Abstract
Optical properties of long-range Saharan dust particles transported to the Iran Plateau have been investigated. The results were derived from the measurements of a dual-wavelength Depolarized backscatter/Raman lidar and a Cimel CE318-2 sunphotometer. Observations were performed in Zanjan, Northwest Iran. The backward trajectory analysis show that the lofted dust plumes come from the Saharan desert and travel along Mediterranean Sea and Turkey toward Iran. The lidar ratio within the lofted dust layer has been found with mean values of 50 sr at 532 nm. For the depolarization ratio, mean values of 25% have been found.
Highlights
Atmospheric mineral dust can be transported more than tens of thousands of kilometers away from its sources in the free troposphere [1,2,3]
The Iran Plateau (~26°-36° N, ∼45°-61° E) which lies in the middle of the global dust belt is frequently affected by local, regional and trans-regional dust storm outbreaks
The air parcels travel over Mediterranean Sea, pass along Turkey-Syria border and eventually reach to the IRIS
Summary
Atmospheric mineral dust can be transported more than tens of thousands of kilometers away from its sources in the free troposphere [1,2,3]. They characterized the Mesopotamian region as the most influencing dust source over the measurement site [11, 12]. Vishkaee et al used a backscatter lidar to investigate some cases for transport of dust to Northwest of Iran during summer and winter times. They reported the Tigris and Euphrates basin and a dry region between the Aral and Caspian seas as sources for the mentioned cases [13].
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