Atmosphere

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16 pages, 3805 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Rural Vulnerability to Sand and Dust Storms in Iran

by Ali Darvishi Boloorani, Masoud Soleimani, Najmeh Neysani Samany, Mohsen Bakhtiari, Masomeh Qareqani, Ramin Papi and Saham Mirzaei

Atmosphere 2023, 14(2), 281; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14020281 - 31 Jan 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1815

Abstract

Climate-related hazards such as sand and dust storms (SDS) have various impacts on human health, socio-economy, environment, and agroecosystems. Iran has been severely affected by domestic and external SDS during the last two decades. Considering the fragile economy of Iran’s rural areas and [...] Read more.

Climate-related hazards such as sand and dust storms (SDS) have various impacts on human health, socio-economy, environment, and agroecosystems. Iran has been severely affected by domestic and external SDS during the last two decades. Considering the fragile economy of Iran’s rural areas and the strong dependence of livelihood on agroecosystems, SDS cause serious damage to human communities. Therefore, there is an urgent need to conduct a vulnerability assessment for developing SDS risk mitigation plans. In this study, various components of SDS vulnerability were formulated through a geographic information system (GIS)-based integrated assessment approach using composite indicators. By implementing a GIS multiple-criteria decision analysis (GIS-MCDA) model using socioeconomic and remote sensing data, a map of rural vulnerability to SDS was produced. Our results show that about 37% of Iran’s rural areas have experienced high and very high levels of vulnerability to SDS. Rural areas in the southeast and south of Iran, especially Sistan and Baluchestan and Hormozgan provinces are more vulnerable to SDS. The findings of this study provide a basis for developing SDS disaster risk-reduction plans and enabling the authorities to prioritize SDS mitigation policies at the provincial administrative scale in Iran. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sand and Dust Storms: Impact and Mitigation Methods)

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19 pages, 24456 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Simultaneous Use of Ground-Based and Satellite Observation to Evaluate Atmospheric Air Pollution over Amman, Jordan

by Hossein Panahifar, Farizeh Bayat and Tareq Hussein

Atmosphere 2023, 14(2), 274; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14020274 - 30 Jan 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1412

Abstract

In this study, a combination of ground-based particulate matter measurements in synergy with space-borne CALIOP lidar recordings, meteorological observations, and reanalysis models have been used to study atmospheric air pollution over Amman, Jordan. The measurement was conducted over a 24-month period spanning from [...] Read more.

In this study, a combination of ground-based particulate matter measurements in synergy with space-borne CALIOP lidar recordings, meteorological observations, and reanalysis models have been used to study atmospheric air pollution over Amman, Jordan. The measurement was conducted over a 24-month period spanning from January 2018 to the end of December 2019. The CALIOP aerosol profiles and aerosol layer products version 4.21, level 2, with 5 km horizontal resolution were used to evaluate the vertical structure of the atmospheric constituent over the Amman region. The particle depolarization ratio (PDR) was extracted from CALIOP recordings and has been utilized to classify the type of atmospheric aerosols. This method reveals that the atmosphere above Amman mostly contains three different aerosol types including coarse-mode dust, fine-mode dust (polluted dust), and non-dust aerosols (pollution). Aerosols with 0 <

δ_{p} \leq

0.075 are categorized as pollution, aerosols with 0.075 <

δ_{p} \leq

0.20 as polluted dust, and aerosols with 0.20 <

δ_{p} \leq

0.40 are classified as dust. Both the one- and two-step POlarization-LIdar PHOtometer Networking (POLIPHON) approaches have been applied to the CALIOP aerosol profile product to retrieve the vertical profile of the optical and micro-physical properties of each aerosol type. Lofted-layer top heights and layer thickness in the atmosphere above Amman during the study period were also extracted from the CALIOP aerosol layer products. The highest frequency of occurrence was observed for layers with a top height of 0.5 to 2.5 km with a second smaller peak at 3.5 km. The maximum frequency of the lofted layers (40% of cases) were observed with layer thickness below 0.5 km. For layers with a top height lower than 500 m above ground level, the atmosphere was mostly impacted by polluted dust and pollution aerosols. On the other hand, for layers with a top height above 2500 m agl, the atmosphere was contaminated by depolarizing dust particles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sand and Dust Storms: Impact and Mitigation Methods)

