Antecedent Soil Moisture Conditions Influenced Vertical Dust Flux: A Case Study in Iran Using WRF-Chem Model

Farshad Soleimani Sardoo, Tayyebeh Mesbahzadeh, Ali Salajeghe, Gholamreza Zehtabian, Abbas Ranjbar, Mario Marcello Miglietta and Nir Krakauer
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Farshad Soleimani Sardoo: Department of Ecological Engineering, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Jiroft, Kerman 76169-14111, Iran
Tayyebeh Mesbahzadeh: Department of Reclamation of Dry and Mountainous Regions, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Tehran 14179-35840, Iran
Ali Salajeghe: Department of Reclamation of Dry and Mountainous Regions, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Tehran 14179-35840, Iran
Gholamreza Zehtabian: Department of Reclamation of Dry and Mountainous Regions, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Tehran 14179-35840, Iran
Abbas Ranjbar: Atmospheric Science & Meteorological Research Center, Tehran 14179-35840, Iran
Mario Marcello Miglietta: National Research Council of Italy-Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (CNR-ISAC), Corso Stati Uniti 4, 35127 Padua, Italy
Nir Krakauer: Department of Civil Engineering, The City College of New York, New York, NY 10031, USA

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 6, 1-16

Abstract: Soil moisture is one of the most important parameters affecting dust emission flux. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of soil moisture on vertical dust flux in the central plateau region of Iran. In this study, the WRF-Chem (Weather Research and Forecast with Chemistry) model, with the GOCART (Global Ozone Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport) scheme, was used to estimate the dust emission flux during a major storm from 19 to 21 July 2015, and to discriminate between dust sources. The results showed that the Kyrgyz deserts in Turkmenistan, the Arabian deserts in Saudi Arabia, the deserts of Iraq, and the Helmand region in Afghanistan are sources of foreign dust. Additionally, the central desert plain was identified as an internal dust source, where the dust level reached 7000 µg m −2 s −1 . The results of WRF-Chem simulation were verified with reanalysis data from MERRA2 and AERONET data from Natanz station, which showed good agreement with the simulation. Based on the GLDAS reanalysis, soil moisture content varied between 2.6% and 34%. Linear and nonlinear regression of vertical dust flux values and soil moisture showed nonlinear behavior following the exponential function, with a correlation coefficient of 0.8 and a strong negative association between soil moisture and vertical dust flux.

Keywords: dust emission flux; WRF-Chem; GOCART wind erosion scheme; soil moisture; GLDAS; exponential function (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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