Remote sensing of desert dust over Kuwait: long–term variation

Sabbah, I.; Al–Mudhaf, Humood F.; Al‐Kandari, A.; Alsharifi, F. A.

doi:10.5094/apr.2012.009

Cited by 21 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Arabian Peninsula is considered as one of the most difficult environments in the world to characterize, monitor and compare [53]. Moreover, Kuwait, with an area of 17,820 km 2 , has the highest surface temperature in the Arabian Peninsula [53, 54]. Seasonal variation of wind and dust over Kuwait may amplify pollens spread.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of molds and metrological parameters to frequency of severe asthma exacerbation

Al‐Ahmad

Jusufović

Arifhodžić

et al. 2019

Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol

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Background Sensitization to airborne molds may be a risk factor for severe asthma and direct cause of asthma exacerbation (AE). Methods A prospective, 1-year (April 2016–March 2017) study, done in Kuwait Allergy Centre, investigated the link between AEs with exposure to outdoor molds and the role of meteorological parameters in mold sensitized patients and compared with non-allergic asthma patients who had asthma deterioration. The total of 676 adult asthmatics with moderate-severe AEs were included and divided into atopic (85.65%) and non-atopic group. Atopy was defined by positive skin prick test (SPT) to at least one inhalant allergen. Data regarding atopy and asthma severity were collected from patient’s records. Patients with symptoms and signs of acute respiratory infection and patient sensitized to indoor allergens only were excluded. Daily count of local pollens (Salsola kali, Bermuda grass) and molds (Aspergillus, Alternaria and Cladosporium) were obtained from the Aerobiology department. Daily metrological parameters (atmospheric pressure-AP, temperature-T and relative humidity-RH) were provided by Kuwait Environment Public Authority. Count of spores/m 3 and weather variable are shown on weekly basis. The year circle was divided into 4 Seasons (1, 2, 3, 4) accordingly to typical desert climate. Results Sensitization to molds was relatively high but significantly less (25.0%) if compared to the pollens sensitization. The highest number of AEs was in season 4 for both molds and pollens sensitized patients. Seasonal patterns for both allergens were significant and positively correlated with RH and AP. In season 1 only, mold sensitized patients showed higher rate of AEs. Non-atopic patients have been less sensitive to increased RH than atopic. Negative correlation with T was similar in both atopic and non-atopic patients. Conclusion Despite of high rate of sensitization to molds, their significant role in triggering AE was not found in desert environment. Typical desert climate and high allergencity of local weeds outweigh the influence of the molds.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of molds and metrological parameters to frequency of severe asthma exacerbation

Al‐Ahmad

Jusufović

Arifhodžić

et al. 2019

Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol

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“…The data records are merged on a daily basis by applying a state of the art quality control [39]. For the present study, we have used the combined (passive and active sensors) product, averaged in the greater Kuwait area (28)(29)(30) • N, 46-48 • E) over the 2008-2016 period.…”

Section: Esa CCI Soil Moisture Datasetmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-Term Ground-Based Measurements of Aerosol Optical Depth over Kuwait City

et al. 2018

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We analyze ten years (2008–2017) of ground-based observations of the Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) in the atmosphere of Kuwait City, in Middle East. The measurements were conducted with a CIMEL sun-sky photometer, at various wavelengths. The daily average AOD at 500 nm (AOD500) is 0.45, while the mean Ångström coefficient (AE), calculated from the pair of wavelengths 440 and 870 nm, is 0.61. The observed high AOD500 values (0.75–2.91), are due to regional sand and dust storm events, which are affecting Kuwait with a mean annual frequency of almost 20 days/year. The long-term record analysis of AOD500 and AE, shows a downward and upward tendency respectively, something which could be attributed to the continuous expansion and industrialization of the main city of Kuwait, in combination with the simultaneous increase of soil moisture over the area. By utilizing back trajectories of air masses for up to 4 days, we assessed the influence of various regions to the aerosol load over Kuwait. The high aerosol loads during spring, are attributed to the dominance of coarse particles from Saudi Arabia (AOD500 0.56–0.74), a source area that contributes the 56% to the mean annual AOD500. Other dust sources affecting significantly Kuwait originated from the regions of Iraq and Iran with contribution of 21%.

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“…Cities in the Near/Middle East, such as Cairo, exhibit some of the highest local air pollution levels due to a combination of increasing population, intense fossil fuel combustion, and poorly regulated vehicle emissions (Kanakidou et al, 2011). In addition, mineral dust transported from the Sahara and Arabian deserts is a dominant aerosol type over the Near/Middle East (Sabbah et al, 2006;Zhao et al, 2008;Yoon et al, 2012), region 3 in Fig. 1.…”

Section: Trend Validation With Aeronet Observationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in atmospheric aerosol loading retrieved from space-based measurements during the past decade

et al. 2014

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Abstract. The role and potential management of short-lived atmospheric pollutants such as aerosols are currently a topic of scientific and public debates. Our limited knowledge of atmospheric aerosol and its influence on the Earth's radiation balance has a significant impact on the accuracy and error of current predictions of future climate change. In the last few years, there have been several accounts of the changes in atmospheric aerosol derived from satellite observations, but no study considering the uncertainty caused by different/limited temporal sampling of polar-orbiting satellites and cloud disturbance in the trend estimates of cloud-free aerosol optical thickness (AOT). This study presents an approach to minimize the uncertainties by use of weighted least-squares regression and multiple satellite-derived AOTs from the space- . In contrast, a statistically significant increase (about +34 % in the same period) over eastern China is observed and can be attributed to the increase in both industrial output and Asian desert dust.

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Remote sensing of desert dust over Kuwait: long–term variation

Cited by 21 publications

References 37 publications

Association of molds and metrological parameters to frequency of severe asthma exacerbation

Association of molds and metrological parameters to frequency of severe asthma exacerbation

Long-Term Ground-Based Measurements of Aerosol Optical Depth over Kuwait City

Changes in atmospheric aerosol loading retrieved from space-based measurements during the past decade

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