2025/07/20 by Nasry, Maede, Rahimi, Mohammad, Jalili, Hadi +2
#120-day winds #Dryland #Dust storm #Hazard #MODIS
paper · doi:10.57647/j.jrs.2025.1503.25
Dust storms are frequent events in the southeastern parts of Iran. The rangelands play a crucial role in the socio-economic conditions of rural populations and control soil erosion in southeast Iran. Spatial-temporal changes in terrestrial parameters such as land surface temperature controlled dust storm activity processes. Therefore, gathering frequent information about the Land Surface Temperature Anomaly (LSTA) and its relationship with Dust Storm index Anomaly (DSIA) was the aim of this study. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products were used to monitor LSTA. The dataset was composed of MOD11A2 product, which provides a value with 1000-m spatial resolution and 8-day temporal resolution from February and October (2000-2020). ENVI 5.6 software was used for the image misacting and reprojection of satellite images. For the determination of the DSIA, three-hour recordings (8 times a day) of the synoptic codes (07, 08, 09, 30 to 35, and 98) related to dust and visibility were used at the 8 meteorological stations. Annual mean DSIA values were computed in Excel 2016 software. Spatial maps of LSTA and DSIA were drawn in ArcGIS 10.2.2. The Pearson correlation coefficients were computed to examine the correlation between LSTA and DSIA. Results demonstrate that the lowest annual LSTA values were observed in the years 2000, 2001, 2012, 2014, 2019, and 2020. The highest annual LSTA values were observed in 2008, 2006, 2007, 2015, and 2018. The DSIA and LSTA time series had decreasing trends. A positive correlation between LSTA and DSIA (p<0.05) was observed. The results imply that positive LSTA increases dust storms in the southeastern parts of Iran. Limited adaptive capacity, lack of information, and poor stakeholder coordination and cooperation caused the large-scale impact of the dust storms. These results can be useful for the decision-makers in assessing the risks of dust storm impacts and reducing their negative consequences in the southeastern rangelands of Iran.