Sand and dust storm events in Iraq
ABSTRACT
Iraq is one of the most affected countries in the Middle East concerning the occurrences of sand and dust storms. The frequency of the occurrence has increased drastically in the last decade and it is increasing continuously. The events of sand and dust storms are either regional or local. The former, however, is more frequent than the latter. The regional event, generally extends outside the Iraqi territory, into different directions, but usually covers part of Syria, crossing the Iraqi territory towards Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and/or towards the Arabian Gulf, and less frequently extends to Iran. The main causes in the development of sand and dust storms, in Iraq are discussed. The causes are also either regional or local. The former, however, causes more economic losses and harsh effect on the human’s health, as compared with the latter. One of the main reasons behind the development of sand and dust storms is the climatic changes within the region, especially the drastic decrease in the annual rate of rain fall, besides environmental changes, such as drying of the marshes, land degradation, and desertification. From the local causes, the most effective reason is the haphazard driving and military operations, especially in the Iraqi Southern Desert. Prudent management of water resources by using non-conventional resources and adapting suitable irrigation methods can greatly help to overcome this phenomenon and minimize the number of dust storm.
Iraq is one of the most affected countries in the Middle East concerning the occurrences of sand and dust storms. The frequency of the occurrence has increased drastically in the last decade and it is increasing continuously. The events of sand and dust storms are either regional or local. The former, however, is more frequent than the latter. The regional event, generally extends outside the Iraqi territory, into different directions, but usually covers part of Syria, crossing the Iraqi territory towards Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and/or towards the Arabian Gulf, and less frequently extends to Iran. The main causes in the development of sand and dust storms, in Iraq are discussed. The causes are also either regional or local. The former, however, causes more economic losses and harsh effect on the human’s health, as compared with the latter. One of the main reasons behind the development of sand and dust storms is the climatic changes within the region, especially the drastic decrease in the annual rate of rain fall, besides environmental changes, such as drying of the marshes, land degradation, and desertification. From the local causes, the most effective reason is the haphazard driving and military operations, especially in the Iraqi Southern Desert. Prudent management of water resources by using non-conventional resources and adapting suitable irrigation methods can greatly help to overcome this phenomenon and minimize the number of dust storm.
Cite this paper
Sissakian, V. , Al-Ansari, N. and Knutsson, S. (2013) Sand and dust storm events in Iraq. Natural Science, 5, 1084-1094. doi: 10.4236/ns.2013.510133.
Sissakian, V. , Al-Ansari, N. and Knutsson, S. (2013) Sand and dust storm events in Iraq. Natural Science, 5, 1084-1094. doi: 10.4236/ns.2013.510133.
References
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http://www.futuredirections.org.au/files/FDI_Strategic_Analysis_Paper_-_28_August_2012(1).pdf [17] Kami, A. (2011) Iraq may suffer clean water crisis in 1520 years, Returs.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/21/iraq-water-idUSL5E7KL5YZ20110921 [18] Sands, P. and Latif, N. (2009) Iraq’s new war is a fight for water, the national.
http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/iraqs-new-war-is-a-fight-for-water [19] IRIN (2013) IRAQ: Water shortage leads people to drink from rivers.
http://www.irinnews.org/report/70243/iraq-water-shortage-leads-people-to-drink-from-rivers [20] Lorenz, F.M. (2008) Strategic water for Iraq: The need for planning and action.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:NDIbnCjaE-AJ:www.wcl.american.edu/journal/ilr/24/documents/Lorenz.pdf+&cd=1&hl=sv&ct=clnk&gl=se [21] Raphael, N. (2009) Water crisis in Iraq: The growing danger of desertification, investors Iraq. http://www.investorsiraq.com/showthread.php?132306-Water-Crisis-in-Iraq-The-Growing-Danger-of-Desertification [22] UNESCO-Iraq (2013) Iraq’s water in the International Press. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/iraq-office/natural-sciences/water-sciences/water-in-iraq/ [23] Chulov, M. (2009) Water shortage threatens two million people in southern Iraq, The Gurdian. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/aug/26/water-shortage-threat-iraq [24] Al-Ansari, N.A., Al-Jabbari, M.H. and McManus, J. (1978) Sediment discharge in the River Almond. Scotland, Iraqi Journal of Science, 19, 2145-2165. [25] Al-Jabbari, M.H., Al-Ansari, N.A. and McManus, J. (1980) The effect of farming and housing upon sediment transport in a gravely river. Influence of man of the hydrological regime (Intern. Symposium), Helsinki IHS Pub. 130, 257-263. [26] Qi, J., Al-Ansari, N. and Knutsson, S. (2013) Dust emission from unpaved roads in Lule?, Sweden. Journal of Earth Science and Geotechnical Engineering, 3, 1-13. [27] Bacon, S.N., McDonald, E.V., Baker, S.E., Caldwell, T.G. and Stullenbarger, G. (2008) Desert terrain characterization of landforms and surface materials within vehicle test courses at US. Army Yuma Proving Ground, USA. Journal of Terramechanics, 45, 5167-5183.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jterra.2008.09.005 [28] Berli, M., Caldwell, T.G., McDonald, E.V. and Gilewitch, D.A. (2013) Modeling desert pavement deterioration due to heavy vehicle traffic. Journal of Terramechanics. [29] Dalldorf, G.K., McDonald, E.V., Bacon, S.N. and Nikolich, G. (2008) Testing and evaluation of a synthetic polymer for dust suppression in military applications. Geological Society of America Meeting, Houston. [30] Caldwell, T.G., McDonald, E.V. and Young, M. (2008) Soil disturbance and unsaturated hydraulic response at the US Army National Training Center, Ft. Irwin, California. Journal of Arid Environments, 67, 456-472. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2006.02.019 [31] Caldwell, T.G., McDonald, E.V., Bacon, S.N. and Stullenbarger, G. (2008) The performance and sustainability of vehicle dust courses for military testing. Journal of Terramechanics, 45, 213-221. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jterra.2008.10.002 [32] Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia (2009) Dust storms. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Internet data. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_storm [33] Steremberg, G. (2006) Iraq weather maps. Internet data.