Dust Phenomenon Research Articles

Revisiting lunar dust charging and dynamics

Under the dynamic influence of near-surface plasma, intricate dynamics of lunar dust have been observed during the Surveyors and Apollo missions in the form of Lunar horizontal glow. These dynamics are primarily driven by electrostatic forces generated by the continual bombardment of solar wind and highly energetic UV photons on the lunar surface and dust particles. This paper revisits the phenomenon of dust charging within the lunar photoelectron sheath and subsequent dynamics. The investigation has been carried out using a comprehensive model of the lunar photoelectron sheath characterized by observed solar spectra, latitude-dependent Fermionic photoelectrons, non-Maxwellian solar wind electrons, and cold ions. A test dust particle is introduced into the sheath, and equilibrium charge and static levitation conditions are derived. The result of dynamical evolution suggests the existence of a narrow parametric regime corresponding to the periodic hopping trajectory of the dust particle over the lunar surface. In other cases, the dust particles are found to re-impact the surface after a single ballistic hop. We further identify that the discrete charging of the dust could be crucial in determining the dust dynamics, particularly in the tenuous plasmas. The analysis of the discrete dust charging model reveals significant discrepancies with the continuous dust charging model and suggests a lower likelihood of static dust levitation in the lunar environment. The present study is important for unraveling the fundamental processes governing surface evolution on the Moon and other airless bodies throughout the Solar System.

Intelligent Dust Monitoring System Based on IoT

Dust is a frequent contributor to health risks and changes in the climate, one of the most dangerous issues facing people today. Desertification, drought, agricultural practices, and sand and dust storms from neighboring regions bring on this issue. Deep learning (DL) long short-term memory (LSTM) based regression was a proposed solution to increase the forecasting accuracy of dust and monitoring. The proposed system has two parts to detect and monitor the dust; at the first step, the LSTM and dense layers are used to build a system using to detect the dust, while at the second step, the proposed Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) and Internet of Things (IoT) model is used as a forecasting and monitoring model. The experiment DL system train and test part was applied to dust phenomena historical data. Its data has been collected through the Iraqi Meteorological Organization and Seismology (IMOS) raw dataset with 170237 of 17023 rows and 10 columns. The LSTM model achieved small time, computationally complexity of, and layers number while being effective and accurate for dust prediction. The simulation results reveal that the model's mean square error test reaches 0.12877 and Mean Absolute Error (MAE) test is 0.07411 at the same rates of learning and exact features values of vector in the dense layer, representing a neural network layer deeply is connected to the LSTM training proposed model. Finally, the model suggested enhances monitoring performance.

Shivalik Plasma Device-I, a glow discharge device to study the collective dynamics of dusty plasma

Using a uniquely configured glow discharge-based Shivalik Plasma Device-I, we demonstrate a variety of collective phenomena in dusty plasma away from the glow discharge region. The cylindrical glass device produces plasma using parallel disc-shaped electrodes with a smaller anode size than the cathode. The dust microparticles are initially sprinkled over the grounded cathode. These particles acquire a significant negative charge upon plasma formation, resulting in their levitation due to the balance between the Coulomb force and gravity. The new device supports the levitation of a big-sized (10 × 8 × 5 cm3) three-dimensional dust cloud over the glass surface. It contrasts the dusty plasma formations in-between electrodes reported earlier. As the discharge voltage varies from high to low, the dust cloud travels from over the glass surface to between the electrodes. A complex interplay of dust void over the cathode, a sharp density gradient, and gravity lead to self-excitation of collective dust phenomena. It includes dust density waves (phase velocity, vph ∼ 4 cm/s), dust cloud oscillation (frequency, f = 5 Hz), sheared flow (flow velocity, vf ∼ 1 cm/s), and multiple-sized dust vortices. These dust vortices provided an excellent platform for studying turbulent mixing phenomena. The power spectrum analysis agreed with two-dimensional Kolmogorov power-law scaling. This is an ideal dusty plasma apparatus where we can create or move the dust cloud to a location of choice from the glass surface to in-between the electrodes and excite one among many collective dust dynamics.

