Abstract
Spatiotemporal patterns of dust storms are affected by climate change through changes in convective instability, regional meteorological characteristics, and local sediment supply. Linking dust storm dynamics to climate change helps the understanding of what controls the initiation of dust storms, and assists the prediction of future dust storm occurrence. This study examines the temporal dynamics of spring dust storms in Inner Mongolia, a major dust source area in East Asia. We found that severe spring dust storms have significantly declined from 1954 to 2007. Four dust storm types showed similar decreasing trends from 2001 to 2012. This change in spring dust storm dynamics is attributed to the shift in vegetation green-up dates based on the analysis of a satellite derived vegetation index. Earlier vegetation green-up has a dampening effect on spring dust storms. Suitable environmental conditions for vegetation green-up hinder the emergence of dust storms. This study expands our understanding of the dynamics of spring dust storms in the changing climate through a new perspective on vegetation phenology in the spring.
Highlights
Dust storms occur in association with strong turbulent winds and exposed soil surfaces (Goudie 1983, 2009) and have wide-ranging implications for the natural system and human society (Goudie and Middleton 1992)
This study examines the temporal dynamics of spring dust storms in Inner Mongolia, a major dust source area in East Asia
Based on the ground observations of dust storm events in central Inner Mongolia, we demonstrated a significant declining trend of severe spring dust storms from 1954 to 2007
Summary
Dust storms occur in association with strong turbulent winds and exposed soil surfaces (Goudie 1983, 2009) and have wide-ranging implications for the natural system and human society (Goudie and Middleton 1992). East Asia (China, Mongolia, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula) accounts for one fifth of the world’s population and includes large areas of arid and semiarid lands. These are some of the strongest source areas for dust storms and pose annual dust storm threats (Goudie and Middleton 1992; Liu et al 2011). This article reviews the primary controls of dust storm initiation and examines the long-term trends and variations of spring dust storms in Inner Mongolia—a major dust storm area with a local supply of source materials in East Asia. This study provides a novel view to understanding the variation of dust storms in a changing climate
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