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16 pages, 14144 KiB

Open AccessArticle

CALIPSO Observations of Sand and Dust Storms and Comparisons of Source Types near Kuwait City

by Ali H. Omar, Jason Tackett and Ali Al-Dousari

Atmosphere 2022, 13(12), 1946; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13121946 - 23 Nov 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1282

Abstract

The Lidar on the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) mission, makes robust measurements of dust and has generated a record that is significant both seasonally and interannually. We exploit this record to determine the properties of dust emanating from different [...] Read more.

The Lidar on the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) mission, makes robust measurements of dust and has generated a record that is significant both seasonally and interannually. We exploit this record to determine the properties of dust emanating from different source types during sand and dust storms (SDS). We use the relevant browsed images to describe the characteristics of the SDS layers qualitatively and the average properties quantitatively. In particular, we examine dust optical depths, dust layer frequencies, and layer heights during three sandstorms. The data are screened by using standard CALIPSO quality-assurance flags, cloud aerosol discrimination (CAD) scores, overlying features, and layer properties. To evaluate the effects of the SDS origin, phenomena such as morphology, vertical extent, and size of the dust layers, we compare probability distribution functions of the layer integrated volume depolarization ratios, geometric depths, and integrated attenuated color ratios as a function of source type. This study includes 17 individual dust storm cases observed near the city of Kuwait from three categories of sources: single source, combined sources, and unspecified sources. The strongest dust storms occurred in the summer months. The dust layers reached the highest altitudes for the combined cases. The layer top altitudes were approximately 3 km for the SDS from unspecified and single sources whereas the layer top altitudes averaged 4.1 km for the SDS from combined sources. Particles from single and combined sources recorded depolarization ratios of 0.22 and 0.23, respectively, whereas the depolarization ratios of SDS particles from unspecified sources were noticeably lower at 0.17. SDS from single sources resulted in the highest average AOD (0.66) whereas the SDS from combined sources and unspecified sources resulted in AODs of 0.41 and 0.28, respectively. Winter dust layers were disorganized, especially at night when the boundary layer was weak. The most well-organized layers close to the ground were observed in the daytime during the summer months. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sand and Dust Storms: Impact and Mitigation Methods)

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21 pages, 8461 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Success Story in Controlling Sand and Dust Storms Hotspots in the Middle East

by Ali Al-Dousari, Ali Omar, Ali Al-Hemoud, Abdulaziz Aba, Majid Alrashedi, Mohamad Alrawi, Alireza Rashki, Peter Petrov, Modi Ahmed, Noor Al-Dousari, Omar Baloshi, Meshael Jarba, Ala Esmail, Abeer Alsaleh and Teena William

Atmosphere 2022, 13(8), 1335; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13081335 - 22 Aug 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2433

Abstract

Using 30 years of satellite observations, two sand and dust storms (SDS) source locations (hotspots) were detected on the southern side of the Mesopotamian Flood Plain. Around 40 million people in the region are affected by the two hotspots, including populations in Iraq, [...] Read more.

Using 30 years of satellite observations, two sand and dust storms (SDS) source locations (hotspots) were detected on the southern side of the Mesopotamian Flood Plain. Around 40 million people in the region are affected by the two hotspots, including populations in Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Emirates. Both hotspots encompass roughly 8212 km² and contribute 11% to 85% in 2005 and 2021, respectively, of the total SDS in the region. Dust physical (particle surface area and size percentages) and chemical (mineralogy, major and trace elements, and radionuclides) properties show close similarities between source and downwind samples during SDS originated solely from the two hotspots. Deposited dust size particles show a finning trend towards the north in the Middle East compared to the south. A comprehensive assessment of the chemical and physical properties of soil and dust samples was conducted as an essential step in developing and implementing a mitigation plan in order to establish a success story in reducing SDS, improving air quality, and benefiting the gulf countries and neighboring regions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sand and Dust Storms: Impact and Mitigation Methods)