Evaluation of Temporal-Spatial Changes of Climatic Elements Affecting the Occurrence of Dust Phenomenon in Arid and Semi-arid Regions (Case Study: Jazmurian Wetland)

Evaluation of Temporal-Spatial Changes of Climatic Elements Affecting the Occurrence of Dust Phenomenon in Arid and Semi-arid Regions (Case Study: Jazmurian Wetland)

Temporal and Spatial Variability of Dust in the Urmia Basin, 1990–2019

The living conditions in the Urmia Basin (northwestern Iran) face significant challenges due to dust events. This study investigates the spatial and temporal characteristics of dust phenomena in the Urmia Basin using MERRA-2 data and observational data from Tabriz, Urmia, Sarab, and Mahabad over a 30-year period (1990–2019). The findings reveal that despite several fluctuations, the annual number of dusty days increased from the 1990s to the 2010s in the Urmia Basin. The maximum number of dusty days was found to predominantly occur in May (spring) and October (autumn), driven by two distinct mechanisms. In early autumn, developing synoptic systems associated with increased wind speeds can cause dust emission from dry land sources. Consequently, an increase in dust wet deposition, precipitation, dust surface concentration, and the number of dusty days occurs in October. In contrast, a sharp decrease in precipitation from April to May leads to drying soil and dust emission in May. Among the studied cities, Tabriz experienced the highest number of dusty days (728) due to the combined effects of cross-border and local dust sources. The highest dust column density and dust dry deposition in the south and east of Urmia Lake indicate the impact of declining water levels, which resulted in a dry lakebed as the primary local dust source. The MERRA-2 spatial distribution reveals that dust surface concentration, and the number of dusty days decrease similarly from the southwest to the northeast of the Urmia Basin as the distance from cross-border dust sources increases. A positive correlation is observed between the number of dusty days and MEERA-2 data, including dust surface concentration, dust dry deposition, column mass dust, and total aerosol extinction, with coefficients of 0.74, 0.71, 0.69, and 0.68, respectively.

Observing a dust aerosol layer at a height of 3–4 km above the ground on the southern margin of the Tarim Basin

The vertical distribution and transport properties of dust aerosols play a key role in regional and even global climate and environmental changes. However, there are still gaps in understanding the optical properties, transport mechanisms, and topographic effects on dust in the dust-prone area-southern margin of the Tarim Basin. In this study, we use the Ground-Based Aerosol Lidar (GBQL-01) installed in Hotan and Minfeng in cooperation with the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) to synthesize and analyze the dust formation process at the southern margin of the basin once, and to test the reliability of the ground-based aerosol lidar. The variability characteristics of meteorological elements during this dust process will be discussed. Furthermore, the Weather Research and Forecasting Model with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) was used to reproduce this dust process. The results show that the vertical transport of dust particles reaches about 4 km and 3 km in Hotan and Minfeng, respectively, and the dust aerosol stratification intensity is obvious within 1 km height in both places, and there is a dust aerosol layer at 3 km height in both places. The high winds are blocked by the large topography of the Tianshan Mountains and the northern slopes of the Tibet Plateau, and they change to northeasterly winds, triggering dusty weather outbreaks at the southern margin of the Tarim Basin. When the dusty weather subsided, dust aerosols with concentrations of 300–400 μg m−3 were still present at an altitude of 4 km, and a clear suspended dust phenomenon was formed. Meanwhile, the increase of wind speed and relative humidity, as well as the decrease of temperature, easily contribute to the occurrence of dusty weather and the transport of particulate matter. This work provides a useful reference for the study of regional climate change, topographic effects and "suspended dust".

Investigation of climate change effects on Iraq dust activity using LSTM

Awareness about the impact of climate change on the change rate of dust phenomenon has become a crucial problem due to public health, climate, and air quality. It has been recognized that the Tigris- Euphrates alluvial plain is the main source of dust storms in the Middle East and southwest Asia. In this work, the effects of different variables, including minimum temperature (Tmin), maximum temperature (Tmax), precipitation (Pr), mean wind speed (MWS), humidity (H), and vegetation (Veg) on dust activity are investigated, and Aerosol optical depth (AOD) was predicted by Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) from 2021 to 2040. HadGEM3-GC was selected to generate the climatic patterns under Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5) scenarios until 2040. The Long Ashton Research Station Weather Generator (LARS-WG 6) software was used to downscale the General Circulation model (GCM). Moreover, Mann-Kendall and Sen's slope tests are utilized to assess a significant trend. Tmax, Tmin, Pr, and Veg were determined to predict AOD that had a highly close relationship with AOD (r = 0.865, R2 = 0.752, RMSE = 0.079, and MAE = 0.065). The results indicated that AOD would rise gradually in two upcoming decades with 10.5% and 15.2% related to base period (2000–2020) under two scenarios. Understanding of dust phenomenon of future prospective could help policymakers to provide a better situation of air quality.

