Relationship Between Land Use Changes and the Production of Dust Sources in Kermanshah Province,Iran

Recognizing land use changes(LUC)and evaluating their relationship with producing dust sources are considered effective to manage the environment.Taking Kermanshah Province,Iran as study area,dusty days from 2008 to 2015 were selected and dust sources were identified applying thermal-infrared dust index(TDI),hybrid single-particle lagrangian integrated trajectory(HYSPLIT),false color composite(FCC)and true color composite(TCC)of MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS)images.Afterwards,the land use change map was produced using Landsat images in 2000 and 2015.Then,the distribution and frequency of the sources in each land-use change class and important dust production areas were specified.Eventually,two non-parametric tests including Chisquare and Kruskal-Wallis were applied to examine the relationship between LUC and dust sources.Results indicated that the distribution of dust sources was not identical in the study area,and the sources were mainly generated in the areas where land-use change had occurred.In fact,different classes of LUC have different contributions to dust production,and the highest contribution refers to the deflation in gentle slope areas and lowlands where the rangeland has been converted into agriculture land.The findings from this study are useful to manage and control dust in the identified sources.

Predicting of dust storm source by combining remote sensing, statistic-based predictive models and game theory in the Sistan watershed, southwestern Asia

Dust storms in arid and desert areas affect radiation budget,air quality,visibility,enzymatic activities,agricultural products and human health.Due to increased drought and land use changes in recent years,the frequency of dust storms occurrence in Iran has been increased.This study aims to identify dust source areas in the Sistan watershed(Iran-Afghanistan borders)-an important regional source for dust storms in southwestern Asia,using remote sensing(RS)and bivariate statistical models.Furthermore,this study determines the relative importance of factors controlling dust emissions using frequency ratio(FR)and weights of evidence(WOE)models and interpretability of predictive models using game theory.For this purpose,we identified 211 dust sources in the study area and generated a dust source distribution map-inventory map-by dust source potential index based on RS data.In addition,spatial maps of topographic factors affecting dust source areas including soil,lithology,slope,Normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI),geomorphology and land use were prepared.The performance of two models(WOE and FR)was evaluated using the area under curve(AUC)of the receiver operating characteristic curve.The results showed that soil,geomorphology and slope exhibited the greatest influence in the dust source areas.The 55.3%(according to FR)and 62.6%(according to WOE)of the total area were classified as high and very high potential dust sources,while both models displayed acceptable accuracy with subsurface levels of 0.704 for FR and 0.751 for WOE,although they predict different fractions of dust potential classes.Based on Shapley additive explanations(SHAP),three factors,i.e.,soil,slope and NDVI have the highest impact on the model's output.Overall,combination of statistic-based predictive models(or data mining models),RS and game theory techniques can provide accurate maps of dust source areas in arid and semi-arid regions,which can be helpful for mitigation of negative effects of dust storms.

Seasonal Variations in Dustfall and Its Iron Content over North China

Extensive dustfall collections were carried out from April 2001 to May 2002 in North China. The highest level of dustfall occurred in the Gobi deserts and at the margins of sandy deserts in the region. The iron content in dustfall in North China varied from 0.6% to 6.0% and there was significant seasonal variation, which indicates the dust sources differed during the year. Although the iron content in dustfall in North China is higher in the Loess Plateau and arable lands and lower in the Gobi and sandy deserts, the total iron deposition was higher in the Gobi desert regions. If the fine particles （PM10） in dustfall in North China are the major contributors of dust transport to eastern China and western parts of the North Pacific, then the annual deposition rates of iron may have been underestimated in previous studies. Our analysis indicates that iron deposition may reach 1.38 × 10^3 to 2.43 × 10^3 kg km^-2 and that most iron deposition occurs in spring and summer. If the more-coarse fractions （PM50） are considered, deposition rates may reach 2.75 × 10^3 and 6.80 × 10^3 kg km^-2, which would represent a large source of iron deposition in eastern China and the western North Pacific.

