The impact of human activity on anthropogenic dust emission over global semi-arid regions

Abstract

Anthropogenic dust is acknowledged as a product of human activities on disturbed soil, and is generated mainly from sensitive and fragile regions including croplands, pastures, and urbanized regions. In this study, we analyzed the behaviour of anthropogenic dust in semi-arid region of globe, and its relationship to human activities. An obvious peak in the total anthropogenic dust column, much higher magnitude than those of wet regions, was observed in semi-arid regions with population growth rates of more than 11.46 %. Four typical semi-arid regions, East China, India, North America and North Africa were selected to explore the local difference in anthropogenic dust production. The population growth rates in these areas were approximately 6.16 %, 17.71 %, 11.21 %, and 29.26 %, and the anthropogenic dust levels were 0.17 g m-2, 0.38 g m-2, 0.10 g m-2 and 0.21 g m-2, which are higher than the natural dust column burden. The anthropogenic dust column burden is positively correlated with the population and population change, indicating a contribution from human activities to the anthropogenic dust production. Based on the fact that anthropogenic dust can act as warming aerosol, the radiative effect of anthropogenic dust in semi-arid regions can not be ignored and requires further investigation.