The impact of dust storms on the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea

Abstract

Abstract. Located in the dust belt, the Arabian Peninsula is a major source of atmospheric dust. Frequent dust outbreaks and some 15 to 20 dust storms per year have profound effects on all aspects of human activity and natural processes in this region. To quantify the effect of severe dust events on radiation fluxes and regional climate characteristics, we simulated the storm that occurred from 18 to 20 March 2012 using a regional weather research forecast model fully coupled with the chemistry/aerosol module (WRF-Chem). This storm swept over a remarkably large area affecting the entire Middle East, northeastern Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. It was caused by a southward propagating cold front, and the associated winds activated the dust production in river valleys of the lower Tigris and Euphrates in Iraq; the coastal areas in Kuwait, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates; the Rub al Khali, An Nafud, and Ad Dahna deserts; and along the Red Sea coast on the west side of the Arabian Peninsula. Our simulation results compare well with available ground-based and satellite observations. We estimate the total amount of dust generated by the storm to have reached 94 Mt. Approximately 78 % of this dust was deposited within the calculation domain. The Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf received 5.3 Mt and the Red Sea 1.2 Mt of dust. Dust particles bring nutrients to marine ecosystems, which is especially important for the oligotrophic Northern Red Sea. However, their contribution to the nutrient balance in the Red Sea remains largely unknown. By scaling the effect of one storm to the number of dust storms observed annually over the Red Sea, we estimate the annual dust deposition to the Red Sea, associated with major dust storms, to be 6 Mt.

Physical and chemical properties of deposited airborne particulates over the Arabian Red Sea coastal plain

“…This research complements our dust studies performed in the Arabian Peninsula (Engelbrecht et al, 2009a;Kalenderski et al, 2013;Jish Prakash et al, 2015 and globally .…”

Iron Deficiency in Seagrasses and Macroalgae in the Red Sea Is Unrelated to Latitude and Physiological Performance

“…Similar to our results, the seagrasses Syringodium filiforme and Thalassia testudinum were described to be ironlimited in a karstic region in the Mexican Caribbean also lacking riverine inputs . In the Red Sea Basin inputs of iron are likely coming from three sources: The Indian Ocean via the Strait of Bab al Mandab, wind-induced upwelling of deep water (Triantafyllou et al, 2014;Al-Aidaroos et al, 2016), and dust deposition from the Sahara and Arabian Deserts (Jish Prakash et al, 2015). Although the quantitative sources and inputs of Fe in the Red Sea are barely known (Jish Prakash et al, 2015), our results on Fe concentration in the tissue of 17 species of macrophytes suggest that Fe is scarce and limiting in most benthic shallow ecosystems in the Arabian Red Sea, regardless of their latitudinal location.…”

Nutrient Limitation in Central Red Sea Mangroves

“…The Red Sea receives one of the highest dust inputs of all the oceans (Jish Prakash et al, 2015), and mangrove canopies may intercept dust during periods of dust storms, thereby increasing iron supply above that corresponding to passive dust deposition. The solubility of atmospheric iron varies between 0.01 and 80% depending on acid deposition, with 95% of atmospheric iron derived from desert dust and the rest from combustion processes (Mahowald et al, 2009).…”