Chemical characteristics of precipitation and the indicative significance for sand dust events in the northern and southern slopes of Wushaoling Mountain, northwestern China

Precipitation chemistry analysis is essential to evaluate the atmospheric environmental quality and identify the sources of atmospheric pollutants. In this study, we collected a total of 480 precipitation samples at 6 sampling sites in the northern and southern slopes of Wushaoling Mountain from May 2013 to July 2014 to analyze the chemical characteristics of precipitation and to identify the main sources of ions in precipitation. Furthermore, we also explored the indicative significance for sand dust events in the northern and southern slopes of Wushaoling Mountain based on the precipitation chemistry analysis.During the sampling period（from May 2013 to July 2014）, the p H values, EC（electrical conductivity）values and concentrations of cations（Ca^（2＋）, Mg^（2＋）, Na~＋, K~＋ and NH_4~＋） and anions（SO_4^（2–）, NO_3~–, Cl~–, NO_2~– and F~–） in precipitation were different in the northern and southern slopes at daily and seasonal time scales, with most of the values being higher in the northern slope than in the southern slope. The chemical type of precipitation in the southern and northern slopes was the same, i.e.,SO_4^（2–）-Ca^（2＋）-NO_3~–-Na~＋. The concentrations of ions in precipitation were mainly controlled by terrigenous material and anthropogenic activities（with an exception of Cl~–）. The concentration of Cl~– in precipitation was mainly controlled by the sea salt fraction. The concentrations of Na＋ and Cl~– showed an increasing trend after the occurrence of sand dust events both in the northern and southern slopes. In addition, after the occurrence of sand dust events, the concentrations of K~＋, Mg^（2＋）, SO_4^（2–）, NO_3~– and Ca^（2＋） showed an increasing trend in the southern slope and a decreasing trend in the northern slope. It is our hope that the results may be helpful to further understand the atmospheric pollution caused by sand dust events in the Wushaoling Mountain and can also provide a scientific basis for the effective prevention of atmospheric pollution.

Source,route and effect of Asian sand dust on environment and the oceans

We summarize in this overview achievements in current research frontiers in Asian sand dust with emphasis on the method for sand dust research, the sources of sand dust aerosols, emission of sand dust, mechanism of sand dust weather, chemical transformation during transport, and influences on climatic environment and oceans. Our main results show that most of Asian sand dust comes from Mongolia, the Gobi Desert, arid and semiarid desert areas in northwest China, which is divided into initial sources and enhanced sources. Half of the global production of dust originates from Asian dust source regions. Asian dust weather is so immense that it can cover a 5-？-day journey from the sources to the Korean Peninsula, Japan Islands, and the Pacific Ocean to even impact North America. Asian dust weather plays an active role in the hiogeochemical cycles of trace elements in the mid-latitude Northern Hemisphere.

Biological crust in sand and dust storm source areas of Asia and its impact on dust emission

Even though the biological crusts are critical to dust emissions,no sand and dust forecast model have considered the impacts of the biological crust in dust emission scheme.This situation mainly comes from two scientific difficulties:there is no large scale regional biological crust data available that can be used in the forecast model;there is no quantification of how biological crusts impact on sand emission.In this way,we studied the distribution of biological soil crust in sand and dust storm source areas of Central and East Asia using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer satellite surface reflectance data collected in 2000—2019 to determine its potential impact on dust emission according to two empirical schemes.We further evaluated the relationships between soil crust coverage,roughness length,and dust emission to study SDS source areas.We found that biological crust is widely distributed in SDS source areas of Central and East Asia,with coverage rates of 19.8%in Central Asian deserts,23.1%in the Gobi Desert,and 17.3%—32.8%in Chinese deserts(p>0.05).Cyanobacteria and lichen coverage has increased in Chinese deserts,reflecting the recent impacts of the Project of Returning Farmland to Grassland and Farmland to Forests.However,biological soil crust coverage has not increased in Central Asian deserts or the Gobi Desert,and that in Central Asian deserts continues to decrease,demonstrating the complexity of the combined effects of human activities and climate change on its distribution.Biological soil crust increased the roughness length of Central and East Asian SDS source areas by 0.14—0.62 mm.The suppression of dust emission due to biological soil crust did not change among years during the study period.The horizontal and vertical dust flux inhibition coefficient(DFIC)were 2.0—11.0 and 1.7—2.9(p>0.05),respectively,clearly showing a suppressive effect.Improvement of the ecological environment in some deserts can lead to the ability of these crusts to inhibit dust erosion errors that must be considered in the dust emission scheme for areas where crust coverage has improved.

