Environmental Erosion Research Journal

One of the powerful tools in dust storms analysis that have recently found extensive application is atmospheric-chemistry numerical modeling. Spatial and temporal distribution of Middle Eastern dust for a severe dust event during 4-8 July 2009 was analyzed by Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry (WRF/Chem) model simulations and remote sensing observations. The HYSPLIT model is applied to achieve back-trajectories and identify the sources of dust storm in the other way. Analyses of simulated Weather conditions, during maximum dust concentrations in low level, were occurred with high pressure gradient and surface wind shear in present of cyclonic system. This condition was caused extreme value emission of dust and sand from alluvial plain of the Tigris and Euphrates. The simulation results were found to well reproduce spatial and temporal distribution of mineral dust concentrations according to visible images based on the high-spatial resolution NASA MODIS. HYSPLIT model results also showed that most of the back-trajectories from receptors were crossed dry desert areas of north - central Iraq and Syria. These results were also showed good agreement with that obtained from visible bands of MODIS images.