Journal of Spatial Analysis

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Dust phenomenon is a natural occurrence that occurs widespread in arid and semi-arid regions of the world, especially in the sub-equatorial latitudes. This phenomenon is among the greatest environmental problems in the world. The release of this destructive climatic phenomenon in a scattered manner in the atmosphere varies in size, time and concentration. Since this phenomenon is influenced by the specific conditions of climate effects, its effects may continue to be as close as 16,000 kilometers from the source and cause abnormal environmental effects on the one hand, and numerous damage to agriculture, industry, transportation and telecommunication systems on the other hand. Dust storms, as an atmospheric destructive phenomenon, have created adverse environmental impacts for the west of Iran and caused many problems for the inhabitants of this region. Therefore, studying this phenomenon is necessary in order to achieve a comprehensive approach to deal with it. The present study was conducted with the aim of identifying the instantaneous atmospheric conditions, conduction and source of the dust storms with a synoptic modeling approach.
In this study, in order to investigate the dust storms structure in the southwest of Iran, the dust storm occurred on May 15, 2015 was selected. The reason for choosing the present day, based on reports from the Observatory and Monitoring Center of Ilam’s Environmental Protection Office, was the most polluted day of 2015, so the amount of aerosol recorded was 1200 µg/m3 in the air of Mehran City. To analyze the storm structure, a combination study was performed using NECP/NCAR reanalyzed digital data and output of dynamic and regional models. The first group consisted of three regional models of NAAPS, DREAM 8b and NMMB/BSC, and the second group included HYSPLIT dynamic model with backward method. NECP / NCAR data are also used in the synoptic analysis of the storm.
The average slope of air pressure in the sea level at the time of the dust storm in the west of Iran has increased and a high pressure difference of 20 hPa is observed between east and west of Iran, which is accompanied by a high pressure difference and severe winds in the southwestern borders of Iran. Also, the surface moisture flux of the soil has fallen sharply for the day of the storm occurrence in the study area. High advection in the Western part of Iran has been accompanied by a change in the density and mass of the air with heat, resulting in very rapid and intense air rotational movements around the Earth's surface; on the other hand, the coincidence of the positive and negative vorticity in a single significant amount in the formation of the lower level jet has caused the emergence of the dust storm to occur in the mentioned day. On the day of the dust storm, the orbital component of the wind speed was Western, and its velocity was more than 5 meters per second on the western borders of the country. The meridian component of the wind speed was also Southern. Therefore, the effect of present pattern on west of Iran during the day of storm dust has played a significant role. The optical depth index and surface dust concentration index in the NAAPS model have shown that dust concentrations ranged from 640 to 1260 µg/m3 to the west. Besides, the amount of sulfate in the region was estimated to be between 1 and 2 µg/m3. Comparison of the output of DREAM Bb and NMMB / BSC models showed an increase in concentration values per Dust surface unit on the day of storm occurrence. Based on the results of two models of DREAM Bb and NMMB / BSC in the case of western dust in Iran, it can be concluded that the effect of local factors and close proximity to the centers of the dust source have a significant role in the occurrence of present phenomena for western Iran. The simulation of the Dust storm direction with the HYSPLIT dynamic model and the backward method has shown two routes of dust entering the west of the country; a) Northwest - Southeast; b) West-East direction. The main origins of the first route, the northwest of Iraq and the east of Syria, and the second route were the center of Iraq.
Keywords: Spring dust storms, Regional modeling, HYSPLIT model, particles optical depth, West Iran
 

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Investigating the role of  atmospheric circulation patterns in the severe air pollution in Esfahan

Introduction
The atmosphere is a dynamic system in which a large number of physical and chemical processes occur simultaneously. Studying the dynamics and transmission of pollutants in the atmosphere using atmospheric patterns is one of the important topics in this field. Atmospheric patterns simulate the occurrence of different processes within the atmosphere and their interactions. Using an atmospheric model also requires comparing the results of the model with field and laboratory experiments. This helps in understanding the occurrence of chemical and physical processes in the atmosphere as well as evaluating the implementation of a suitable model. Laboratory measurements provide valuable information while at the same time visualizing and describing atmospheric properties and atmospheric composition at specific time and space intervals. An atmospheric model provides a complete picture of the evolution of spatial and temporal variations in atmospheric pollutants at different altitudes. Understanding atmospheric dynamics can be understanded by combining measurements and integrated modeling with using synoptic systems in periods with pollutated air. Therefore, in this study, it has been attempted to analyze the atmospheric factors that cause severe pollution in Esfahan and the relationship and mechanism of the atmosphere at the time of occurrence of this phenomenon.

