Dr Elham Mobarak Hassan, Dr Ebrahim Fatahi, Dr Abass Ranjbar Saadat Abadi, Dr Nasim Hossein Hamzeh,
Volume 23, Issue 71 (12-2023)
Abstract
The Great Khorasan in northeast Iran has a variety of surface structures and plains and high peaks, but due to its vicinity to the deserts of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, it is affected by dust all the time, especially in summer. The purpose of this study was to simulate summer dust in this region by RegCM model. For this purpose, during the period 2000 to 2017, three extreme dust events were selected. The satellite image used to confirmed dust mass presence and then the synoptic structure was analyzed. Finally, the simulation results of RegCM 4.6 model were compared with the observational data including the horizontal visibility and aerosol optical depth (AOD) of Aqua satellite. The synoptic analysis showed that during the summer, low thermal pressures form in the southern Afghanistan and high pressure in the north. This structure lead to the development of north and northeast winds with speeds of 12 to 21 m / s and dust emission on the eastern border of Iran and western Afghanistan. Investigation of RegCM accuracy done by visibility, Aquas’s AOD showed that model performance in South Khorasan is better as Razavi Khorasan. The highest correlation coefficients of AOD of model and horizontal visibility were obtained at Khorasan central stations including Gonabad, Ferdows, Nahaband and Ghaen at -0.82, -0.77 and -0.44 respectively. RegCM model performed a better dust simulation in severe dust with a horizontal visibility down to less than 1000 m, high continuity and horizontal extension. Overall, the RegCM model underestimates the AOD value for the Aqua satellite algorithm.
Dr Sara Karami, Dr Nasim Hossein Hamzeh, Dr Abbas Ranjbar,
Volume 24, Issue 74 (9-2024)
Abstract
Today, dust storms affect the lives of many people around the world and cause a lot of financial and human losses. Every year, Iran is affected by dust storms caused by internal sources and external dust sources located in neighboring countries. Semnan province has several dust-producing sources due to its geographical location, that affect not only this province, but also the neighboring provinces. The purpose of this study is to investigate the dust phenomenon of Semnan province and its monthly changes in the 15-year period, between 2003 and 2017. For this purpose, meteorological stations data of the province and the aerosol optical depth of satellite product have been investigated. Also, GOCART model has been used to estimate the amount of dust emissions from this region and to determine the vertical dust flux in Semnan province. The study of average dust flux showed that the highest values of dust flux was in the southeast of Shahroud and then in the south of Shahroud, Damghan and Sorkheh. A monthly investigation showed that in all months, the average AOD in the southern half of Semnan province was higher than in the northern half. The highest levels of AOD were in May, April and June, and the highest amounts of dust flux were observed in March, June and July. Also, the prevailing wind direction was northeast and northeast, and this factor causes dust particles rising from this region and dust loading in the south of Semnan province and areas of Isfahan, Yazd and South Khorasan provinces.
