Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
Abstract
Occurrence of prolonged drought was commenced in Sistan region from 1999 caused by wetland dryness in Hamoun Lake and wind erosion. Severe wind erosion and dust storm cause huge damages to various aspects of the people's life in the study region and thus understanding of the impacts of soil erosion and dust storms on human's lifefor making better decision is vital. The meteorological data of Sistan region and WRPLOT software were used to study wind erosion and draw wind rose in the study area. In addition, meteorological code numbers of 30 and 35 and the data of wind speed and direction as well as visibility were used to analyze dust storms datasets. The results show that prevailing wind has north to north west directions. It is found that droughts have increased the frequency of dust storms with mean dusty days, from 10 to 54 days in 1980 and 1999, respectively after drought occurrence. As above- mentioned, over period (1980-1999), there have been 324 dust storm days. The furthest horizontal visibility, between 1-5 km, took place in 2001, particularly in July, August, and September. It is found out that number of dust storm days which are recorded in summer season (June, July, August and September) is more than others. The length of dust storms in the region was between 3 to 110 hours. The frequency of dust storms occurred in more than 3 hours was fairly high. It can be concluded that wind erosion in the Sistan region has significantly increased after drought.
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