Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
Ph.D. student of Climatology, Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran
2
-Professor of Climatology, Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran
3
-Professor of Geomorphology, Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran
10.22034/gp.2025.65843.3363
Abstract
The dust cycle is an integral part of the earth system, which produces about 2000 tons of dust every year, of which 75% settles on the surface of the earth and 25% on the surface of the oceans.in this research, In this study, to study the occurrence of dust in the northwest, west, and southwest regions of the country, hourly dust data including horizontal visibility (vv) and precipitation in the 2000-2020 statistical period were obtained from the National Meteorological Organization. Also, to calculate the aerosol optical depth (AOD), data from the MODIS sensor with a spatial resolution of one kilometer for the years 2000 to 2020 for the two spring and summer seasons with an average of 6 months were prepared and processed on the Google Earth Engine platform.
The results showed that there is a negative correlation between horizontal visibility and aerosol optical depth (AOD), such that horizontal visibility decreases with increasing aerosol optical depth. Also, MODIS sensor studies on precipitation and AOD showed that the dust trend has decreased with a relatively steep slope from the southern station to the northwestern station. And stations located in the northwest of the country recorded lower levels of dust than stations in the west and southwest. However, this trend was not true for western stations. Also, the areas that experienced more rainfall had the lowest AOD, so it can be concluded that the source of dust input is the southern regions, which, with the increase in dust in the deserts and plains of the neighboring country, the amount of dust also increases in the western and southwestern provinces. Strengthening vegetation can be considered as one of the key strategies for controlling and reducing dust in arid and semi-arid areas.
Keywords
Main Subjects
)