Analysis of the Trend of the Dust Storm Index in the Lake Uromia Playa

The extended periods of drought, decrease in vegetation, and enlargement of the salt playa at Lake Urmia have resulted in the formation of local dust hotspots on the periphery of Lake Urmia in East Azarbaijan province. The objective of this study was to examine the spatial and temporal distribution of wind erosion in East Azarbaijan province using the DSI index. To achieve this, a set of weather data recorded over the past 30 years at specific codes in meteorological stations was compiled. Subsequently, the Mann-Kendall test was employed to assess the presence of a trend in the data series. Following this, the frequency of dust storms was calculated using the DSI index, and a spatial distribution map was generated in the GIS. The results of the Mann-Kendall test indicated that the slope of the trend for both local and extra-local dust storms in the province is on the rise. However, only the trend in extra-local dust storms is statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. The findings of the research revealed that the majority of the observed dust storms originate from outside the local area in East Azarbaijan province. Nevertheless, there has been a relative increase in the frequency of local dust storms in recent years, which can be attributed to the prolonged droughts resulting in reduced vegetation and the expansion of the playa of Lake Urmia. In this context, the highest frequency of dust storms has been observed at the Tabriz, Sahand, and Maragheh meteorological stations near Lake Urmia.