Geomorphology
Jamshid Yarahmadi; Mohammad Khosroshahi
Abstract
The extended periods of drought, decrease in vegetation, and enlargement of the salt playa at Lake Urmia have resulted in the formation of local dust hotspots on the periphery of Lake Urmia in East Azarbaijan province. The objective of this study was to examine the spatial and temporal distribution of ...
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The extended periods of drought, decrease in vegetation, and enlargement of the salt playa at Lake Urmia have resulted in the formation of local dust hotspots on the periphery of Lake Urmia in East Azarbaijan province. The objective of this study was to examine the spatial and temporal distribution of wind erosion in East Azarbaijan province using the DSI index. To achieve this, a set of weather data recorded over the past 30 years at specific codes in meteorological stations was compiled. Subsequently, the Mann-Kendall test was employed to assess the presence of a trend in the data series. Following this, the frequency of dust storms was calculated using the DSI index, and a spatial distribution map was generated in the GIS. The results of the Mann-Kendall test indicated that the slope of the trend for both local and extra-local dust storms in the province is on the rise. However, only the trend in extra-local dust storms is statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. The findings of the research revealed that the majority of the observed dust storms originate from outside the local area in East Azarbaijan province. Nevertheless, there has been a relative increase in the frequency of local dust storms in recent years, which can be attributed to the prolonged droughts resulting in reduced vegetation and the expansion of the playa of Lake Urmia. In this context, the highest frequency of dust storms has been observed at the Tabriz, Sahand, and Maragheh meteorological stations near Lake Urmia.
Geomorphology
Maryam Bayati Khatibi; Behrooz Sari Sarraf
Abstract
Today, following the drying up of Lake Urmia, new centers for wind erosion activity have been formed in the northwest of the country, and these centers have become the source of dangerous dust production. In the southeastern part of Lake Urmia, the formation of wind erosion centers can lead to irreparable ...
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Today, following the drying up of Lake Urmia, new centers for wind erosion activity have been formed in the northwest of the country, and these centers have become the source of dangerous dust production. In the southeastern part of Lake Urmia, the formation of wind erosion centers can lead to irreparable damages from the point of view of nature and human health. In this study, in order to identify wind erosion centers, changes in the water level of Lake Urmia based on the fluctuation pattern of climatic parameters using data The long-term effects of the existing stations in the Urmia Lake watershed were investigated. In order to identify the origin areas of fine walnut production and track dust storms in the studied area, horizontal visibility data below 1000 meters of meteorological data and Lagrangian HYSPLIT model in retrograde mode were used at different stations and at different levels of the atmosphere. It was used regularly and also the highest amount of dust containing 26 pressure tsars (100-1000 hectopascals) and available with a time step of 12 hours. At the same time as the first dust entered the study area, the wind direction was investigated for 24 hours before that. In the studied area (Banab and Malekan cities), the focus of wind erosion was investigated using AOD data from MACC database with a spatial accuracy of 0.125 × 0.125 geographic degrees and a daily time scale. In this study, MODIS Terra and Aqua satellites with a wavelength of 550 nm were used to generate AOD data. Day-by-day review of MODIS satellite images and the implementation of the fine dust characterization index revealed the occurrence of specific dust storms over Urmia Lake and southeast of the lake on different days. Investigations showed that extensive salt dust spreads in all parts of Lake Urmia, including the southeast of the lake in the limits of Bonab city, and the dust in this part is spread in the bed of atmospheric currents to the east and southeast for a distance of more than 140 km. In the northeast direction, they spread over 150 km in 12 hours.
