”

Developing Meteoric Water Lines for Iran Based on Air Masses and Moisture Sources

“…Karimi and Farajzadeh [32] calculated air mass trajectories for Iran using 40-year reanalysis datasets provided by the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts, the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Numerical models such as HYSPLIT and FLEXible_PARTicle dispersion model (FLEXPART) have been used widely to identify the most important moisture sources and to determine the roles of moisture sources in supplying precipitation to remote regions in several parts of the world including Iran [1,5,10,[33][34][35][36].…”

The Role of Moisture Sources and Climatic Teleconnections in Northeastern and South-Central Iran’s Hydro-Climatology

“…During the wet period, marine moisture sources provide 52 and 40 percent of total moisture income to Shiraz and Mashhad boxes, respectively. However, during the dry period, the role of marine moisture sources highly decreases and reaches 20 and 14 percent of total moisture uptake by air masses in travel to Shiraz and Mashhad boxes, respectively [60]. During the wet period, marine moisture sources provide 52 and 40 percent of total moisture income to Shiraz and Mashhad boxes, respectively.…”

“…In the south of Iran, the role of moisture arriving from the Arabian Sea is dominant during the wet period, while the moisture sources located in the Mediterranean and the Arabian Seas are dominant in the north of Iran. During the dry period, the moisture uptake from the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf dominantly intensify in the north and south of Iran, respectively [60]. During the wet period, the roles of the Mediterranean (MedT) and Continental polar (cP) air masses in transferring moisture to the northeast of Iran (Mashhad box) are more dominant, while the continental tropical (cT) air mass transfers the dominant part of moisture to the south-central part of Iran (Shiraz box).…”