Deposition Rate, Mineralogy and Size Distribution Pattern of Dust Particles Collected Around the Houralazim Marshland, Khuzestan Province

آب و خاک

Article 10, Volume 29, Issue 3, July 2015, Pages 695-707   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/jsw.v0i0.29946

Authors

R. Beitlefteh; A. Landi; S. Hojati^* ; Gh. Sayyad

Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz

Abstract

Introduction: Recently, air pollution due to the occurrence of dust storms is one of the worst environmental problems in Western and Southwestern Iran, especially the Khuzestan Province (12, 13). According to the reports of the Meteorological Organization of Iran the average number of dusty days in the cities of Ahvaz and Abadan in the Khuzestan Province reaches 68 and 76 days each year, respectively (6). Previous studies have shown that the yearly damage costs of wind erosion and occurrence of dust storms in the Khuzestan Province reach about 30 Billion Rials (5). However, very few studies have been conducted on the characterization of dust particles and also the identification of their origins in Iran, especially the Khuzestan Province. Hojati et al. (10) reported that dust deposition rate, mean particle diameter, and concentration of soluble ions in samples taken from Isfahan and Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province decrease with altitude, with a significantly lower gradient in periods with dust storms. They reported three factors that control the rate and characteristics of dust deposited across the study transect: 1) climatic conditions at the deposition sites, 2) distance from the dust source, and 3) differences between local and transboundary sources of dust.Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of dust storms on deposition rate, mineralogy and size distribution patterns of dust particles from twelve localities around the Houralazim lagoon.
Materials and Methods: Dust samples were collected monthly during a 6 month experiment from August 2011 to February 2012. In order to differentiate between the contribution of dust production by local soils and other sources, surface soils were also sampled from the vicinity of the dust sampling sites. The collection trays were made of a glass surface (100 × 100 cm) covered with a 2 mm-sized PVC mesh on the top to form a rough area for trapping the saltating particles (Fig. 2). Dust samples were collected by scraping materials adhered to the glass trays using a spatula. All the trays were wet cleaned before the next collection. The collected dust and soil samples were examined for their grain size distribution using a Malvern Hydro 2000g laser particle size analyzer, as well as their mineral compositions by a Philips PW1840 X-ray diffractometer and a LEO 906 E transmission electron microscope (TEM).
Results and Discussion: The results showed that wind speed and direction patterns during the periods with dust storms and those without dust storms were different. Accordingly, in periods with dust storms (3, 5 and 6) the contribution of winds with speeds greater than 11.1 m/sec, especially from the Northwest direction, increased when compared with those from the periods without dust storms (1, 2 and 4). Besides, the direction of prevailing winds in periods without dust storms were mainly from the West and the Northwest. However, in periods with dust storms East-directed winds were also observed (Fig. 3). These show that the source areas of dust particles in these periods are probably different. The results also illustrated that the average amount of deposited particles in the periods with dust storms (12.5 g m-2 month-1) was considerably more than that of the periods without dust storms (7.5 g m-2 month-1) (Figs. 4 and 5). The difference in dust deposition rate between periods having dust storms and those without dust storms seems to be due to dust input from a source outside the study area. Particle size distribution analysis showed that dust particles collected from the study area in both periods (with and without dust storms) are mainly silt-sized particles. This fraction contributes to 60 to 76 % of the particles collected from periods without dust storms and 66 to 82 % of particles affected by dust storms (Table 2). The results also imply that in both periods (with and without dust storms), dust particles collected from the study area had a bimodal distribution pattern which suggests mixing of settled particles from different sources and/or deposition processes (Fig. 6). Mineralogical composition of dust particles were collected from both periods (with and without dust storms) and those from the soils contained quartz, calcite, feldspar, halite, dolomite and palygorskite (Figs. 7 and 8). Moreover, the TEM images of dust particles collected in periods with dust storms showed higher amounts of palygorskite than in periods without dust storms (Fig. 9).
Conclusion: The similarity in the physical properties of local soils and deposited particles of the periods with and without dust storms implies that the contribution of local soils and sediments in producing dust particles is high. However, it seems that in periods with dust storms the contribution of a transboundary origin such as Iraqi arid lands in producing dust particles increases.

Keywords

Dust; Deposition Rate; Houralazim; Khuzestan; Mineralogy; Particle size

References

1- Ardabili L. 2010. Study of the effective processes intensifying the occurrence of dust storms in Iran in recent years. National Conference of Wind Erosion and Dust Storms, Yazd (in Persian).

2- Anonymous. 2011. Long-term meteorological data from synoptic stations of Iran. The Meteorological Organizations Press, Tehran (in Persian).

