Impact assessment of river dust on regional air quality through integrated remote sensing and air quality modeling

Sand and dust storms in arid and semiarid regions deteriorate regional air quality and threaten public health security. To quantify the negative effects of river dust on regional air quality, this study selected the estuary areas located in central Taiwan as a case study and proposed an integrated framework to measure the fugitive emission of dust from riverbeds with the aid of satellite remote sensing and wind tunnel test, together with the concentrations of particulate matter with a diameter of <10 μm (PM₁₀) around the river system by using The Air Pollution Model. Additionally, the effects of 25 types of meteorological conditions on the health risk due to exposure to dust were evaluated near the estuary areas. The results reveal landscape changes in the downstream areas of Da'an and Dajia rivers, with an increase of 370,820 m² and 1,554,850 m² of bare land areas in the dry season compared with the wet season in Da'an and Dajia rivers, respectively. On the basis of the maximum emission of river dust, PM₁₀ concentration increases considerably during both wet and dry seasons near the two rivers. Among 25 different types of weather conditions, frontal surface transit, outer-region circulation from tropical depression system, weak northeast monsoons, and anticyclonic outflow have considerable influence on PM₁₀ diffusion. In particular, weak northeast monsoons cause the highest health risk in the areas between Da'an and Dajia rivers, which is the densely populated Taichung City. Future studies should attempt to elucidate the environmental impact of dust in different weather conditions and understand the spatial risks to human health due to PM₁₀ concentration. Facing the increasing threat of climate and landscape changes, governments are strongly encouraged to begin multimedia assessments in environmental management and propose a long-term and systematic framework in resources planning.