Zeitschrift für Umweltverschmutzung

Detection of Dust pollution using a Ka-Band Doppler Radar in a Tropical Location of West Africa

Abstract

Ayodeji Oluleye

Apart from posing as leading cause of respiratory ailment, dust pollution over West Africa is known to hamper flight operations by reducing visibility during the dry season. Inspection of visibility is usually made through visual observation by meteorological observer, it accurate estimation therefore depends on the visual judgment of the observer. Also profile observations of atmospheric dust are not included in visibility record of meteorological stations. Much of the dust load in the atmosphere is held up in a layer above the surface which could descend to ground level resulting into poor visibility or lifted leading to clearance. In this paper, a method of dust pollution detection using radar reflectivity has been developed. Through this method, atmospheric dust load could be estimated and converted to visibility. Results of comparison between radar-derived visibility and observation show a good agreement with correlation coefficient of 0.81. Consequently, dust load beyond the reach of visual observation could be made enhancing atmospheric dust load prediction for aviation and health purpose among others.