Analysis of the severe group dust storms in eastern part of Northwest China

Based on the available original dust storm records from 60 meteorological stations, we discussed the identification standard of severe dust storms at a single station and constructed a quite complete time series of severe group dust storms in the eastern part of Northwest China in 1954–2001. The result shows that there were 99 severe group dust storms in this region in recent 48 years. The spatial distribution indicates that the Alax Plateau, most parts of the Ordos Plateau and most parts of the Hexi Corridor are the main areas influenced by severe group dust storms. In addition, the season and the month with the most frequent severe group dust storms are spring and April, accounting for 78.8% and 41.4% of the total events respectively. During the past 48 years the lowest rate of severe group dust storms occurred in the 1990s. Compared with the other 4 decades, on the average, the duration and the affected area of severe group dust storms are relatively short and small during the 1990s. In 2000 and 2001, there were separately 4 severe group dust storms as the higher value after 1983 in the eastern part of Northwest China.

The diurnal transport of atmospheric water vapor during major dust storms on Mars based on the Mars Climate Database,version 5.3

In recent studies of the Martian atmosphere,strong diurnal variation in the dust was discovered in the southern hemisphere during major dust storms,which provides strong evidence that the commonly recognized meridional transport process is driven by thermal tides.This process,when coupled with deep convection,could be an important part of the short-term atmospheric dynamics of water escape.However,the potential of this process to alter the horizontal distribution of moist air has not been systematically investigated.In this work,we conducted pre-research on the horizontal transport of water vapor associated with the migrating diurnal tide(DW1)at 50 Pa in the upper troposphere during major dust storms based on the Mars Climate Database(MCD)5.3,a state-of-the-art database for Martian atmospheric research that has been validated as simulating the relevant short-period atmospheric dynamics well.We found westward-propagating diurnal patterns in the global water vapor front during nearly all the major dust storms from Martian years(MYs)24 to 32.Statistical and correlation analyses showed that the diurnal transport of water vapor during global and A-season regional dust storms is dominated by the DW1.The effect of the tidal transport of water vapor varies with the types of dust storms in different seasons.During regional dust storms,the tidal transport induces only limited diurnal motion of the water vapor.However,the horizontal tidal wind tends to increase the abundance of daytime water vapor at mid-to low latitudes during the MY 28 southern summer global dust storm while decreasing it during the MY 25 southern spring global dust storm.The tidal transport process during these two global dust storms can induce opposite effects on water escape.

Saline-Alkali(Mixed) Dust Storms and Their Main Generation Mechanism

The exposed surface of the dry salt lake basin contains a large number of extremely fine lightweight saline-alkali(mixed)dust and clay dust.It is extremely easy to dust and since saline-alkali lake is low-lying and its temperature

Climatic Characteristics of Dust Storms in Jordan

This study is devoted to examine the climate characteristics of the Dust Storms (DS) with visibility 0 - 1 km that occurred in Jordan for the period 1988 to 2018. It is found that the DS varies temporally and spatially, as the largest number of DS occurred in 2003 (36 DS) and the lowest occurred in 1999 (one DS). The average was 17.22 DS with the coefficient of variation of 45%, the DS durations ranged from 1 - 4 days, most of them occurred in spring (54.1%) especially in April (22.2%). The DS increased southward and eastward directions, they increased from 13 DS in Irbid in the north to 182 DS in Al-Jafr in the south and to 102 DS in Safawi in the east. The results showed positive relationships between wind speeds. There were negative relationships with relative humidity, pressure and rainfall, and there was no relationship between DS and the maximum temperature.

Salt Desert and Saline-Ackaline Mixed Dust Storms:An Ignored Issure for Global Climate Change

Salt desert,saline-alkaline dust storm and saline-alkaline mixed dust storm are significant but ignored problems for a long time.After many years of observations and researches,the author believes that salt desert,saline-alkaline dust

Saline dust storms and their ecological impacts in arid regions

In many arid and semiarid regions,saline playas represent a significant source of unconsoli-dated sediments available for aeolian transport,and severe saline dust storms occur frequently due to human disturbance.In this study,saline dust storms are reviewed systematically from the aspects of con-cept,general characteristics,conditions of occurrence,distribution and ecological impact.Our researches showed that saline dust storms are a kind of chemical dust storm originating in dry lake beds in arid and semiarid regions;large areas of unconsolidated saline playa sediments and frequent strong winds are the basic factors to saline dust storm occurrence;there are differentiation characteristics in deposition flux and chemical composition with wind-blown distance during saline dust storm diffusion;and saline dust storm diffusion to some extent increases glacier melt and results in soil salinization in arid regions.An under-standing of saline dust storms is important to guide disaster prevention and ecological rehabilitation.

