TY  - JOUR
T1  - Monitoring Dust Storms over Iraq Using Satellite Images a Case Study
AU - Rajab, Jasim M. AU - Abdulfattah, Ibtihaj S. AU - Mossa, Hussein Abdelwahab 
JO  - Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences
VL  - 13
IS  - 10
SP  - 3663
EP  - 3670
PY  - 2018
DA  - 2001/08/19
SN  - 1816-949x
DO  - jeasci.2018.3663.3670
UR  - https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?doi=jeasci.2018.3663.3670
KW  - Dust
KW  -AIRS
KW  -MODIS
KW  -Iraq
KW  -dust
KW  -region
AB  - During dust storms, normally considered to be natural hazards, the dust aerosol is loaded into the
atmosphere. The present study addresses a dust storm event and its transport, occurred from 27 October-5
November 2017 with the strongest intensity on 28-30 October, using the satellite-borne sensors, namely the
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aqua, NOAA/ESRL Physical Science Division (PSD)
maps and weather underground data to investigate the spatial and temporal variations of Aerosol Optical
Depths (AOD) over Iraq. The satellite observations shows the transport of AOD from Syria desert to Northern
and central of Iraq and from Northern Peninsula Arabian desert to Southern and central regions due to the
Sharki and Shamal winds activities. The highest winds were on 27-30 October and 3-4 November and highest
AOD occurred in 30 October, particularly over Baghdad and Al Salman was 2.3 and 2.26, respectively. The
impact of the dust storm on the central and Southern regions was more pronounced. The sharp reduction in
horizontal visibility, associated with strong wind gust in the vicinity of leading edge of the front was very low
(<3.4 km at Mosul and 2 km at Baghdad and Basrah). This study sheds new light on the processes responsible
for dust transport and emission over Iraq in connection with winds strong events. Enhanced information for
these processes is a key to developing the dust forecast in this region.
ER  -