Chinese researchers have established how one of the world's most arid climates was formed, potentially helping control the spread and accumulation of dust.

A team with Lanzhou University's Key Laboratory of Western China's Environment Systems studied dust samples from Golestan Province in northeastern Iran.

Golestan and its surroundings are one of the main potential dust sources for the northern hemisphere, and understanding the evolution of climatic change in northern Iran is key to studying the climate in Asia, said Wang Xin, with the laboratory.

Wang and his fellow researchers found that loess started to gather in northern Iran about 2.4 million years ago. The climate then grow colder and dryer until 1.8 million years ago.

The team's findings were published in the Scientific Reports journal recently.