Experimental study on electrostatic migration of different mineral particles composing lunar dust under electron irradiation

Dust electrostatic migration is one of the primary causes of dust events on the surface of airless celestial bodies, which can result in multiple dust phenomena, including lunar horizon glow and dust pools, and also offer crucial insights into the evolution of the surface materials of airless celestial bodies. To date, the characteristics and laws of dust electrostatic migration are still not well understood. Here, we report the electrostatic migration characteristics of pyroxene, olivine, and ilmenite particles measured by the laser Doppler method and compare them with the findings of anorthite particles in previous experiments to recognize the differential migration characteristics of different mineral components in the lunar dust. The results demonstrate that the particle sizes of most moving pyroxene and olivine particles are in the range of 0–10 μm, and their vertical velocities are typically less than 2 m s−1, which are consistent with the previous studies. The cohesive force between the dust particles is probably what causes the difference in the migration rates of various insulating minerals. Note that no moving ilmenite particles were detected probably due to the material’s good conductivity. It can be speculated that the concentration of fugitive dust in the lunar mare is affected by the ilmenite content, but further research is needed to determine how low ilmenite content can cause dust migration.

A study of the monthly and hourly frequencies of the phenomenon of suspended dust in selected stations in Iraq

لقد تم في هذا البحث دراسة التكرارات الشهرية والساعية لظاهرة الغبار العالق الذي يرمز له انوائياً بالرقم الشفري (06) في الشفرة الطقسية في محطات مختارة من العراق (موصل ، بغداد ، بصرة) للفترة الممتدة من ( 1995 – 2005 ) من خلال الإستعانة ببيانات الهيئة العامة للأنواء الجوية العراقية والرصد الزلزالي. لقد أظهرت النتائج بان اشهر الصيف ( حزيران ، تموز ، أب ) ، وأشهر الربيع ( أذار ، نيسان ، مايس ) تسجل اعلى قيمة لعدد مرات حدوث للغبار العالق ، بينما أقل قيمة لعدد مرات حدوث الغبار العالق فسجلت في اشهر الشتاء ( كانون الأول ، كانون الثاني ، شباط ) ، وأشهر الخريف ( أيلول ، تشرين الأول ، تشرين الثاني ) وفي جميع محطات الدراسة الثلاث. كما أظهرت النتائج بأن الرصدات الطقسية النهارية ( ، ، ، ) وحسب توقيت كرينج العالمي ( (تسجل اعلى معدل للغبار العالق ، بينما الرصدات الطقسية المسائية ( ، ، ، ) فتسجل أقل معدل للغبار العالق وفي محطات الدراسة الثلاث كافة .

Investigating the mechanism of dust transferring from Iraq to the north of Alborz mountains in Iran

Introduction: Recently, due to climate change, the number and intensity of dust sources are increasing, which leads to the occurrence of dust storms. Atmospheric patterns governing the region, topography and surface features are effective on transportation and dispersion of dust particles.
 Materials and methods: In this study, a severe dust phenomenon on the 3th and 4th March, 2022, was investigated. The dust was emitted from the east of Iraq and passed through the Zagros and Alborz mountain ranges toward the Caspian sea. Meteorological data of the country, satellite data, ERA5 reanalysis data and HYSPLIT and output from the Weather Research and Forecasting Model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) were used.
 Results: Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) anomaly compared to the long-term indicated that the intense transport of dust particles from eastern Iraq and reaching the Caspian Sea is not a common phenomenon. Synoptic analysis showed that the dust particles in the source area ascended to the mid-levels of the atmosphere and a large part of the particles passed through the Zagros Mountains. Then, the dust entered the Caspian Sea by passing through the Manjil valley. The vertical profile of WRF-Chem model output showed the ascent of dust particles up to 600 hPa near the dust source and its passage over mountainous areas.
 Conclusion: The main factors in the formation of this unusual dust phenomenon are: severe two-year drought in the Middle East, reduction of vegetation and cold front of the dynamic low-pressure located in the east of the Black Sea, east of Turkey and northern Iraq moving eastward to the Caspian sea in the following hours.

