Investigating the rare phenomenon of dust in the southern shores of the Caspian Sea
Abstract
Introduction: Climate change-driven droughts have intensified dust storms, expanding their impact to regions that previously experienced little to no dust. One such area is the southern shores of the Caspian Sea.
Materials and methods: This study investigated three severe dust cases along the southern Caspian coast, originating from various sources both inside and outside of Iran. A combination of satellite data, reanalysis data, and numerical model outputs was analyzed. The dust surface concentration output from the
WRF-Chem model’s 36- and 48-h forecasts was qualitatively compared with the dust patterns from MERRA2 reanalysis data.
Results: Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellite data confirmed the presence of dust from near the surface to over 5 km in altitude, allowing dust to cross the Alborz range. Satellite imagery and Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model outputs revealed that dust over the southern Caspian coast originated from three sources: northern Iraq, central Iran, and western Turkmenistan. Comparing Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)-Chem model outputs with reanalysis data demonstrated that the model accurately predicted dust events along the southern Caspian shores in all three cases, though its precision is not yet suitable for quantitative comparison.
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, dust in the northern provinces of Iran is emitted from three dust sources in northern Iraq, central Iran, and Turkmenistan. Also, the WRF-Chem model has been able to predict the dust transport from these different dust sources to northern Iran. However, it can be stated that the accuracy of the outputs is still not suitable for quantitative comparison.
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26. Grell GA. Prognostic evaluation of assumptions used by cumulus parameterizations. Monthly weather review. 1993 Mar;121(3):764-87.
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28. Bacmeister JT, Suarez MJ, Robertson FR. Rain reevaporation, boundary layer–convection interactions, and Pacific rainfall patterns in an AGCM. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences. 2006 Dec 1;63(12):3383-403.
29. Koster RD, Suarez MJ, Ducharne A, Stieglitz M, Kumar P. A catchment‐based approach to modeling land surface processes in a general circulation model: 1. Model structure. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 2000 Oct 27;105(D20):24809-22.
30. Stendel M, Francis J, White R, Williams PD, Woollings T. The jet stream and climate change. InClimate change 2021 Jan 1 (pp. 327-357). Elsevier.
31. Hamzeh NH, Karami S, Kaskaoutis DG, Tegen I, Moradi M, Opp C. Atmospheric dynamics and numerical simulations of six frontal dust storms in the Middle East region. Atmosphere. 2021 Jan 18;12(1):125.
32. Sobhani B, Jafarzadeh Aliabad L, Mohamadi GH. Investigating the horizontal visibility characteristics in the southern coasts of the Caspian Sea using the extinction coefficient. Journal of Environmental Science Studies. 2024 Oct 22;9(2):8466-51.
33. Rashki A, Kaskaoutis DG, Sepehr A. Statistical evaluation of the dust events at selected stations in Southwest Asia: From the Caspian Sea to the Arabian Sea. Catena. 2018 Jun 1;165:590-603.
34. Karami S, Kaskaoutis DG, Kashani SS, Rahnama M, Rashki A. Evaluation of nine operational models in forecasting different types of synoptic dust events in the Middle East. Geosciences. 2021 Nov 7;11(11):458.
35. Kishcha P, Alpert P, Shtivelman A, Krichak SO, Joseph JH, Kallos G, Katsafados P, Spyrou C, Gobbi GP, Barnaba F, Nickovic S. Forecast errors in dust vertical distributions over Rome (Italy): Multiple particle size representation and cloud contributions. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 2007 Aug 16;112(D15).
2. Jasim SA, Mohammadi MJ, Patra I, Jalil AT, Taherian M, Abdullaeva UY, et al. The effect of microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) in dust storm on human health. Reviews on Environmental Health. 2024 Mar 25;39(1):65-75.
3. Middleton N, Al-Hemoud A. Sand and Dust Storms: Recent Developments in Impact Mitigation. Sustainability. 2024 Aug 19;16(16):7121.