3- Jameie M., Hammadi K., and Hosseinzadeh M. 2006. Status of water supplies in Houralazim wetland in order to use in regional project of land use planning considering application of remote sensing techniques. Water Research Council, Khuzestan Water and Power Organization (In Persian with English abstract)

4- Rasouli A., Sari Sarraf B., and Mohammadi Gh. 2010. Analysis of the occurrence of dust storms in the West of Iran during last 55 years using non-parametric statistical analyses. Journal Natural Geography, 9:15-28. (in Persian with English abstract)

5- Raeispour K., Tavoosi T., and Khosravi M. 2009. Synoptic analysis of the dust phenomenon in Khuzestan Province, Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Disasters Management. (in Persian with English abstract)

6- Shahsavani A., Yarahmadi M., Madaqinia A., Yonisian M., Jaferzade N., Naeemabadi A., Salesi M., and Nadafi K. 2012. Analysis of dust entering the country with an emphasis on Khuzestan Province. Hakim Research Journal. 15(3): 192-202. (In Persian with English abstract)

7- Fouladvand S., 2011. Qualitative and quantitative studies of the changes in the flow of water entering into the Houralazim wetland due to Karkheh Dam construction. M.Sc thesis, Department of Soil Science, Collge of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz (In Persian with English abstract)

8- Al-Juboury A.I., 2009. Palygorskite in Miocene rocks of northern Iraq: environmental and geochemical indicators. Acta Geologica Polonica, 59:269–282.

9- Aqrawi A.A.M., 1993. Palygorskite in the recent fluviolacustrine and deltaic sediments of southern Mesopotamia. Clay Minerals, 28:153–159.

10- Hojati S., Khademi H., Faz Cano A., and Landi A. 2012. Characteristics of dust deposited along a transect between central Iran and the Zagros Mountains. Catena, 88:27-36.

11- Inoue K., Morioka T., and Naruse Y. 1991. Accumulation of Asian long-range aeolian dust in Japan and Korea from the Late Pleistocene to Holocene. Catena, 20:25-42.

12- Jalali N., and Davoudi M.H. 2008. Inspecting the origins and causes of the dust storms in the Southwest and West parts of Iran and the regions affected. Internal reports of Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Institute (SCWMRI), Iran.

13- Middleton N. J. 1986. A geography of dust storms in South-West Asia. Journal of Climatology, 6:183-196.

14- McTainsh G.H., Nickling W.G., and Lynch A.W. 1997. Dust deposition and particle size in Mali West Africa, Catena, 29:307-322.

15- Menendez I., Diaz-Hernadenz J.L., Mangas J., Alonso I., and Sanchez-Soto P.J. 2007. Air born dust accumulation and soil development in the north-east sector of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain). Journal of Arid Environment, 71:57-81.

16- Moutaz A., Al-Dabbas S., Abbas M.A., and Al-Khafaji R.M. 2010. Dust storms loads from Iraq. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 5 (1):121–131.

17- Pye, K. 1987. Aeolian Dust deposition. Academic Press, London.

18- Singer A., Ganor E., Dultz S., and Fischer W. 2003. Dust deposition over the Dead Sea. Journal of Arid Environment, 53:41–59.

19- Sokolike I.N., Toon O.B., and Bergstorm R.W. 1998. Modeling the radiative characteristics of airborne mineral aerosol at infrared wavelengths. Journal of Geophysical Research, 103(D8):8813-8826.

20- Ta W., Xiao H, Qu J., Xiao Z., Yang G., Wang T., and Zhang X. 2004. Measurements of dust deposition in Gansu Province, China. Geomorphology, 57:41-51.

21- Toy T.J., Foster G.R., and Renard K.G. 2002. Soil Erosion: Processes, Prediction, Measurement and Control, John Wiley & Sons, New York, USA.

22- USDA-NRCS. 1996. Soil Survey Laboratory Methods Manual, Soil Survey Investigations Report, No. 42.Version 3, 693 p.

23- Yaalon D.H., and Ginzbourg D. 1996. Sedimentary characteristics and climatic analysis of easterly dust storms in the Negev (Israel). Sedimentology, 6: 315-332.

24- Zarasvandi A., Carranza E.J.M., Moore F., and Rastmanesh F. 2011. Spatio-temporal occurrences and mineralogical–geochemical characteristics of airborne dusts in Khuzestan Province (southwestern Iran) environmental characteristics. Iranian Journal of Crystallography and Mineralogy of Iran, 14:3-16.

25- Zhang D., Zang J., Shi G., Iwasaka Y., Matsnki A., and Trochine D. 2003. Mixture state of individual Asian dust particles at a coastal sit of Qingdao, China. Atmospheric Environment, 37:3895-3901.