Changes in the Area of the Hamoun Wetlands and Their Role in Dust Storm Occurrences in the Sistan Plain

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Desert Research Department, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of Remote Sensing, Faculty of Geography, University of Kharazmi, Tehran, Iran.

10.22059/jes.2026.406010.1008652

Abstract

Objective: The Hamoun lakes of Sistan are among the most unstable ecosystems in Iran. Their most important climatic features are the occurrence of severe floods and severe and widespread droughts. Changes in the area of the Hamoun wetlands water have a very high variability coefficient under the influence of numerous factors. The instability of the water inflow and its low durability make any planning and sustainable development in this region difficult. Changes in the area of ​​the Hamoun wetlands water can double the challenge of dust in the Sistan Plain.
Method: Landsat satellite images and meteorological data were used to investigate the relationship between changes in the water area of the Hamoun wetlands and the number of dust events in the Sistan Plain. Using Landsat 5, 7, 8, and 9 satellite images on the Google Earth Engine platform, taking into account the assumption of accepting a maximum of 20% cloud cover on monthly images, the changes in the cover of Hamoon Lakes in 4 classes of water, soil, vegetation, and water-vegetation mixture were programmed for the statistical period from 1987 to 2023, and the trend of changes in each class was plotted. Using dust phenomenon codes, the number of events, days, and dust storms was extracted. Applying the scatter plots and R2 statistics, the correlation value of dust events with changes in water area was examined.
Results: The results showed no strong and significant relationship between the number of dusty days in the Sistan Plain and changes in the water area of ​​the Hamoun lakes; the reason was that dusty days could be any day with one to eight dust reports in the Synoptic. The number of events and its relationship with changes in the water area were examined. The results showed a strong and significant negative relationship between changes in the water area and the number of dust events. On the other hand, the drying of the bottom of the Hamoun lakes due to the fine-grained sediments with high volume and the impact of upstream river sediments on their bottom affected the horizontal field of view. The study of the relationship between dust storms and a horizontal field of view of one kilometer and less was explained with a very good coefficient of explanation by the trend of annual changes in the water area of the Hamoun lakes.
Conclusions: According to the results, the three main influential factors in the occurrence of dust storms in the study area were identified as the regional circulation of the atmosphere, the specific topography of the region, and the presence of fine-grained sediments in the Hamoun wetlands area. During the 120-day wind season of Sistan, this route becomes dry, which as a result increases the concentration of particles. Therefore, if it is wet, it can affect the field of view and reduce the concentration and intensity of the dust storm. Based on the findings, the number of dust storms showed a very strong and inverse relationship with the lack of water cover and the drying of the Hamoun lakes’ bed. It is suggested that the water rights of the wetlands be provided through diplomacy.

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Main Subjects

References

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Journal of Environmental Studies
Volume 51, Issue 4
March 2026
Pages 453-472

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