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26 pages, 5470 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Improved Air Quality Index Machine Learning-Based Forecasting with Multivariate Data Imputation Approach

by Hanin Alkabbani, Ashraf Ramadan, Qinqin Zhu and Ali Elkamel

Atmosphere 2022, 13(7), 1144; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13071144 - 18 Jul 2022

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3862

Abstract

Accurate, timely air quality index (AQI) forecasting helps industries in selecting the most suitable air pollution control measures and the public in reducing harmful exposure to pollution. This article proposes a comprehensive method to forecast AQIs. Initially, the work focused on predicting hourly [...] Read more.

Accurate, timely air quality index (AQI) forecasting helps industries in selecting the most suitable air pollution control measures and the public in reducing harmful exposure to pollution. This article proposes a comprehensive method to forecast AQIs. Initially, the work focused on predicting hourly ambient concentrations of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ using artificial neural networks. Once the method was developed, the work was extended to the prediction of other criteria pollutants, i.e., O_3, SO₂, NO₂, and CO, which fed into the process of estimating AQI. The prediction of the AQI not only requires the selection of a robust forecasting model, it also heavily relies on a sequence of pre-processing steps to select predictors and handle different issues in data, including gaps. The presented method dealt with this by imputing missing entries using missForest, a machine learning-based imputation technique which employed the random forest (RF) algorithm. Unlike the usual practice of using RF at the final forecasting stage, we utilized RF at the data pre-processing stage, i.e., missing data imputation and feature selection, and we obtained promising results. The effectiveness of this imputation method was examined against a linear imputation method for the six criteria pollutants and the AQI. The proposed approach was validated against ambient air quality observations for Al-Jahra, a major city in Kuwait. Results obtained showed that models trained using missForest-imputed data could generalize AQI forecasting and with a prediction accuracy of 92.41% when tested on new unseen data, which is better than earlier findings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sand and Dust Storms: Impact and Mitigation Methods)

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Graphical abstract

17 pages, 2653 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring Meteorological Conditions and Human Health Impacts during Two Dust Storm Events in Northern Cape Province, South Africa: Findings and Lessons Learnt

by Vusumuzi Nkosi, Angela Mathee, Suzana Blesic, Thandi Kapwata, Zamantimande Kunene, David Jean du Preez, Rebecca Garland and Caradee Yael Wright

Atmosphere 2022, 13(3), 424; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13030424 - 05 Mar 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2613

Abstract

Dust storms are meteorological hazards associated with several adverse health impacts including eye irritations, respiratory and cardiovascular disorders, and vehicular road accidents due to poor visibility. This study investigated relations between admissions from a large, public hospital that serves people living in Northern [...] Read more.

Dust storms are meteorological hazards associated with several adverse health impacts including eye irritations, respiratory and cardiovascular disorders, and vehicular road accidents due to poor visibility. This study investigated relations between admissions from a large, public hospital that serves people living in Northern Cape and Free State provinces, South Africa during 2011 to 2017, and meteorological variables (temperature and air quality) during two dust storms, one in October 2014 (spring) and the second in January 2016 (summer), identified from the media as no repository of such events exists for South Africa. Distributed nonlinear lag analysis and wavelet transform analysis were applied to explore the relationships between hospital admissions for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, eye irritation, and motor vehicle accidents; maximum temperature, and two air quality ‘proxy measures,’ aerosol optical depth and Ångström exponent, were used as ground-based air quality data were unavailable. Eye irritation was the most common dust-related hospital admission after both dust storm events. No statistically significant changes in admissions of interest occurred at the time of the two dust storm events, using either of the statistical methods. Several lessons were learnt. For this type of study, ground-based air quality and local wind data are required; alternative statistical methods of analysis should be considered; and a central dust storm repository would help analyze more than two events. Future studies in South Africa are needed to develop a baseline for comparison of future dust storm events and their impacts on human health. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sand and Dust Storms: Impact and Mitigation Methods)