Dust storms evolution in Taklimakan Desert and its correlation with climatic parameters

Based on the sand dust storms data and climatic data in 12 meteorological stations around sand dust storm originating areas of the Taklimakan Desert, we analyzed the trends of the number of dust storm days from 1960 to 2005 as well as their correlations with temperature, precipitation, wind speed and the number of days with mean wind speed 〉 5 m/s. The results show that the frequency of dust storm events in the Taklimakan region decreased with the elapse of time. Except Ruoqiang and Minfeng, in the other 10 meteorological stations, the frequency of dust storm events reduces, and in 4 meteorological stations of Kuqa, Korla, Kalpin and Hotan, the frequency of dust storm events distinctly decreases. The temperature has an increasing trend, while the average wind speed and the number of days with mean wind speed ≥ 5 m/s have decreasing trends. The correlation analysis between the number of days of dust storms and climatic parameters demonstrates that wind speed and the number of days with mean wind speed 〉 5 m/s have strong positive correlation with the number of days of dust storms, with the correlations coefficients being 0.743 and 0.720 （p〈0.01）, respectively, which indicates that strong wind is the direct factor resulting in sand dust storms. Whereas precipitation has significant negative correlation with the number of days of dust storms （p〈0.01）, and the prior annual precipitation has also negative correlation, which indicates that the prior precipitation restrains the occurrence of sand dust storms, but this restraining action is weaker than the same year＇s precipitation. Temperature has negative correlation with the number of dust storm days, with a correlations coefficient of -0.433 （p〈0.01）, which means that temperature change also has impacts on the occurrence of dust storm events in the Taklimakan region.

An investigation of the effects of dust storms on rat lung using HRCT and blood gas analysis

The increasing intensity and frequency of sand-dust storms in China has led to greater prominence of associated environmentaland health issues. Many studies have focused on the health effects of air particulate contaminants, but fewformal investigations have studied the effects of sand-dust storms on human and animal health. The aim of this study wasto investigate the effects of dust storms on rat lung by using high resolution computed tomography （HRCT） and blood gasanalysis through a wind tunnel simulating. We found that the rat lung damage effects can be detected by the HRCT imagingafter exposure to sand-dust storm environments, but had no obvious result through blood gas analysis. Exposure durationspositively correlated with the damage degree to lung tissue. These will provide some evidence for clinical diagnosis ofnon-occupational pneumoconiosis.

Chemical Characteristics of Carbonaceous Aerosols During Dust Storms over Xi'an in China

Characterization of carbonaceous aerosols including CC （carbonate carbon）, OC （organic carbon）, and EC （elemental carbon） were investigated at Xi＇an, China, near Asian dust source regions in spring 2002. OC varied between 8.2 and 63.7μgm^- 3, while EC ranged between 2.4 and 17.2 μ m^-3 during the observation period. OC variations followed a similar pattern to EC and the correlation coefficient between OC and EC is 0.89 （n=31）. The average percentage of total carbon （TC, sum of CC, OC, and EC） in PM2.5 during dust storm （DS） events was 13.6%, which is lower than that during non-dust storm （NDS） periods （22.7%）. CC, OC, and EC accounted for 12.9%, 70.7%, and 16.4% of TC during DS events, respectively. The average ratio of OC/EC was 5.0 in DS events and 3.3 in NDS periods. The OC-EC correlation （R^2=0.76, n=6） was good in DS events, while it was stronger （R^2=0.90, n=25） in NDS periods. The percentage of watersoluble OC （WSOC） in TC accounted for 15.7%, and varied between 13.3% and 22.3% during DS events. The distribution of eight carbon fractions indicated that local emissions such as motor vehicle exhaust were the dominant contributors to carbonaceous particles. During DS events, soil dust dominated the chemical composition, contributing 69% to the PM2.5 mass, followed by organic matter （12.8%）, sulfate （4%）, EC （2.2%）, and chloride （1.6%）. Consequently, CC was mainly entrained by Asian dust. However, even in the atmosphere near Asian dust source regions, OC and EC in atmospheric dust were controlled by local emission rather titan the transport of Asian dust.

