Types, indications and impact evaluation of sand and dust storms trajectories in the Arabian Gulf

Dust is a common weather phenomenon in the Arabian Gulf, which has severely affected economy and health. Sand and dust storms (SDS) trajectories in the Arabian Gulf were temporally and spatially monitored from March 2000 to March 2017. Eight major SDS trajectories were detected from satellite images. The dust storms trajectories were categorized according to shape and size into three main types with 12 subtypes in the region. The annual transported dust amount into the Arabian Gulf was estimated by 89.1 million metric tons, which is about 10,330 metric tons per cubic kilometer of water volume. In comparison to other seas and oceans, the amount of dust deposited into the Arabian Gulf water body volume is the highest. Dust deposited in the coastal regions within the Arabian Gulf are originated from Mesopotamian Flood Plain (MFP), Ahwaz (HZ), Ahwar (HR) and Baluchistan Desert (BSH) and characterized by physical parameters and composition. Such physical characterization of the trajectories of SDS, and of the properties of particles transported in the Arabian Gulf can be helpful to assess and mitigate the environmental impact of future similar events.