Dust fallout in northern Kuwait, major sources and characteristics

Fallen dust was monitored and analyzed in preserved (National Park and Al-Liyah) and open areas (Bubiyan, Warba, Al-Jahra, Shuwaikh, Al-Mutla and Sabiya) in Kuwait. Data from satellite images (2000 to 2010) were used to identify major dust trajectories. Five major source areas are identified: the western desert of Iraq, the Mesopotamian Flood Plain, northeastern desert of Saudi Arabia, and drained marshes in southern Iraq and Iran. The Bubiyan and Warba islands, muddy playas, depressions, sabkhas, dry marshes and intertidal zone (especially areas between high tide and high-high tide zone) are the major local sources of dust in Kuwait. There is a trend of westerly coarsening for mean particle size. The sand size fractions represent 37%, while the mud fractions are 63% of the average total dust. Bubiyan dust is negatively skewed, trimodal with dominance of clay (coarse and fine silt size fractions), while Al-Liyah dust in open desert is negatively skewed, unimodal with a dominance of very coarse silt. National park areas show the lowest annual quantity of dust (2 tonskm^2) in comparison to Warba (58 tonskm^2), Al-Jahra (36 tonskm^2), and Al-Liyah (31 tonskm^2) areas, while the maximum occurs in Bubiyan (112 tonskm^2). Quartz percentages vary from 35% to 52% with 44% as average. Generally, quartz increases with the decrease in carbonate percentages during summer time due to the increase in aeolian activities. Surface area values illustrate higher variability compared to regional and global samples but similar to dust collected from other locations in the Arabian Gulf Coast (Bahrain, Dubai, and Ain).