Investigation of dust storms entering Western Iran using remotely sensed data and synoptic analysis

Background: one of the natural phenomena which have had considerable impacts on various regions of theworld, including iran, is “dust storm”. in recent years, this phenomenon has taken on new dimensions in iran andhas changed from a local problem to a national issue. this study is an attempt to investigate the formation of thedust storms crossing the western iran.methodology: to find the sources of the dust storms entering iran, first we examine three determined dust pathsin the region and their temporal activities, using modis satellite images. then, four regions were identified as dustsources through soil, land cover and wind data. finally, atmospheric analyses are implemented to find synopticpatterns inducing dust storms.results and discussion: source 1 has covered the region between the eastern banks of euphrates and westernbanks of tigris. source 2 is in desert area of western and south-western iraq. finally source 3 is bounded in easternand south-eastern deserts of saudi arabia called rub-al-khali desert, or empty quarter. moreover, south-eastern partof iraq (source 4) was also determined as a secondary source which thickens the dust masses originating from theabove mentioned sources. the study of synoptic circulations suggests that the dust storms originating from source1 are formed due to the intense pressure gradient between the low-pressure system of zagros and a high-pressurecell formed on mediterranean sea. the dust events in sources 2 and 3 are outcomes of the atmospheric circulationsdominant in the cold period of the year in mid-latitudes.