Salt dust storm in the Ebinur Lake region: its 50-year dynamic changes and response to climate changes and human activities

Abstract

The dynamic changes characteristics of salt dust storm in the Ebinur Lake of Xinjiang were investigated using the monitoring data during 1957–2007 of atmospheric dust storm and floating dust from four meteorological stations surrounding the dry lakebeds, and the gray correlation analysis method was used to calculate the correlation degree between annual dust storm days and meteorological and socioeconomic factors. The results showed that salt dust storm in the Ebinur Lake region presented a fluctuating process during 1957–2007, in which 1975 and 2000 were the two cut-off points. During 1975–2000, there were very frequent storms, and the average annual number of salt dust storm days was 10–48, while the average annual number of storm days was not more than 12 both before 1975 and after 2000. The annual variation of salt dust storm displayed a double-peak pattern, of which storm in spring accounted for 62–90 % of the total dust storm days of a year, and that in autumn accounted for 7–13 %. Among the meteorological factors, strong winds had the greatest impact on salt dust storm, followed by temperature and precipitation. For the anthropogenic factors, agricultural acreage exhibited the strongest influence on salt dust storm, followed by lake surface area and population number, while livestock number showed the smallest effect.