Spatial-Temporal Assessment of Dust Events and Trend Analysis of Sand Drift Potential in Northeastern Iran, Gonabad

Mohammad Reza Rahdari (), Rasoul Kharazmi, Jesús Rodrigo-Comino and Andrés Rodríguez-Seijo ()
Additional contact information
Mohammad Reza Rahdari: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Torbat Heydarieh, Torbat Heydarieh 9516168595, Iran
Rasoul Kharazmi: Soil and Water Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj 3177993545, Iran
Jesús Rodrigo-Comino: Departamento de Análisis Geográfico Regional y Geografía Física, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Campus Universitario de Cartuja, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Andrés Rodríguez-Seijo: Department of Plant Biology and Soil Science, Área de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de Ciencias, Universidade de Vigo, 32004 Ourense, Spain

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: In recent years, northeastern Iran, particularly Khorasan Razavi province, has experienced wind erosion and dust storms, although large-scale studies are limited. To assess wind patterns, sand drift, and dust events, hourly wind data were analyzed using Fryberger’s method, along with trend analysis through the Mann–Kendall and Sen’s slope tests. Additionally, MODIS satellite data and Google Earth Engine helped identify event frequency and spatial patterns. The results show that east (12%) and southeast winds (9.6%) are the most frequent, with an average annual wind speed of 4.39 knots. Sand drift potential (DP = 96, RDP = 21.6) indicates sand movement from southeast to northwest, with a multi-directional wind system (unidirectional index of 0.22). The results of the AOD index show that the amount of dust in the north and northwest part is more than other locations, and more than 500 events with dust has been registered over the last two decades. These findings suggest that policymakers should monitor these trends to mitigate the environmental and infrastructural damage caused by blowing sand.

Keywords: AOD; arid environment; dust; environmental damage; eolian; multi-directional wind system; sand drift; wind erosion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/11/1906/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/11/1906/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:11:p:1906-:d:1520388

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().