Prevalence of sensitivity to cockroach allergens and IgE crossreactivity between cockroach and house dust mite allergens in Chinese patients with allergic rhinitis and asthma

Background Cockroaches are an important indoor allergen source causing allergic rhinitis and asthma. The aim of this study was to investigate the cockroach prevalence in mainland of China and the cross-reactivity of IgE between cockroach and house dust mite allergen in Chinese patients.Methods The cockroach sensitization pattern was based on a skin prick test （SPT） obtained from a national multicenter prevalence study, in which 6304 patients from 25 allergy centers across China participated. Factors, including different regions of China, age, gender and the correlations between the American and German cockroaches and house dust mite Der p were investigated. Eighteen out of 1236 clinical sera from south China were selected to perform the cross-inhibition assay between house dust mites and cockroaches.Results Totally 25.7% of patients were SPT positive to the American cockroach （Periplaneta Americana, Per a） and 18.7% SPT positive to the German cockroach （Blattella germanica, Bla g）. The prevalence of positive cockroach SPT was higher in southern than in northern China, higher in adults than in children, and higher in males than in females.Patients had relatively low levels of cockroach SPT reactions, mainly class 1 or 2. Of the SPT positive cockroach patients,88% were also SPT positive to house dust mite （Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Der p）. An IgE cross-inhibition study confirmed that Der P sensitization could cause false positive SPT reactions against cockroach.Conclusions A relatively high prevalence of cockroach sensitivity was found in mainland of China. However, a cross-inhibition study showed that only a small number of patients appear to have Bla g and/or Per a as primary sensitizing source. The importance of cockroaches as a risk factor for sensitization and triggers of allergic symptoms in mainland of China needs to be further investigated.

Holocene loess and its deposition dynamics in the upper reaches of the Huaihe River

The dust source and transporting system are two indispensable aspects in the process of Ioess-palaeosol accumulation. It has been proved that the dust of the Loess Plateau mainly comes from the northwestern inland gobi and desert, transported by the East Asia monsoon systems and westerlies. However, there are little researches with respect to the dust source and deposition dynamics of the upper reaches of the Huaihe River. In the present study, we investigated and collected the YPC section with high resolution in the upper reaches of the Huaihe River. The chronological frame was reconstructed by optically stimulated luminescence （QSL） dating and correlated with the published loess time series. By comparison of the magnetic susceptibility （MS） and grain size （GS） of loess-soil profile among YPC profile, XJN profile （western Loess Plateau） and the JYC profile （southern Loess Plateau）, we find similar climate change and pedogenic process between the upper reaches of the Huaihe River and the Loess Plateau, both experienced an extreme dry and the weakest pedogenesis during the last glacial, followed by a transitional episodes from the cold-dry last glacial to the warm-humid mid-Holocene and increased pedogenesis in the early Holocene, then a most humid-warm and strong pedogenesis in the mid-Holocene, and climate deterioration and decreased pedogenesis occurred during the late Holocene. But the MS of loess-soil profile sequences in the upper reaches of the Huaihe River was much lower than those in the Loess Plateau, and the GS was much coarser than those in the Loess Plateau. Comparison of GS for these three profiles revealed that there were different dust sources, which belonged to different aeolian transporting systems. The loess in the upper reaches of the Huaihe River was a wind blown deposition of near source, while the coarser dust mainly came from loose alluvial deposits of alluvial and proluvial fans of the Yellow River. The yield- ing and carrying dynamics of the dust in the Huaihe River is the northeast wind prevails in the winter half year.