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Review

Jump to: Research

20 pages, 5325 KiB

Open AccessReview

Impact of North African Sand and Dust Storms on the Middle East Using Iraq as an Example: Causes, Sources, and Mitigation

by Salih Muhammad Awadh

Atmosphere 2023, 14(1), 180; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14010180 - 13 Jan 2023

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5571

Abstract

This study aims to determine the reasons for the increase in the frequency of sand and dust storms in the Middle East and to identify their sources and mitigate them. A set of climatic data from 60 years (1960–2022) was analyzed. Sand storms [...] Read more.

This study aims to determine the reasons for the increase in the frequency of sand and dust storms in the Middle East and to identify their sources and mitigate them. A set of climatic data from 60 years (1960–2022) was analyzed. Sand storms in Iraq are a silty sand mature arkose composed of 72.7% sand, 25.1% silt, and 2.19% clay; the clay fraction in dust storms constitutes 70%, with a small amount of silt (20.6%) and sand (9.4%). Dust and sand storms (%) are composed of quartz (49.2, 67.1), feldspar (4.9, 20.9), calcite (38, 5), gypsum (4.8, 0.4), dolomite (0.8, 1.0), and heavy minerals (3.2, 6.6). Increasing temperatures in Iraq, by an average of 2 °C for sixty years, have contributed to an increase in the number of dust storms from 75 to 200 times annually. North African storms affect the Middle East, with a monthly average exceeding 300 g/m³ in peak dust seasons. To reduce the negative impacts on public health, property, and infrastructure, the study suggests solutions to mitigate them, including reducing carbon dioxide gas emissions to prevent the expansion of drought and the afforestation of the desert with plants adapted to drought using advanced techniques and avoiding land overuse. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sand and Dust Storms: Impact and Mitigation Methods)

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13 pages, 1190 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Methodological Review of Tools That Assess Dust Microbiomes, Metatranscriptomes and the Particulate Chemistry of Indoor Dust

by Yousef Nazzal, Fares M. Howari, Aya Yaslam, Jibran Iqbal, Lina Maloukh, Lakshmi Kesari Ambika, Ahmed A. Al-Taani, Ijaz Ali, Eman M. Othman, Arshad Jamal and Muhammad Naseem

Atmosphere 2022, 13(8), 1276; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13081276 - 11 Aug 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2257

Abstract

Indoor house dust is a blend of organic and inorganic materials, upon which diverse microbial communities such as viruses, bacteria and fungi reside. Adequate moisture in the indoor environment helps microbial communities multiply fast. The outdoor air and materials that are brought into [...] Read more.

Indoor house dust is a blend of organic and inorganic materials, upon which diverse microbial communities such as viruses, bacteria and fungi reside. Adequate moisture in the indoor environment helps microbial communities multiply fast. The outdoor air and materials that are brought into the buildings by airflow, sandstorms, animals pets and house occupants endow the indoor dust particles with extra features that impact human health. Assessment of the health effects of indoor dust particles, the type of indoor microbial inoculants and the secreted enzymes by indoor insects as allergens merit detailed investigation. Here, we discuss the applications of next generation sequencing (NGS) technology which is used to assess microbial diversity and abundance of the indoor dust environments. Likewise, the applications of NGS are discussed to monitor the gene expression profiles of indoor human occupants or their surrogate cellular models when exposed to aqueous solution of collected indoor dust samples. We also highlight the detection methods of dust allergens and analytical procedures that quantify the chemical nature of indoor particulate matter with a potential impact on human health. Our review is thus unique in advocating the applications of interdisciplinary approaches that comprehensively assess the health effects due to bad air quality in built environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sand and Dust Storms: Impact and Mitigation Methods)

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