Analysis of Dust Event Days (DEDs) and Dust Sources in the Great Salt Lake Region

Air quality is a critical issue in the Salt Lake Valley, where high levels of particulate matter can lead to respiratory problems, decreased visibility, and transportation hazards. The area's unique topography is also especially prone to trapped, stagnant pollution. Dust is a common air pollutant, and as the water level of the Great Salt Lake continues to drop, the amount of exposed lakebed that can produce airborne dust will increase. To understand how the increasing surface area of dry land in the Great Salt Lake bed and nearby playas affects Dust Event Days (DEDs), our study collected meteorological data from Salt Lake City International Airport (KSLC) weather station from 1997-2022 to characterize and visualize DEDs. DEDs are defined as days reporting a minimum of one dust-related weather code (blowing dust or dust). We used meteorological and atmospheric data to distinguish between DEDs and non-DEDs, collecting averages and standard deviation calculating t-tests and p-values for each variable (e.g., wind speed, wind gust, dew point, air temperature, and overall humidity) to show which conditions were significant. Our results show that DEDs occur on hotter, drier, and windier days. Remote sensing products from MODIS, VIIRS, and ABI were used to estimate dust plume source(s) on DEDs. This combination of meteorological data and remote sensing technology provides a more comprehensive understanding of the sources and conditions of DEDs than either method alone. The dynamics of air quality, dust events, and their connection to the Great Salt Lake’s changing landscape are complex and multifaceted. Human consumptive water use and increasing temperatures due to climate change may continue to decrease Great Salt Lake water levels, exposing more land to eolian processes and leading DEDs to potentially become more common in the future.