Climatic assessment of the geographical distribution of the wheat crop in Iraq

The relationship between climate and agriculture is very close and agriculture is probably the most influential activity in climate conditions. The climate factor is one of the most influential natural factors in determining crop species as it identifies areas that can be cultivated with specific crops, including the wheat crop under study. The goal of this research is a study (climate assessment of the geographical distribution of Iraq's wheat crop) that identifies the geography of the applied climate. The study showed the extent to which climate elements and manifestations of dust atmosphere (solar radiation, wind, moisture, dust storms, rising dust and stuck dust) affect Iraq's wheat cultivation and production. The study relied on eight climate stations for the study area (Iraq) and climate data for the period 1990-2020. The study examined Iraq's climatic characteristics for monthly and annual rates (solar radiation, temperature rates, wind, relative humidity, dust phenomena). The study also examined the geographical distribution of the cultivation and production of wheat in Iraq for the cultivated area and total production and for the average productivity (yield) for the study years (2012, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020).

Spatial distribution of PM2.5 chemical components during winter at five sites in Northeast Asia: High temporal resolution measurement study

The Center for Fine Particle Research Initiative in East Asia considering National Differences (FRIEND) project was launched in 2020 to characterize air pollution in Northeast Asia with effective collaboration. One of the goals of this study is to elucidate the spatiotemporal characteristics of atmospheric aerosols (e.g., PM2.5) in Northeast Asia. To achieve this objective, (1) the chemical speciation of fine particles was measured in high resolution, (2) the physical characteristics of fine particles were also elucidated, and (3) the gaseous and particulate components of the atmospheric aerosols were comprehensively monitored. The first field campaign was conducted from December 15, 2020, to January 15, 2021, and simultaneously monitored five key sites in Northeast Asia: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Beijing, China; Seosan and Seoul, Republic of Korea (Korea); and Noto, Japan. The synoptic weather conditions mainly determined the periods of high PM2.5 mass concentration. During the first high-pollution event, the air over the Northeast Asian region was generally stagnant, and the inland wind speed over China, Korea, and Japan was very low. The PM2.5 mass concentration in Beijing, Seosan, and Seoul had increased simultaneously. Then, the prevailing westerlies in Northeast Asia caused the polluted air mass observed in Seoul to move to the background site in Noto. During the second high-pollution event, the Asian dust phenomenon occurred in the Gobi Desert and moved to all sites. Though the synoptic weather conditions largely determined the trend of the PM2.5 mass concentrations at the five sites, the levels of chemical components in both gaseous and particulate phases were different at each site, reflecting local emission and formation characteristics. Overall, the concentrations of air pollutants were highest in Ulaanbaatar; comparable in Beijing, Seoul, and Seosan and very low in Noto. A common characteristic of the five sites was the high organic aerosol (OA) proportion in fine particles. The chemical components that increased with the PM2.5 mass concentration were OA at Ulaanbaatar, OA and nitrate at Beijing and Seosan, nitrate at Seoul, and sulfate and OA at Noto. Further study directions for each site are discussed.

Estimation of dust concentration by a novel machine vision system

The dust phenomenon is one of the main environmental problems that it reversely affects human health and economical and social activities. In the present research, a novel algorithm has been developed based on image processing to estimate dust concentration. An experimental setup was implemented to create airborne dust with different concentration values from 0 to 2750 µg.m−3. The images of the different dust concentration values were acquired and analyzed by image processing technique. Different color and texture features were extracted from various color spaces. The extracted features were used to develop single and multivariable models by regression method. Totally 285 single variable models were obtained and compared to select efficient features among them. The best single variable model had a predictive accuracy of 91%. The features were used for multivariable modeling and the best model was selected with a predictive accuracy of 100% and a mean squared error of 1.44 × 10−23. The results showed the high ability of the developed machine vision system for estimating dust concentration with high speed and accuracy.

