Identification of dust aerosols, their sources, and the effect of soil moisture in Central Asia

Jie Liu; Jianli Ding; Xiaohang Li; Junyong Zhang; Bohua Liu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161575

Identification of dust aerosols, their sources, and the effect of soil moisture in Central Asia

Sci Total Environ. 2023 Apr 10:868:161575. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161575. Epub 2023 Jan 11.

Authors

Jie Liu¹, Jianli Ding², Xiaohang Li¹, Junyong Zhang¹, Bohua Liu¹

Affiliations

¹ College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China; Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China.
² College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China; Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China; Key Laboratory of Smart City and Environment Modelling of Higher Education Institute, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China. Electronic address: watarid@xju.edu.cn.

PMID: 36638991
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161575

Abstract

Dust aerosols in Central Asia are an important factor in global climate change and attribution studies. Identifying the source of dust in Central Asia is crucial for understanding the ecological environment and climate, locally and globally. In this study, daily dust aerosol data were calculated and extracted for Central Asia from 2003 to 2018. The multi-year trends of dust aerosols were analyzed, dust sources were identified, the characteristics of dust aerosols in dust sources were analyzed, and the influence of soil moisture on sand initiation was explored. The results show that there are distinct seasonal characteristics in the spatial distribution of dust aerosols in Central Asia. The proportion of the area in the zone of high dust aerosols was the greatest in spring. Nearly half of the dust aerosol areas exhibited an increasing trend. A high incidence of dust sources was mainly distributed in the southern Xinjiang region. The trend of change in the dust area first increased and then decreased. With the increase in soil moisture under different wind speed conditions, the aerosols from dust sources all showed an exponentially decreasing trend, and the increase in soil moisture led to an increase in the wind speed threshold of sand initiation. This study provides basic data support for the study of dust aerosols, identifies dust sources, and provides a basis for studying the radiative forcing and climate effects of dust aerosols in Central Asia.

Keywords: Arid region; Central Asia; Dust aerosol; Dust sources; Soil moisture.