Dust Storm Monitoring Using HYSPLIT Model and NDDI (Case Study: Southern Cities of Shiraz, Bushehr and Fasa, Iran)

Abstract

The occurrence of dust storms and their sources in the southern and central parts of Iran during the period of 2002 to 2009 was investigated. For this purpose, the meteorological and synoptic data, data from the middle and upper atmosphere, and wind flow tracking model were used. Dust storms and NDDI were traced using satellite imagery from Fasa, Shiraz, and Bushehr stations. Analysis of the ground data indicated that one of the strongest storms occurred in 2008 and the most intense dusty day was June 10, 2008. The results of tracing wind flow in the fiercest dusty day using HYSPLIT model indicated that dust masses originated from the western parts of Iraq and eastern Syria and transported by the northwest winds in the region. The results indicated that west winds are caused by the presence of the low pressure air mass in the center of Iran and the high pressure air mass in the northeast of Africa. It is concluded that terrestrial measurements, weather patterns, tracing wind flow model and NDDI index have suitable capability to detect the movement of dust storms.