Severe dust storms in Central Asia

Orlovsky, N.; Orlovsky, L.; Indoitu, R.

doi:10.1134/s2079096113040082

Cited by 24 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Total rainfall varies between 80 and 200 mm (Rachkovskaya 2003). Chemical composition of the soil is sulphate-chloride (Orlovsky and Orlovsky 2001), formed on the sandy and loam maritime soils.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The total mass of salts contained in the Aral Sea is estimated to be about 6 9 10 9 metric tons, which would result in a salt layer of at least 0.5 m thickness covering the entire Aralkum (Létolle et al 2005). The store of the latter in the aeration zone of the ground is 2,200 tons ha -1 (Orlovsky and Orlovsky 2001). For many decades, the Aral Sea has been a sink for the particulate and dissolved matter transported by the Amudarya and Syrdarya rivers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Aral Sea topsoil contains 8-10 % salt, mostly sulphates and chlorides (Orlovsky and Orlovsky 2001). The total mass of salts contained in the Aral Sea is estimated to be about 6 9 10 9 metric tons, which would result in a salt layer of at least 0.5 m thickness covering the entire Aralkum (Létolle et al 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Aeolian transportation of sand and dust in the Aral Sea region

Issanova

Abuduwaili

Galayeva

et al. 2015

Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Aeolian transportation of sand and dust in the Aral Sea region

Issanova

Abuduwaili

Galayeva

et al. 2015

Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…The lake has progressively shrunk due to a lack of recharge by the rivers and high evaporation during summer time. By 1999, the lake level had dropped by 18 m, down to the mark of 33.8.m MSL (Orlovsky and Orlovsky, 2001). Following the division of the Aral Sea in 2005, the salinity level in the Large Aral increased by as much as 90 g/l (western part, depth 21 m) and 160 g/l (eastern part, depth 28.3 m), while in the Small Aral, it decreased and reached 17 g/l (Aladin et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The expansion of irrigated fields resulted in a drastic reduction of the water volume discharged into the lake. In 1960, the water flow from the Amudarya and Syrdarya Rivers, which represented the major input for the Aral Sea, varied from 56 Â 10 9 m 3 /year to 60 Â 10 9 m 3 /year (Orlovsky and Orlovsky, 2001); by the mid-1980s, the water flow had almost ceased, and the water volume discharged was 3.5 Â 10 9 m 3 /year (Saiko and Zonn, 2000). By 2007 the water inflow to the Aral Sea was about 5 Â 10 9 m 3 /year À10 Â 10 9 m 3 /year (Dukhovny and Stulina, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dust emission and environmental changes in the dried bottom of the Aral Sea

et al. 2015

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Seasonal dynamics of threshold friction velocity and dust emission in Central Asia

Sokolik

2015

JGR Atmospheres

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An improved model representation of mineral dust cycle is critical to reducing the uncertainty of dust-induced environmental and climatic impact. Here we present a mesoscale model study of the seasonal dust activity in the semiarid drylands of Central Asia, focusing on the effects of wind speed, soil moisture, surface roughness heterogeneity, and vegetation phenology on the threshold friction velocity (u*t) and dust emission during the dust season of 1 March to 31 October 2001. The dust model WRF-Chem-DuMo allows us to examine the uncertainties in seasonal dust emissions due to the selection of dust emission scheme and soil grain size distribution data. To account for the vegetation effects on the u*t, we use the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer monthly normalized difference vegetation index to derive the dynamic surface roughness parameters required by the physically based dust schemes of Marticorena and Bergametti (1995, hereinafter MB) and Shao et al. (1996, hereinafter Shao). We find the springtime u*t is strongly enhanced by the roughness effects of temperate steppe and desert ephemeral plants and, to less extent, the binding effects of increased soil moisture. The u*t decreases as the aboveground biomass dies back and soil moisture depletes during summer. The u*t dynamics determines the dust seasonality by causing more summer dust emission, despite a higher frequency of strong winds during spring. Due to the presence of more erodible materials in the saltation diameter range of 60–200 µm, the dry-sieved soil size distribution data lead to eight times more season-total dust emission than the soil texture data, but with minor differences in the temporal distribution. On the other hand, the Shao scheme produces almost the same amount of season-total dust emission as the MB scheme, but with a strong shift toward summer due to the strong sensitivity of the u*t to vegetation. By simply averaging the MB and Shao model experiments, we obtain a mean estimate (Exp_mean) of season-total dust emission of 255.6 Mt (megaton), of which 26.8%, 50.4%, and 22.8% are produced in spring (March-April-May), summer (June-July-August), and autumn (September-October), respectively. The Exp_mean estimate identifies the Ustyurt Plateau, dried seabed of Aral Sea (called Aralkum), Caspian Sea coast, and loess deserts as the strongest dust source areas in Central Asia. The spatial distribution and seasonality of the Exp_mean estimate are in general agreement with ground station dusty weather observations and satellite aerosol optical depth and absorbing aerosol index products. Compared to Cakmur et al. (2006), the Exp_mean estimate suggests Central Asia contributes 10–17% to the global dust emission in 2001.Key PointsThe WRF-Chem-DuMo model is used to study dust seasonality in Central Asia An accurate representation of u*t is critical for dust seasonality Multiexperiment mean dust emission estimate agrees with observations

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Severe dust storms in Central Asia

Cited by 24 publications

References 2 publications

Aeolian transportation of sand and dust in the Aral Sea region

Aeolian transportation of sand and dust in the Aral Sea region

Dust emission and environmental changes in the dried bottom of the Aral Sea

Seasonal dynamics of threshold friction velocity and dust emission in Central Asia

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