4. Garaga R, Vaishnavi A, Dammala PK. Climate Change and Desert Dust Storms Induced Public Health Impacts on Rural Inhabitants of Western India. InSustainability and Health Informatics: A Systems Approach to Address the Climate Action Induced Global Challenge 2024 Sep 24 (pp. 273-281). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
5. Rashki A, Middleton NJ, Goudie AS. Dust storms in Iran–Distribution, causes, frequencies and impacts. Aeolian Research. 2021 Jan 1;48:100655.
6. Song C, Guo Z, Liu Z, Hongyun Z, Liu R, Zhang H. Application of photovoltaics on different types of land in China: Opportunities, status and challenges. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2024 Mar 1;191:114146.
7. Wang K, Sun L, Wang J, Liu L. The electricity, industrial, and agricultural sectors under changing climate: Adaptation and mitigation in China. National Science Open. 2024 Jan 1;3(1):20230023.
8. Broomandi P, Dabir B, Bonakdarpour B, Rashidi Y. Identification of dust storm origin in South–West of Iran. Journal of Environmental Health Science and Engineering. 2017 Dec;15:1-4.
9. Ahmadi Foroushani M, Opp C, Groll M. Investigation of Aeolian dust deposition rates in different climate zones of Southwestern Iran. Atmosphere. 2021 Feb 7;12(2):229.
10. Norouzi S, Khademi H, Ayoubi S, Cano AF, Acosta JA. Seasonal and spatial variations in dust deposition rate and concentrations of dust-borne heavy metals, a case study from Isfahan, central Iran. Atmospheric Pollution Research. 2017 Jul 1;8(4):686-99.
11. Hojati S, Khademi H, Cano AF, Landi A. Characteristics of dust deposited along a transect between central Iran and the Zagros Mountains. Catena. 2012 Jan 1;88(1):27-36.
12. Asadi Oskouei E, Negah S and Farid Mojtahedi N. Penetration and distribution of dust in west-southern coast of Caspian Sea. The 2nd International Conference on Plant, Water, Soil and Weather Modeling. 2013 Kerman, Iran.
13. Mostofie N, Fataei E, Hezhabrpour Gh KZ. Assessment centers and distribution centers dust(case study: NorthWest, Iran). International Journal of Farming and Allied Sciences. 2014;3(2):235-43.
14. Baghi M, Rashki A, Mahmudy Gharaie MH. Investigation of Chemical and Mineralogical Properties of Dust Entering Northeastern Iran and its Pathogenic Potential. Journal of Geography and Environmental Hazards. 2020 May 21;9(1):139-53.
15. Ghaffarian P, Negah S, Farid Mojtahedi N and Abed H. Simulation of fine dust emitted from the desert of Turkmenistan to the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. Applied Researches in Geographical Sciences. 2015;15(38):141-164.
16. Karami S, Ghassabi Z, Rezazadeh P. Investigating the mechanism of dust transferring from Iraq to the north of Alborz mountains in Iran. Journal of Air Pollution and Health. 2022 Dec 18;7(4):375-98.
17. Abdi Vishkaee F, Flamant C, Cuesta J, Oolman L, Flamant P, Khalesifard HR. Dust transport over Iraq and northwest Iran associated with winter Shamal: A case study. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 2012 Feb 16;117(D3).
18. Boloorani AD, Nabavi SO, Bahrami HA, Mirzapour F, Kavosi M, Abasi E, Azizi R. Investigation of dust storms entering Western Iran using remotely sensed data and synoptic analysis. Journal of Environmental Health Science and Engineering. 2014 Dec;12:1-2.
19. Momenpour F. Dust hazard in southwest area of Caspian Sea. Second International Conference on Environmental Hazards. 2012 Tehran, Iran.
20. Hong SY, Dudhia J, Chen SH. A revised approach to ice microphysical processes for the bulk parameterization of clouds and precipitation. Monthly weather review. 2004 Jan 1;132(1):103-20.