A Study on the Characteristics of Aerosol Chemical Components Over the Seoul Air-Shed(Ⅰ) - Chemical Evolution of PM-1.0

In this study, we carried out the aircraft measurement over Seoul air-shed with a HR-ToF-AMS integrated on an aircraft in the spring of 2020. During the aircraft measurement period, the westerly wind was dominant in the Korean Peninsula and the high-concentration fine dust phenomenon occurred in the Seoul metropolitan area from March 21 to 23, 2020. The average concentration of NR-PM-1.0 for 6 research flights (RF01 to RF06) was 10.0 ± 2.7 μg/m3 to 52.9 ± 14.4 μg/ m3. The chemical composition of NR-PM-1.0 was 36-57% organic, 12-34% sulfate, 11-25% nitrate, and 10-14% ammonium, and organic component was dominant. The NR-PM-1.0 concentration (52.9 ± 14.4 μg/m3) of the Seoul flight corresponding to RF05 was the highest, and organic components and sulfate were identified as major components. The flight zone was designed into three zones according to the flight route. The highest NR-PM-1.0 concentration was shown in the Seoul downtown area (a), and the organic component was confirmed as the dominant component of NR-PM-1.0 at a level of about 50%. It was found that the aerosol flowed into the Seoul air-shed with a strong westerly wind and moved to the east and affected rural areas in the downwind direction.

The Effect of Dust Storm on Sea Surface Temperature in the Western Basin of Persian Gulf

A dust storm is one of the costliest and most destructive events in many desert regions. This research investigates the effect of dust storm on sea surface temperature (SST) in the western zone of the Persian Gulf, especially Bushehr Province and its beaches in the years 2008 and 2009. Therefore, some climate and sea parameters such as SST, salinity, air temperature, wind velocity and direction, evaporation, horizontal visibility, sunshine hours and radiation, simultaneously measured in a specific period of time, were analyzed by comparing each of them with satellite data. Sea surface temperature analysis in summer shows that the maximum SST in Persian Gulf along neighbor waters to Bushehr County and central regions in northern section of Persian Gulf is about 34–36 °C. The SST amplitude variation in these places in summer ranges from 28 to 34 °C and when there are dust phenomena, it is from 29.5 to 31 °C. The outcome of this study shows that the SST increases during dusting phenomena and this causes an increase in vapor and as a result a decrease in temperature occurs. On the other hand, vapor increase leads to a growth in the amount and layer of earth’s cloud cover and finally it causes an effective decrease in short-wave sunshine and the temperature and the vapor on surface decrease. As a result, the decrease in sea surface temperature terminates.

Regional Analysis of Dust Day Duration in Central Iran

The duration of dust days (DDD) is one of the most important parameters that may worsen the effects of the presence of dust in the affected areas. Persistent pollution over consecutive dusty days can have particularly negative effects on the human respiratory system. The present analysis was conducted in Central Iran, where the phenomenon of dust is one of the most important problems. In this study, using dust codes recorded at 35 synoptic stations, the homogeneity of DDD across the region was investigated using the L-moments method. Then, characteristics of DDD over the period 1999–2018 were calculated. The results showed that the region is statistically homogeneous. Furthermore, Zabol and Zahdan are the stations worst affected, with the longest durations of 22 and 21 days in 2014. Additionally, the values of DDD with return periods of 5, 10, 25, and 50 years were calculated using fitted statistical distributions and kriging and mapped. Finally, using the K nearest neighbor method the most important factor affecting DDD of the spatial characteristics, including longitude, latitude, elevation, average daily temperature (tm), dew point (td), wind altitude (u), maximum wind speed (ffmax), and direction of the fastest wind (ddmax), was determined. It was found that the southeastern parts of the study area are affected by the longest dust storm duration in all return periods; over longer return periods, long dust storms are also found in the central parts, especially the central desert of Iran. Therefore, these areas should be given priority in fighting and controlling wind erosion. Furthermore, the results showed that the maximum wind speed has the greatest effect on DDD.

Natural characteristics affecting the amount of solid waste and its health effects in the center of Nasiriyah district

The natural characteristics affecting the amount of solid waste in the study area were studied through repeated field visits to the area and observation of solid waste on the soil in the hot and cold seasons. Data related to this study, including climatic data, were collected by government departments in the center of Nasiriyah district. In this research, we included the study of the natural characteristics and their contribution to increasing the amount of solid waste and its impact on the soil, including: the surface of the Nasiriyah district center and the climate and the study of its elements represented by solar radiation, temperature, moisture, evaporation, wind, dust phenomena and rain fall, as well as the study of each of the soils in the study area and an indication of its types and water resources.

