Dust And Sandstorms Research Articles

Preparedness challenges of the Iranian health system for dust and sand storms: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND:The dust and sand storms (DSS) in Iran increased in recent years, which have caused adverse health effects. Regarding the effects of DSS on the health indicators, the health system plays a key role based on the mission and the services which it provides. The present study was conducted, in Iran, to fill the existing knowledge gap and to understand the preparedness challenges of the health system in response to the DSS.MATERIALS AND METHODS:Twenty-one semi-structured interviews, in 2016–2017, were undertaken. This study carried out using purposeful sampling with key informants in the Khuzestan Province, national policymakers in Tehran, as well as people affected by this phenomenon. A qualitative approach, using the conventional content analysis, was employed to analyze the collected data.RESULTS:Four main categories that appear to explain the preparedness challenges of the health system for DSS include the risk assessment, knowledge management, organizational elements, as well as monitoring and evaluation.CONCLUSIONS:It is imperative that policymakers of the country pay special attention to the hazard risk understanding and managing the various aspects of the beliefs and attitudes associated with DSS. The development of early warning system, regular drills and exercises, as well as public and specialized health promotion training related to this phenomenon are suggested.

40 Years of ASEAN Environmental Governance: Enhancing Asean Centrality Through the ASEAN Plus Three (APT)

The environment has formally held a position in ASEAN’s regional agenda for a significant period of ASEAN’s 50 years history - since 1977 in fact, making ASEAN having 40 years of regional environmental governance experience. One of the most active areas of environmental cooperation at the ASEAN level has been over transboundary haze issues. This paper argues that ASEAN’s decades of experience in environmental cooperation can serve as lessons for other parts of the world. In particular, Northeast Asia which currently faces seasonal dust and sandstorms (DSS) that affect China, South Korea and Japan. The nature of the DSS problem is much in common with the transboundary haze problem in Southeast Asia. While the haze in Southeast Asia still persists, indicating that the ASEAN haze regime cannot be considered completely successful just yet, the ASEAN model of haze cooperation does contain some lessons that may be informative to Northeast Asia in DSS mitigation. In consideration of this, the paper proposes the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Environment Ministers Meeting as an existing framework that can serve as an umbrella mechanism for the reconfiguration of cooperation over DSS.

Global sources, emissions, transport and deposition of dust and sand and their effects on the climate and environment: a review

Dust and Sand Storms (DSS) originating in deserts in arid and semi-arid regions are events raising global public concern. An important component of atmospheric aerosols, dust aerosols play a key role in climatic and environmental changes at the regional and the global scale. Deserts and semi-deserts are the main source of dust and sand, but regions that undergo vegetation deterioration and desertification due to climate change and human activities also contribute significantly to DSS. Dust aerosols are mainly composed of dust particles with an average diameter of 2 mm, which can be transported over thousands of kilometers. Dust aerosols influence the radiation budget of the earthatmosphere system by scattering solar short-wave radiation and absorbing surface long-wave radiation. They can also change albedo and rainfall patterns because they can act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) or ice nuclei (IN). Dust deposition is an important source of both marine nutrients and contaminants. Dust aerosols that enter marine ecosystems after long-distance transport influence phytoplankton biomass in the oceans, and thus global climate by altering the amount of CO2 absorbed by phytoplankton. In addition, the carbonates carried by dust aerosols are an important source of carbon for the alkaline carbon pool, which can buffer atmospheric acidity and increase the alkalinity of seawater. DSS have both positive and negative impacts on human society: they can exert adverse impacts on human’s living environment, but can also contribute to the mitigation of global warming and the reduction of atmospheric acidity. Open image in new window

Transboundary Pollution in Northeast Asia: An International Environmental Law Perspective

Transboundary environmental problems pose significant challenges in achieving lasting peace, order, stability, and prosperity in the Northeast Asian region. Through rapid economic growth and energy-intensive industrialization, countries in this region are faced with serious environmental challenges, such as dust and sandstorms (DSS). This article describes the present state of DSS and the major legal and policy responses to deal with this problem in the Northeast Asian region. It focuses on how international environmental principles and theories can illustrate the emergence of the regional cooperative and regional institutionalization and assesses the developments so far. It then lays out why and how more expansive policy coordination among the countries in this region can lead to more promising results.