Dust Storms in North China in 2002: A Case Study of the Low Frequency Oscillation

The low frequency oscillation in both hemispheres and its possible role in the dust weather storm events over North China in 2002 are analyzed as a case study. Results show that the Aleutian Low is linked with the Circumpolar Vortex in the Southern Hemisphere on a 30-60-day oscillation, with a weak Circumpolar Vortex tending to deepen the Aleutian Low which may be helpful for the generation of dust storm events. The possible mechanism behind this is the inter-hemispheric interaction of the mean meridional circulation, with the major variability over East Asia. The zonal mean westerly wind at high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere in the upper level troposphere may lead that of the Northern Hemisphere, which then impacts the local circulation in the Northern Hemisphere. Thus, the low frequency oscillation teleconnection is one possible linkage in the coupling between the Southern Hemisphere circulation and dust events over North China. However, the interannual variation of the low frequency oscillation is unclear.

Variation Trends of Dust Storms in Relation to Meteorological Conditions and Anthropogenic Impacts in the Northeast Edge of the Taklimakan Desert, China

To reveal the multivariate relationships between man-made and meteorological factors on dust storm frequency, the LUCC data, NDVI remote sensing data and meteorological data for the period of 1983-2013 were combined with dust storm frequency data, and the possible impacts of meteorological and anthropogenic factors on dust storm frequency were analyzed by using regression analysis and PCA (Principal Component Analysis). Results show that the inter-annual dust storm frequency increased gradually. In particular, an increasing trend in recent years, after 2009, is conspicuous. The monthly frequency of dust storms shows higher values between the months of February and May, with the highest mean number of events occurring in April, which accounts for 29% of the annual dust storm frequency. The annual dust storm frequency is positively correlated with wind speed and negatively correlated with precipitation;the monthly dust storm frequency is positively correlated with wind speed, but no significant correlation can be found with precipitation. The relationship between temperature and dust storms is not simply linear, however, a certain correlation with an unremarkable statistical significance can be found between them. Human activities also affect the dynamics of dust storms indirectly via changing vegetation coverage and direct dust emissions. The multivariate analysis further confirmed the association between dust storm frequency and meteorological factors and NDVI. The high loadings of dust storm frequency, wind speed, precipitation and NDVI on a PC indicate that the increased precipitation and NDVI will decrease dust storm frequency, and increased wind speed will increase dust storm frequency.

Impacts of Sand and Dust Storms on Regional Economy Based on Stochastic CGE Model : A Case Study in Inner Mongolia, China

[Objectives]The paper was to study the impacts of sand and dust storms(SDS)on regional economy.[Methods]In this paper,we combined the computable general equilibrium(CGE)model and the Monte Carlo method to examine the impact of SDS on the regional economy,with a focus on GDP,price index,employment rate,industrial structure and output,income and expenditure.We extended the standard CGE model,introduced the stochastic parameters into the production module,which had significant impact on economic output,and inserted the rate of change of the total labor supply and the expenditure share of early warning and protective measures into the income and expenditure module.[Results]SDS had significant impacts on regional GDP,employment rate,and industrial output from a macro perspective,and can reduce the income of residents and enterprises and increase expenditures from a micro perspective.The impact can be reduced by taking early warning and protective measures.[Conclusions]The protective measures taken for different grades of SDS have different effects.

Wind power and sand/dust storms

Sand/dust storms,a globally prevalent catastrophic weather phenomenon,can cause significant erosion to the climate and ecological environment.The high concentration of sand particles they carry not only impacts atmospheric quality and poses a threat to human health,but also leads to soil sanding and environmental destruction.

