9 Nov 2022

Meteorological Influences of a Major Dust Storm in Southwest Asia during July–August 2018

Abstract: Dust storms can be hazardous for aviation, military activities, and respiratory health and can occur on a wide variety of spatiotemporal scales with little to no warning. To properly forecast these storms, a comprehensive understanding of the meteorological dynamics that control their evolution is a prerequisite. To that end, we chose a major dust storm that occurred in Southwest Asia during July–August 2018 and conducted an observation-based analysis of the meteorological conditions that influenced the storm’s evolution. We found that the main impetus behind the dust storm was a large-scale meteorological system (i.e., a cyclone) that affected Southwest Asia. It seems that cascading effects from this system produced a smaller, near-surface warm anomaly in Mesopotamia that may have triggered the dust storm, guided its trajectory over the Arabian Peninsula, and potentially catalyzed the development of a small low-pressure system over the southeastern end of the peninsula. This low-pressure system may have contributed to some convective activity over the same region. This type of analysis may provide important information about large-scale meteorological forcings for not only this particular dust storm but also for future dust storms in Southwest Asia and other regions of the world.

28 Sep 2021

Corrosion and Performance of Dust Palliatives: Laboratory and Field Studies

Abstract: This report details laboratory and field experiments on BioPreferred® dust suppressants to assess performance and corrosion characteristics. Numerous bio-based dust suppressant products are marketed, but little data are available to assess performance for dust abatement and corrosion of common metals. A laboratory study used an air impingement device and the Portable In-Situ Wind ERosion Laboratory (PI-SWERL) to simulate wind speeds similar to those in field conditions for rotary wing aircraft. Laboratory corrosion studies used metal coupons imbedded in soil treated with dust palliative. Field trials were conducted using ground vehicle traffic to minimize cost and lower safety concerns while increasing surface wear from repetitive traffic. These studies clearly show that bio-based products demonstrate low corrosion potential with similar dust abatement performance to synthetic-based agents.