Influence of DSSs on urban air quality in China during 2005–2010 and analysis of a severe DSS event

In each year, Dust and Sandstorms (DSSs) triggered by cold air masses enhance particle concentration over large areas in China during spring and winter. In this paper, daily Air Pollution Index (API) of 113 major cities in China during dust events was analyzed to present the influence of DSSs on urban air quality. From 2005 to 2010, a total of 93 dust events were identified, on average there are approximately 16 dust events in a year. The number of total polluted days caused by DSSs in 113 major cities ranged from 147 to 546 each year, with maximum in 2010 and minimum in 2007. The number of total heavily polluted days caused by DSSs in major cities ranged from 14 to 78 each year, with maximum in 2010 and minimum in 2005. DSSs affected major cities most severely during March to May. Furthermore, a typical DSS observed from 26 to 31 May 2008 was described in terms of meteorological features and PM10 concentration as well as API levels of 113 major cities. This event lead to high PM10 concentration and low visibility over major cities, with maximum daily PM10 concentration of 1511 μg m−3 in Chifeng on 28 May, which was directly caused by strong wind in front of surface high pressure system passing through sand source areas in Mongolia and North China. The most severe pollution occurred on 29 May, with 38 cities polluted and 7 cities heavily polluted.

Dust and Sand Storms (DSS) in East Asia

Dust and Sand Storms (DSS) in East Asia

Dust Model Intercomparison Between ADAM and CFORS/Dust For Asian Dust Case in 2007 (March 28 - April 3)

As one of research activities of the Joint Research on Dust and Sand Storms (DSS) among China, Korea and Japan, intercomparison between two operational dust forecasting models (ADAM and CFORS/Dust) has been conducted using the selected DSS case which occurred in 2007. The results of simulations by both models were compared with various observations such as surface PM10, Aerosol Optical Thickness, and dust extinction coefficient. In general, both models produced similar results and the predicted values matched well with the observations, despite differences in emission treatment, the adoption of data assimilation technique, and meteorological inputs. However, a large difference (up to 4 times) in modeled surface PM10 concentrations between the models was observed at sites located in source or near-source regions. For the selected case, the dust emission amount calculated by ADAM was larger than that by CFORS/Dust. The vertical structure of dust layer from the models was different due to the characteristics of meteorological inputs used for each model. This study suggests that the construction of more accurate dust source allocation scheme, comprehensive dust emission treatment, improved meteorological inputs and the development of dust data assimilation technique with various dust observations are required for building a more accurate early-warning system of DSS in East Asia.

Sustainable management of grassland ecosystems for controlling Asian dusts and desertification in Asian continent and a suggestion of Eco‐Village study in China

AbstractAsian dusts, yellow sand, or dust and sand storms (DSS) in Asian continent are the end products of desertification, which became a regional environmental problem being aggravated by time. It is closely related to an issue of sustainability in the region. As the desertification is caused not only by natural factors, such as the climate change, strong wind, and low precipitation, but also by rapidly increasing human activities, such as overgrazing, misuse of water resources, and irrational land use, it is urgent to make efforts to combat desertification in Asian continent including China. In this regard, it is necessary to consider socio‐economic aspects as well as ecological aspects and, consequently, the project for the construction of a Demonstration Model Village for eco‐environmental rehabilitation should be paid to a special attention. The authors deal with this regional issue in consideration of three Es, which are represented by ecology, economy, and environment in providing the perspectives in sound approach to the issue. As an approach to the issue of Asian dusts and desertification in Asian continent, this Eco‐Village study provides one way forward.