Spatiotemporal Variability of Aerosol Optical Depth Over the Arabian Peninsula Using MODIS Data

The Arabian Peninsula, located at the western end of the Asian continent, is one of the driest places on Earth, similar to the Sahara Desert in northern Africa. It is predominantly composed of two large extended desert regions, the Empty Quarter and Nufud Desert, which combine to create one of the largest desert regions in the world. The Arabian Peninsula, owing to its massive size and abundance of sand and dust, is considered one of the major atmospheric dust sources in the world. The atmospheric dust emitted by the deserts of this region is transported locally, regionally, and globally by wind. The transported dust significantly contributed to the overall aerosol optical depth (AOD) and region of the area. In-depth studies related to the temporal and spatial variability of dust transport are of great importance because of its adverse effects on human health, climate, ocean conditions, and marine life. In this study, multi-temporal AOD products from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) were effectively used to identify the seasonal and inter-annual variability and spatial distribution of AOD over the study area. The preliminary findings of the AOD data analysis show that the desert surface of the empty quarter consistently shows high AOD levels along with coastal areas in the region during summer. In contrast, mountainous areas south of Yemen, northeast of Oman, and northwest of Saudi Arabia show the lowest AOD levels due to the absence of significant sand and dust particles. Furthermore, the analysis shows distinctive monthly, seasonal, and annual variability that is strongly linked to the local climatology of the area. It was found that the spring and summer AOD were usually the highest owing to the intensive wind pattern, increased dust emissions, and high humidity. The inter-annual variability of AOD over the study area was not significantly different, mostly related to sporadic dust storm events occurring in particular years. The annual AOD concentration levels increased at a rate of 0.5% annually during the study period 2003–2019.