Remote Sensing and GIS Applications in Environmental Sciences

Spatio-temporal monitoring of the dust phenomenon in southwestern Iran with an emphasis on the surface water changes

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 SUPREME NATIONAL DEFENCE UNIVERSITY, Tehran, Iran

2 PhD in Geography and Urban Planning, Supreme National Defense University. Tehran, Iran.

3 M.Sc. student of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System, Faculty of Geography; University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/rsgi.2024.62611.1090

Abstract

Due to its proximity to major sources of dust (the deserts of Iraq, Syria and Saudi Arabia) in the west, Iran has always faced dust storms and their sequences. Moreover, the Tigris and Euphrates basin (TEB) is considered one of the main centers of dust in the region. Hence, it can lead to adverse environmental, social and economic consequences, especially in the dry areas of southwestern Iran, and cause problems in human activities. Thus, identifying and evaluating different dimensions of this phenomenon is of vital importance. Accordingly, the aim of the current study is to investigate the temporal and spatial patterns of dust distribution in the southwest of Iran and to identify its relationship with the trend of surface water changes in the TEB. In this regard, the JRC Landsat dataset was used to monitor surface water changes and an integrated approach based on visual interpretation and assessment of aerosol optical depth (AOD) of MODIS images was used, and the processing was done on the platform of Google Earth Engine (GEE). The findings have shown that the occurrence of dust was largely correlated with the temporal pattern of surface water, and there was a negative correlation of 0.412. Accordingly, with the beginning of the decreasing trend of water in 2008, which has reduced its area to about 8199 km2, the dust storm has intensified and the highest annual frequency of dust has been observed with 2612 cases. Therefore, the role of water changes has been highlighted in this context.

Keywords

Main Subjects

به‌دلیل نزدیکی به منابع اصلی تولید گردوغبار (بیابان‌های عراق، سوریه و عربستان سعودی) در غرب، ایران همواره با طوفان‌های گردوغبار و مشکلات ناشی از آن مواجه بوده است. بعلاوه، حوضه وسیع دجله و فرات یکی از کانون‌های اصلی گردوغبار در منطقه قلمداد می‌شود و عدم توجه به این مسئله می‌تواند منجر به پیامدهای نامطلوب زیست‌محیطی، اجتماعی و اقتصادی، به‌ویژه در نواحی خشک استان‌های جنوب غربی شده و اختلال در فعالیت‎های انسانی همچون کشاورزی، حمل‌و‌نقل، صنایع، خدمات اجتماعی و پزشکی در آن را سبب گردد. بنابراین، شناسایی و ارزیابی این پدیده حائز اهمیت اساسی است. بر همین اساس، هدف پژوهش حاضر بررسی الگوهای زمانی و فضایی پراکنش گردوغبار در جنوب غربی ایران و شناسایی ارتباط آن با روند تغییرات آب‌های سطحی در حوضه دجله و فرات می‌باشد. در پژوهش حاضر از مجموعه داده JRC لندست برای پایش تغییرات آب‌های سطحی و از یک رویکرد ترکیبی مبتنی بر تفسیر بصری و ارزیابی عمق نوری آئروسل (AOD) تصاویر MODIS بهره گرفته شده و پردازش‌ها در بستر سامانه گوگل ارث انجین به انجام رسیده است. یافته‌ها نشان داده است که روند وقوع گردوغبار تا حد زیادی منطبق با الگوی زمانی تغییرات آب‌های سطحی منطقه بوده و همبستگی منفی به میزان 412/0 وجود داشته است. بر این اساس، با شروع روند کاهشی آب در سال  2008 که مساحت آن به حدود 8199 کیلومتر مربع تقلیل یافته است، گردوغبار نیز تشدید شده و بیشترین فراوانی سالانه گردوغبار با 2612 مورد مشاهده شده است. بنابراین، نتایج مطالعه نقش تغییرات آبی را در این زمینه برجسته نموده است.   

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Remote Sensing and GIS Applications in Environmental Sciences
Volume 4, Issue 12
November 2024
Pages 94-72
  • Receive Date: 22 July 2024
  • Revise Date: 04 October 2024
  • Accept Date: 11 November 2024