Data and methods
In this study, three datasets including pollution data recorded at air pollution stations, digital atmospheric data and high atmospheric stations were used. The air pollution data are from three stations of Laleh Square, Azadi and Bozorgmehr which were obtained from Esfahan General Environmental Protection Office. The pollutants include carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone and suspended particulate matter (PM10), which have been prepared and processed daily for a 12-year statistical period (1995-2005). To study atmospheric conditions were used re-analyzed data from the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP / NCAR) include sea level pressure, geopotential height, vertical velocity (Omega), wind orbital components (U), and meridian wind ( V) was used for different levels of atmosphere. 
The above atmospheric data were obtained from the University of Wyoming site for the study days, including air temperature, dew point temperature, wind direction and intensity, and atmospheric stability and instability conditions (based on skew-t curves). In this study, a Lagrangian model with the capability of tracking particle backward in different levels of atmosphere called HYSPLIT was used to investigate the days associated with severe pollution.

Results and discussion
The results show that the highly pollutated days of the city of Esfahan can be explained by the four synoptic patterns. The occurrence of days with extremely severe pollution in Esfahan, rather than being rooted in local factors, is due to the interaction of local conditions with atmospheric circulation at the regional scale. In other words, the city of Esfahan will only experience extremely polluted days when the atmospheric circulation of the atmosphere provides conditions for increased concentrations of pollutants.
The main causes of the occurrence of days associated with maximum contamination can be attributed to Subtropical high latitude and its progression to higher latitudes. This circulation system contributes to the occurrence of highly polluted days on most days, either directly or in combination with other atmospheric systems.
The role of local factors such as the formation of inversion layer and the increase of atmospheric thickness due to the dominance of high pressure systems in the region can also be considered to exacerbate the conditions.
The use of suspended particle backward models and the study of atmospheric thermodynamic relationships have provided a deeper and more accurate understanding of the mechanisms dominating the occurrence of pollutants in Esfahan.
The results of this method showed that the occurrence of highly polluted days in the city of Esfahan can not be attributed to urban pollutants such as industrial factories of automobiles and so the influx of particulate matter from different areas has caused higher intensity pollution.

Conclusion 
The results showed that four factors and patterns prevailed in the middle of the atmosphere at the time of the most severe days pollution in Esfahan. The results of the PSI values in each pattern showed respectively from pattern of one to four, is 221, 238.6, 203 and 281.
The synoptic conditions can be attributed to the presence of tropical high pressure, which is accompanied by a layer of temperature inversion in the lower levels of the atmosphere and the middle troposphere.
Strength of negative vorticity above 700 hPa and continued surface convergence to this altitude have made the nature of the summer atmosphere clearly observed in the pollution event in the city, which has been enhanced by strong anomalies.
On the other hand, the output of the HYSPLIT model showed that the occurrence of highly polluted days in the city of Esfahan could not be detected in urban pollutants such as automobile industrial plants and. But, the influx of particulate matter from different areas has made the pollution more intense, and the influx of dust particles has exacerbated this hazard.

Keywords: Air Pollution, PSI Index, Atmospheric Regional Circulation Patterns, HYSPLIT Model, Esfahan

 

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Evaluation of occurrence, tracing and origin of dust phenomenon in Zagros forest degradation monitoring sites of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province
Abstract
Decay and drought of oak has occurred in more than 40 countries, including Iran. Numerous factors have contributed to the drought and oak decay. Among the natural causes of climate change is common in all countries, but dust has played an important role as a contributing factor to the decline of the Zagros forests, which are adjacent to and the passage of dust currents. In this study, with the aim of investigating the occurrence of dust and its direction in Zagros deterioration monitoring sites in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, meteorological statistics and data of the nearest synoptic station were used. Dust event codes were extracted from 100 phenomenon codes (0-99) and the frequency of dust events with different horizontal field of view was investigated. In order to identify the direction of dust entry, the graph diagram was used and to draw the dust, WR-PLOT software was used. Data related to wind direction and speed were extracted and wind direction and speed corresponding to dust days were extracted to enter the dust drawing software and converted to a special format of this software. HYSPLIT simulation model was used to identify the source of incoming dust sources in the area of deterioration monitoring sites. The results showed that the occurrence of dust in decay monitoring sites has an increasing trend and the path of dust entering the decay sites from the west and southwest and northwest have been important, respectively. And being in the path of incoming atmospheric currents has been affected by dust mites inside and outside the country. Tracing the origin of dust particles at three altitudes of 1000, 500 and 1500 meters showed that the most important sources of dust entering the region are from Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which has been strengthened by passing through the centers of domestic dust in Khuzestan province. Considering that the occurrence of dust and its entry path can be one of the factors contributing to the decline of Zagros oak trees and the extent of its effects is different in the south-north and west-east slopes, help decision makers and planners of forest ecosystems. At the macro level, with the control programs of domestic centers and international cooperation with neighboring countries to make fruitful and fruitful efforts to preserve and rehabilitate forests.

Keywords: Oak decay, Internal and External dust, Golghobar, WR-PLOT software, HYSPLIT model