Aerosol Optical Thickness over Large Urban Environments of the Arabian Peninsula—Speciation, Variability, and Distributions

<div><p>The Arabian Peninsula is one of the world’s largest sources of mineral dust that includes several major population hotspots. However, until now, few studies have performed a comprehensive quantification of the long-term variability of aerosol species in this region. In this study...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Dillan Raymond Roshan (18094867) (author)
Other Authors: Muammer Koc (16078064) (author), Rima Isaifan (18094876) (author), Muhammad Zeeshaan Shahid (18131689) (author), Christos Fountoukis (4722963) (author)
Published: 2019
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1864513523081543680
author Dillan Raymond Roshan (18094867)
author2 Muammer Koc (16078064)
Rima Isaifan (18094876)
Muhammad Zeeshaan Shahid (18131689)
Christos Fountoukis (4722963)
author2_role author
author
author
author
author_facet Dillan Raymond Roshan (18094867)
Muammer Koc (16078064)
Rima Isaifan (18094876)
Muhammad Zeeshaan Shahid (18131689)
Christos Fountoukis (4722963)
author_role author
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Dillan Raymond Roshan (18094867)
Muammer Koc (16078064)
Rima Isaifan (18094876)
Muhammad Zeeshaan Shahid (18131689)
Christos Fountoukis (4722963)
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2019-04-29T03:00:00Z
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv 10.3390/atmos10050228
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Aerosol_Optical_Thickness_over_Large_Urban_Environments_of_the_Arabian_Peninsula_Speciation_Variability_and_Distributions/25376428
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv CC BY 4.0
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Earth sciences
Atmospheric sciences
Environmental sciences
Pollution and contamination
Arabian Peninsula
aerosol optical depth
transport
MERRA-2
AERONET
mineral dust
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Aerosol Optical Thickness over Large Urban Environments of the Arabian Peninsula—Speciation, Variability, and Distributions
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv Text
Journal contribution
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
text
contribution to journal
description <div><p>The Arabian Peninsula is one of the world’s largest sources of mineral dust that includes several major population hotspots. However, until now, few studies have performed a comprehensive quantification of the long-term variability of aerosol species in this region. In this study, the speciation, variability, and distribution of aerosol optical depth over the Arabian Peninsula during 2005–2015 is analyzed by using the modern-era retrospective analysis for research and applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) model together with satellite retrieved data and AERONET observations and focusing on nine large cities in the region (Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait, Manama, Muscat, Riyadh, and Sanaa). Over the past decade, the mean annual aerosol optical thickness (AOT) values were in the range of 0.3–0.5, which is attributed to both mineral dust (60–70%) and anthropogenic activities (20–30%). An increase in AOT values between 2005 and 2009 is attributed to increased dust generation from the Sahel region in Northern Africa, and the Fertile Crescent (Syria, Iraq, Jordan) due to an extended dry period. Reductions in local urban emissions are still considered to be efficient measures to improve air quality in these population centers despite the significant contribution of desert dust in the total particulate matter levels in the region.</p><p> </p></div><h2>Other Information</h2> <p> Published in: Atmosphere<br> License: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos10050228" target="_blank">https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos10050228</a></p>
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
id Manara2_7c210505ec2b04eaaed2a694579c270a
identifier_str_mv 10.3390/atmos10050228
network_acronym_str Manara2
network_name_str Manara2
oai_identifier_str oai:figshare.com:article/25376428
publishDate 2019
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository_id_str
rights_invalid_str_mv CC BY 4.0
spelling Aerosol Optical Thickness over Large Urban Environments of the Arabian Peninsula—Speciation, Variability, and DistributionsDillan Raymond Roshan (18094867)Muammer Koc (16078064)Rima Isaifan (18094876)Muhammad Zeeshaan Shahid (18131689)Christos Fountoukis (4722963)Earth sciencesAtmospheric sciencesEnvironmental sciencesPollution and contaminationArabian Peninsulaaerosol optical depthtransportMERRA-2AERONETmineral dust<div><p>The Arabian Peninsula is one of the world’s largest sources of mineral dust that includes several major population hotspots. However, until now, few studies have performed a comprehensive quantification of the long-term variability of aerosol species in this region. In this study, the speciation, variability, and distribution of aerosol optical depth over the Arabian Peninsula during 2005–2015 is analyzed by using the modern-era retrospective analysis for research and applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) model together with satellite retrieved data and AERONET observations and focusing on nine large cities in the region (Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait, Manama, Muscat, Riyadh, and Sanaa). Over the past decade, the mean annual aerosol optical thickness (AOT) values were in the range of 0.3–0.5, which is attributed to both mineral dust (60–70%) and anthropogenic activities (20–30%). An increase in AOT values between 2005 and 2009 is attributed to increased dust generation from the Sahel region in Northern Africa, and the Fertile Crescent (Syria, Iraq, Jordan) due to an extended dry period. Reductions in local urban emissions are still considered to be efficient measures to improve air quality in these population centers despite the significant contribution of desert dust in the total particulate matter levels in the region.</p><p> </p></div><h2>Other Information</h2> <p> Published in: Atmosphere<br> License: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos10050228" target="_blank">https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos10050228</a></p>2019-04-29T03:00:00ZTextJournal contributioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersiontextcontribution to journal10.3390/atmos10050228https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Aerosol_Optical_Thickness_over_Large_Urban_Environments_of_the_Arabian_Peninsula_Speciation_Variability_and_Distributions/25376428CC BY 4.0info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:figshare.com:article/253764282019-04-29T03:00:00Z
spellingShingle Aerosol Optical Thickness over Large Urban Environments of the Arabian Peninsula—Speciation, Variability, and Distributions
Dillan Raymond Roshan (18094867)
Earth sciences
Atmospheric sciences
Environmental sciences
Pollution and contamination
Arabian Peninsula
aerosol optical depth
transport
MERRA-2
AERONET
mineral dust
status_str publishedVersion
title Aerosol Optical Thickness over Large Urban Environments of the Arabian Peninsula—Speciation, Variability, and Distributions
title_full Aerosol Optical Thickness over Large Urban Environments of the Arabian Peninsula—Speciation, Variability, and Distributions
title_fullStr Aerosol Optical Thickness over Large Urban Environments of the Arabian Peninsula—Speciation, Variability, and Distributions
title_full_unstemmed Aerosol Optical Thickness over Large Urban Environments of the Arabian Peninsula—Speciation, Variability, and Distributions
title_short Aerosol Optical Thickness over Large Urban Environments of the Arabian Peninsula—Speciation, Variability, and Distributions
title_sort Aerosol Optical Thickness over Large Urban Environments of the Arabian Peninsula—Speciation, Variability, and Distributions
topic Earth sciences
Atmospheric sciences
Environmental sciences
Pollution and contamination
Arabian Peninsula
aerosol optical depth
transport
MERRA-2
AERONET
mineral dust