Southern African dust sources as identified by multiple space borne sensors
Master Thesis
2010
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University of Cape Town
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Abstract
Mineral aerosols emitted from arid and semi-arid regions effect global radiation, contribute to regional nutrient dynamics and impact local soil and water quality. Satellite imagery has been central to the identification and determining the distribution of source areas and the trajectories of dust around the globe. This study focuses on the dryland regions of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. It uses the capabilities of the ultraviolet channels provided by the older Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS), the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) (a TOMS follow up), the visible bands of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) onboard Meteosat Second Generation (MSG). This study compares various dust detection products but also focuses on the application of thermal infrared bands from MSG through the usage of the new "Pink Dust" visua lisation technique using channels 7 (8.7 ~m), 9 (lO.8 ~m), and 10 (12.0 ~m). This multisensor approach resulted in a regional maps highlighting the distribution of source points and establishing some of the prevalent transport pathways and likely deposition zones. Southern African dust sources include a few large and many small pans, subtle inland depressions and ephemeral river systems, which are subject to a range of climatic conditions as part of the Kalahari and Namib region. This work in particular examines if source points are productive due to favourable climatic conditions. The debate around transport limit verses supply limit can only be solved at the local scale which requires observation at higher spatial and temporal resolution as provided by the latest dust detection products. MSG and MODIS in particular have shown distinct source point clusters in Etosha and the Makgadikgadi Pans which based on the courser resolution of older TOMS, have so far been treated as homogeneous sources. Data analyses reveal 327 individual dust plumes over the 2005-2008 study period, some of which are more than 300 km in length. These are integrated into existing climate and weather records provided by National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) data. The results identified a set dust drivers such as the Continental High Pressure, Bergwinds, Tropical Temperate and West Coast Troughs, and Westerly and Easterly Wave lows. This enhances our ability to predict such events, in particular, if transport acts as the limiting driver. Some of these find ings also have the potential to enhance our knowledge of the aerosol generation process elsewhere. The quality of findings are still limited by problems associated with dust plume substrates and clearly require significant surface validation relating to hydrological and climatic controls at the micro-scale. It is furthermore evident that no current instrument fully meets the requirements of the mineral aerosol research community.
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Includes abstract.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 132-145).
Reference:
Vickery, K. 2010. Southern African dust sources as identified by multiple space borne sensors. University of Cape Town.