Consequences and health effects of toxic air pollutants emission by industries

Emission large amounts of air pollutants can cause many problems in the environment and human health. The purpose of this review study was evaluating consequences and health effects of toxic air pollutants and expressing strategies for controlling these pollutants.
 A narrative review of the literature was done based on searched databases. All relevant studies published 1998 until 2021 gathered. According to the databases, 360 articles were retrieved. 24 studies were screened after review and 16 full-text articles entered into the analysis process. Finally, 9 articles were selected in this study.
 The results of this study showed that industrialization, increasing urbanization, technological development, rapid population growth, increased desertification and deforestation, occurrence of dust phenomenon, uncontrolled growth of motor vehicles, entry of various pollutants and environmental degradation cause a phenomenon called air pollution. Based on the results, the toxic air pollutants causes many health endpoints in human such as respiratory disease, asthma, chronic lung disease, respiratory and cardiovascular system dysfunction, decreased immune system, headache, dizziness, gastrointestinal disease and increased risk of cancer (lung, stomach, intestine, eye, liver and brain).
 According to research related to the subject, air pollution is a positive function of energy consumption, volume of industrial activities, and the uncontrolled increase of human activities. The most vital factors are increasing the level of public awareness, reducing the exposure to toxic air pollutants, improving quality of the products and consumption of consumed fuels.

Monitoring of Climatic Factors Affecting on Dust & Sand Storm in Tehran Province

In this study, according to the objectives and implementation method, climatic factors affecting ‎the dust phenomenon in active meteorological stations in Tehran province for a period of 30 years ‎were studied and analyzed. The results showed that in Mehrabad meteorological station, ‎temperature, humidity, rainfall, evaporation factors were directly related to DSI indices, wind ‎trend and dust storm changes, Lancaster, wind and storm diagrams, SPEI and the increase of ‎drought indices in the statistical period increased with temperature, evaporation and decrease. ‎Rainfall and humidity are proportional. DSI dust storm indexes were compared to 1 and ‎Lancaster drought index was compared to 50 and SPEI index was compared positively and ‎negatively in different years of the statistical period in the region and was classified in terms of ‎drought and wet season. The results of monthly and annual changes in wind trend and dust ‎storms showed that the region has no wind in all months and seasons with a speed of more than ‎‎20 meters per second. In terms of wind speed and frequency percentage, the highest wind speed ‎was related to late May and early June, and the lowest wind speed was related to late December ‎and early January. In addition, according to the changes in the wind trend and the documents of the ‎winds and thunderstorms, the prevailing wind direction in the region was from the west.‎

Evaluation of pollution indices, health hazards and source identification of heavy metal in dust particles and storm trajectory simulation using HYSPLIT model (Case study: Hendijan center dust, southwest of Iran)

Atmospheric dust is one of the most recent environmental pollutions in Iran. This study examines the concentration of heavy metals and the assessment of environmental and human health risk in the dust samples of Hendijan region as one of the most important centers of wind erosion in the southwestern of Iran. ICP-MSS analysis was performed on 18 samples of fine dust to specify the concentration of heavy metals. Studies showed that the highest concentrations of metals in these fine dust samples belong to Cr, Ni, Zn, Cu, As, Pb and Cd, respectively. Examining fine dust's pollution assessment showed that the highest enrichment and geo-accumulation index belong to As, Ni and Cr metals. Environmental risk assessment shows the low environmental risk of these fine dusts. The hazard quotient in children and adults belongs to Cr, As and Ni, respectively. Human health risk assessment also showed that the highest absorption of metals in both children and adults is through ingestion. The non-carcinogenic risk of heavy metals of dust samples in children is about 9 times more than adults. The highest risk of cancer in the adult group belongs to Ni metal and in the group of children belongs to As and Ni metal. PCA analysis showed that As, Cu, Cd, Cr and Ni are of anthropogenic origin and Zn and Pb are of geogenic origin. The source of the dust phenomenon with the HYSPLIT model and the backward method indicates the tracking of this dust mass through Iraq, and its probable origin was assessed in the centers of northern Iraq and southeastern Syria.