An analysis of air pollution associated with the 2023 sand and dust storms over China:Aerosol properties and PM_(10) variability

Every spring,a large part of China is confronted with sand and dust storms(SDS)–mainly originating in the Gobi(including Chinese and Mongolian Gobi)and Taklamakan deserts.In March-April 2023,most of northern,northwestern and northeastern China was struck by three sandstorms that affected an area with more than 500 million people.In this study,aerosol optical,microphysical and radiative properties were studied during these SDS events using an integrated approach that combines satellite,terrestrial and re-analysis data.The results showed that dusty conditions were observed in most areas north of the Yangtze River(Chang Jiang)with daily average PM_(10)concentrations exceeding 1000 lg/m^(3) in many cities.VIIRS aerosol optical depth(AOD)at 550 nm during three SDS events exceeded a value of 1 throughout nearly the entire northern part of the country.The AERONET data obtained from the AOE_Baotou site showed a significant increase in total AOD and a corresponding decrease in AE during the SDS.The single scattering albedo(SSA),asymmetry parameter(ASY),real refractive index(RRI)and imaginary refractive index(IRI)values indicate an abundance of scattering coarse-mode particles.Aerosol radiative forcing(ARF)at top of the atmosphere and at the earth’s surface was nearly always negative during the period and ranged from48.5 to+2.7 Wm^(-2)and from180.8 to66.6 Wm^(-2),resulting in high positive ARF values at ATM(from+63.8 to+132.3 Wm^(-2)).Each of these affects the heating of the atmosphere and cooling on the earth’s surface.The atmospheric heating rates ranged from 1.8 to 3.7 K day1.The formation of these SDS mainly resulted from the passage of cold fronts associated with low pressure systems in the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts,creating conditions for dust to rise into the atmosphere and move further downwind.

Dynamic evolution of spring sand and dust storms and cross-border response in Mongolian plateau from 2000 to 2021

According to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals(SDG 15.3),frequent sand and dust storms(SDSs)in the spring are a long-term challenge to the prevention and control of land degradation on the Mongolian plateau.In this study,MODIS remote sensing data are used to monitor and analyse SDS events on the Mongolian Plateau.The annual distribution of spring SDSs(March to May)from 2000 to 2021 are obtained based on the dust storm detection index.The overall classification accuracy is 85.24%and the kappa coefficient is 0.7636.Results show a decrease in the overall frequency of SDS events,where storm events in 2000–2010 are significantly higher than those in the second decade.The cross-border regions between China and Mongolia appear to be SDS intensity centers,particularly those in southern Mongolia.Precipitation exhibits a strong negative correlation with the area affected by SDS,and the correlation coefficient is–0.72.The increase in barren and sand contributes primarily to the increase in SDS,whereas wind prevention and sand control projects undertaken by the Mongolian and Chinese governments promote regional restoration.Policies pertaining to cross-board sandstorm responses on the Mongolian Plateau are recommended.

Dust storms in northern China and their significance for the concept of the Anthropocene

A key scientific issue in the study of the Anthropocene is the determination of the corresponding stratigraphic marker in geological archives.The arid and semi-arid regions of Asia are the second largest dust source on Earth,and their release,transport and deposition of dust affect global climate change,as well as marine and terrestrial biogeochemical cycles.Over the past~2000 years,human activity has outpaced natural climatic variability as the dominant control of dust storms in northern China.Thus,exploring the potential of anthropogenic Asian dust as a marker of the Anthropocene and its impacts on lake ecosystems may contribute to an improved definition of the characteristics and timing of the Anthropocene.In this context,we measured spectrally-inferred chlorophyll a from the sediments of an undisturbed alpine lake in northern China,and compared the results with dust storm data from the same cores and with regional climatic records.Asian dust is a widely distributed,globally significant signal of human activity,and it is also well preserved in various geological archives;hence,we propose anthropogenic dust can be considered as a potential marker of the Anthropocene.Anthropogenic dust signals in stratigraphic records during the past~2000 years differ substantially from those during the early and middle Holocene,which demonstrates that,at least since~2000 years ago,human activity has exceeded the natural forcing of dust transport in northern China.We therefore propose that there are spatial and temporal differences in the onset of the Anthropocene,as defined by anthropogenic dust deposition,which is therefore time-transgressive.Our spectrally-inferred chlorophyll a record is consistent with dust storm activity over the past~2000 years(except since the 1950s),suggesting that anthropogenic dust storms were the dominant control on lake primary production.Prior to the 1950s the interactions of the East Asian summer monsoon(EASM),human activity,dust storms and lake ecosystems resulted in a shift from a pattern in which“human activity outpaced the EASM as the dominant control on the Earth surface system”to one in which,after the 1950s,“human activity became the dominant factor influencing the EASM and the Earth surface system”.In the future this pattern may trend towards one in which there is the“sustainable development of humans and the environment”.We suggest that,in order to better understand the interactions of human activity,climate and environment,future research on the Anthropocene should focus on its time-transgressive characteristics and regional differences,in addition to the“Great Acceleration”