21. Mlawer EJ, Taubman SJ, Brown PD, Iacono MJ, Clough SA. Radiative transfer for inhomogeneous atmospheres: RRTM, a validated correlated‐k model for the longwave. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 1997 Jul 27;102(D14):16663-82.
22. Chou MD, Suarez MJ. A solar radiation parameterization for atmospheric studies. 1999 Jun 1.
23. Chen F, Kusaka H, Tewari M, Bao JW, Hirakuchi H. Utilizing the coupled WRF/LSM/Urban modeling system with detailed urban classification to simulate the urban heat island phenomena over the Greater Houston area. InFifth Symposium on the Urban Environment. 2004 Aug 23 (Vol. 25, pp. 9-11). American Meteorological Society Vancouver, BC, Canada.
24. Noh Y, Cheon WG, Hong SY, Raasch S. Improvement of the K-profile model for the planetary boundary layer based on large eddy simulation data. Boundary-layer meteorology. 2003 May;107:401-27.
25. Hong SY, Lim JO. The WRF single-moment 6-class microphysics scheme (WSM6). Asia-Pacific Journal of Atmospheric Sciences. 2006 Apr;42(2):129-51.
26. Grell GA. Prognostic evaluation of assumptions used by cumulus parameterizations. Monthly weather review. 1993 Mar;121(3):764-87.
27. Lin SJ. A “vertically Lagrangian” finite-volume dynamical core for global models. Monthly Weather Review. 2004 Oct 1;132(10):2293-307.
28. Bacmeister JT, Suarez MJ, Robertson FR. Rain reevaporation, boundary layer–convection interactions, and Pacific rainfall patterns in an AGCM. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences. 2006 Dec 1;63(12):3383-403.
29. Koster RD, Suarez MJ, Ducharne A, Stieglitz M, Kumar P. A catchment‐based approach to modeling land surface processes in a general circulation model: 1. Model structure. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 2000 Oct 27;105(D20):24809-22.
30. Stendel M, Francis J, White R, Williams PD, Woollings T. The jet stream and climate change. InClimate change 2021 Jan 1 (pp. 327-357). Elsevier.
31. Hamzeh NH, Karami S, Kaskaoutis DG, Tegen I, Moradi M, Opp C. Atmospheric dynamics and numerical simulations of six frontal dust storms in the Middle East region. Atmosphere. 2021 Jan 18;12(1):125.
32. Sobhani B, Jafarzadeh Aliabad L, Mohamadi GH. Investigating the horizontal visibility characteristics in the southern coasts of the Caspian Sea using the extinction coefficient. Journal of Environmental Science Studies. 2024 Oct 22;9(2):8466-51.
33. Rashki A, Kaskaoutis DG, Sepehr A. Statistical evaluation of the dust events at selected stations in Southwest Asia: From the Caspian Sea to the Arabian Sea. Catena. 2018 Jun 1;165:590-603.
34. Karami S, Kaskaoutis DG, Kashani SS, Rahnama M, Rashki A. Evaluation of nine operational models in forecasting different types of synoptic dust events in the Middle East. Geosciences. 2021 Nov 7;11(11):458.
35. Kishcha P, Alpert P, Shtivelman A, Krichak SO, Joseph JH, Kallos G, Katsafados P, Spyrou C, Gobbi GP, Barnaba F, Nickovic S. Forecast errors in dust vertical distributions over Rome (Italy): Multiple particle size representation and cloud contributions. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 2007 Aug 16;112(D15).
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 10 No 2 (2025): Spring 2025 | |
| Section | Original Research | |
| Keywords | ||
| Dust; Southern shores; Caspian sea; Hybrid single-particle lagrangian integrated trajectory (HYSPLIT); Cloud-Aerosol lidar and infrared pathfinder satellite observations (CALIPSO) | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Ghassabi Z, Karami S. Investigating the rare phenomenon of dust in the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. JAPH. 2025;10(2):243-268.
