Integration of Satellite Observation and Dust Trajectory Modeling for Dust Transport and Dispersion Monitoring

Abstract Land use/cover change was distinguished as one of the most local environmental consequences and has an important role in increasing dust due to land degradation. The aim of study was to identify the local dust storm sources in Khuzestan province (southwestern Iran) due to land use/cover change and their dispersion and transport modeling from these sources by Lagrangian particle HYSPLIT model. In the first part of study, Landsat images for 1984, 1992, 2002, and 2017 were used in order to produce the land use/cover maps and post classification comparison was applied for land use/cover change detection from 1984 to 2017. The results of change detection showed that wetland areas (Horolazim wetland and Shadegan international wetland) experienced sever changes and converted to probable dust storm centers. Subsequently, HYSPLIT model was performed in dust trajectory modeling from the detected dust storm centers for 365 days of 2016 in three elevation level. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) product of MODIS and air quality monitoring(AQM) data were used for HYSPLIT performance assessment. The findings of modeling showed that storms originated from detected dust storm centers can be transferred to the transboundary of Khuzestan province, especially in hot season. Therefore, focusing on national programs could be as valuable as international cooperation for mitigation and controlling dust storms in southwestern Iran.