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DUST STORMS AND DRYNESS-WETNESS IN MIDDLE–EASTERN CHINA DURING 1470–1950

Based on 481-year records of historical dust storm （DS） and Dryness-Wetness Index （DWI） at 120 sites, spatial distribution characteristics of dryness-wetness （DW） in typical dust storm years （DS years） and in non-dust storm years （non-DS years） were derived for continental China. In DS years, most of the sites were drier than in normal years while in non-DS years wetter than normal, and the variation of DWI in DS years was larger than that in non-DS years. The relative instability and increased regional difference of atmospheric circulation in DS years might have induced more frequent DS events and dry-wet abnormality in continental China. In DS years the latitudinal （north-south） dry-wet difference was larger than that in non-DS years, that is, north China was even much drier than south China. This might be attributed to increased latitudinal differences of thermal and pressure gradients in DS years, resulting in the southward withdrawal of precipitation and increase of DS events.

Dust storms in northern China during the last 500 years

The history and mechanisms of dust storms in northern China remain unclear owing to the paucity of reliable longterm,high-resolution geological records.In this study,we reconstructed the dust storm history of the last~500 years in northern China,based on sedimentary coarse fraction(>63μm)of a well-dated core from Lake Daihai,Inner Mongolia.The highresolution data reveal three intervals of frequent dust storms:AD 1520–1580,AD 1610–1720,and AD 1870–2000.The dust storm events in the Lake Daihai area were broadly synchronous with those inferred from other historical or geological records and generally occurred during cold intervals.Changes in the intensity of Siberian High and the westerlies modulated by temperature variations are the likely major factors controlling dust storm dynamics.An interesting feature is that although the intensities of dust storms have been systematically increased during the recent warming period,a clear decreasing trend within this period is evident.The recent increase in average dust storm intensity may be ascribed to an increase in particle supply resulting from a rapid increase in human activity,whereas the weakening trend was likely caused by decreases in average wind speed resulting from the recent global warming.

Climatology of dust storms in northern China and Mongolia： Results from MODIS observations during 2000-2010

The climatology of dust storms in northern China and Mongolia （33°N-54°N, 73°E-136°E） is characterized at a 1-km resolution based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer （MODIS） thermal observations during 2000-2010. The dust was extracted with the dynamic reference brightness temperature differences （DRBTD） dust detection algorithm. The major dust source regions are deserts, including the Tarim Basin, Hexi Corridor, Gobi in Mongolia and northern China, Horqin Sandy Land and Qaidam Basin. Dust storms occur most frequently in the Tarim Basin, with a maximum frequency （above 10%） in the eastern narrow inlet of the Taklimakan Desert around Lop Nor. Significant annual and seasonal variations are found for dust events. More than 63.8% of dust events occur in spring from March to May, with the maximum proportion （up to 29.6%） occurring in April. Severe dust storms occur mainly in the deserts in northern and northwestern China, and the largest source region is the eastern narrow inlet and the southern margin of the Taklimakan Desert.

Monitoring the source of trans-national dust storms in north east Asia

The vast expanse of the Gobi desert across the Mongolian plateau experiences frequent dust storms.In this isolated region remote sensing techniques can provide an effective measurement of dust storms.Brightness temperature channels 4,5 of AVHRR/NOAA satellite data,emissive bands of MODIS/TERRA satellite data and meteorological station measurement data were used and tested for dust and sandstorm mapping in the desert area of Mongolia and northern China.The differences between thermal bands in combination with geographic information system(GIS)layers were used for mapping in this study.The results show that dust and sand storm maps can be achieved from emissive bands for monitoring of dust and sandstorms.Most active dust storm sources can occur in truly remote areas where there is little or no human activity,although many sources are associated with areas where human impacts are well documented.Thus,on a regional scale dust mobilisation appears to be dominated by natural sources.