Thesis (M.S.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2009. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Dust storms have a great many environmental implications in the world's dry lands where they are particularly common. Four main classes of dust event are identified and defined: dust storms, dust haze, blowing dust and dust devils. The geography of dust storms is analysed in each of eight major world regions: Africa, the Middle East, South-west Asia, Europe and the USSR, China, Australia, North America and Latin America. Terrestrially observed meteorological data and data from remote sensing platforms are employed to identify the major source areas in each region, their seasonality, diurnal patterns of activity and trajectories of long-range transport. Among the important controls on the frequency distribution of dust storm activity are the meteorological conditions that generate dust-raising winds, and a number of meteorological systems commonly cause dust storms in all global regions. These include low pressure fronts with intense baroclinal gradients, pressure gradient winds between moving or stationary air masses, katabatic winds and convectional cells. The nature of the surface upon which deflation occurs is also important; typical dust-producing geomorpholological units include alluvial spreads, lacustrine deposits, desert depressions, loess deposits and reactivated fossil dunes. Dust storm activity is prone to considerable variation. The seasonal characteristics are explicable with reference to the meteorological systems generating dust, the state of ground cover, particularly vegetation, and the effects of seasonal rainfall. Substantial variations also occur from year to year, and land use and climatic variations can substantially affect their occurrence.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oklahoma, 1950. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 273-311).

No description available.

Ahvaz, Iran ranks as the most polluted city of the world in terms of PM10 concentrations that lead to deleterious effects on its inhabitants. This study examines diurnal, weekly, monthly and annual fluctuations of PM10 between 2009 and 2014 in Ahvaz. Health effects of PM10 levels are also assessed using the World Health Organization AirQ software. Over the study period, the mean PM10 level in Ahvaz was 249.5 mu g m(-3), with maximum and minimum values in July (420.5 mu g m(-3)) and January (154.6 mu g m(-3)), respectively. The cumulative diurnal PM10 profile exhibits a dominant peak between 08:00-11:00 (local time) with the lowest levels in the afternoon hours. While weekend PM10 levels are not significantly reduced as compared to weekdays, an anthropogenic signature is instead observed diurnally on weekdays, which exhibit higher PM10 levels between 07:00-17:00 by an average amount of 14.2 mu g m(-3) as compared to weekend days. PMio has shown a steady mean-annual decline between 2009 (315.2 mu g m(-3)) and 2014 (143.5 mu g m(-3)). The AirQ model predicts that mortality was a health outcome for a total of 3777 individuals between 2009 and 2014 (i.e., 630 per year). The results of this study motivate more aggressive strategies in Ahvaz and similarly polluted desert cities to reduce the health effects of the enormous ambient aerosol concentrations. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

As climate change impacts a growing number of aspects of economic activity, it is becoming ever more vital to understand how these effects will manifest. This work advances the study of the impacts of environmental change. First, I provide a panel analysis at the country level that identifies the effects of dust storms on economic activity in West Africa. I also find some evidence in the agricultural sector to support the finding of damaging effects. Second, I examine the extent to which dust storms and climate shocks affect migration in the same region. While temperatures and precipitation are found to play important roles, dust storms do not appear to have a significant influence. Third, I consider the role of adaptation to climate change in the United States. I build a model that predicts the locations most likely to be used in agriculture in the future, allowing for better forecasting of shifts in the areas used for agricultural production.

Thesis--Lund. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 221-228).

No description available.

Thesis (M.S. in Meteorology)--Naval Postgraduate School, Dec. 2004. / Thesis Advisor(s): Carlyle H. Wash. Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-101). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2009. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.