الفهرس 
AcknowledgementOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
br ise of this study is to investigate the capability of satellitebased .rents from the tropospheric emission spectrometer (TES) of some
____er-s contributing to air pollution episodes occurring in Cairo, Egypt. TES is
F : e sensors on Aura satellite, a part of the Earth Observing System (EOS) which consist of a coordinated series of polar-orbiting and low inclination T_S Aura, launched on July 15th, 2004, was designed to record lower
:sphere and upper troposphere composition measurements in an attempt to
the atmosphere’s chemistry and dynamics (Beer, 2OO6)’. Data from the
i :nission are useful when studying ozone trends, air quality, and their linkage
u :zraate change (Schoeberl et al., 2006)(2). TES an infrared, high resolution,
rer Transform spectrometer with a spectral range of 650-3050 cm’ (3.3-15.4 r..I a spatial resolution of 0.1 cm1 nadir viewing and 0.025 cm’ limb is
ied to measure the global, vertical distribution of tropospheric ozone and its c-srs such as carbon monoxide with high precision (Rinsland et al., 2OO8).
: ud-free conditions, the vertical resolution of TES nadir ozone estimates is
- km with sensitivity to both the lower and upper troposphere ( Worden et a?.,
jjements from new tropospheric satellite sensors are playing an increasingly ir:ant role in explaining chemistry and transport processes in the lower sphere (Edwards et a?., 2004)’. Data from TES has been used in scientific :1:::-:ss since 2006. The TES was found to be unique in providing multi-year
z:iient tropospheric profiles of CO, 03, and H20. Rinsland et a?. (2008) (3) and
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Logan et al. (2008) have both used TES data in their study on the effect of th 2006 El Nub over Indonesia. Atmospheric chemistry experiment (ACE measurements were also used and found that the profiles agree with those from the TES (Rinsland et al., 2O08). TES transect observations were used in addition to the TES standard products to study low tropospheric ammonia and methanol over the Beijing area in northeast China (Beer et a!., 2008). This was the first time that these molecules were detected in space-based nadir viewing measurements
penetrating in the lower part of the afrnogher Ozcre
were used by hoi et al. (2008f in ppvr on the migration ot hign ozone over the western North Atlantic. Our aim here is to use TES measurements to observe the trend of carbon monoxide, ozone, and methane given the impact of these thr
gases on the atmosphere.
Cairo, Egypt, located at a longitude of 31°13’E and latitude of 30°2’N, is one o the world’s mega cities suffering from major air pollution problems. This is a normal consequence of Egypt’s accelerated economic growth that it has been experiencing for the past three decades. Thus overpopulation was a cause for the increase of polluting human activities which include fuel combustion, and of polluting industries such as the cement industry, which increased in order to fulfill the needs of the growing population. For the last eight years, Cairo and the Delta Region have been going through significantly high air pollution episodes locally known as the “Black Cloud”. In addition to the cities’ economic growth, Cairo’s location, topography, and complex climate systems play vital roles in the presence of these episodes Ministiy of State of Environmental Affairs, 2006). Its location subjects it to the following: blown sand and dust storms from the western desert (since Egypt is 90% desert), transformation of air pollutants from Europe, emissions of atmospheric constituents from Africa, and effect of trade winds
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ir-- shing over the Mediterranean during the episode period. The low tr: raphy of Cairo, falling in between the eastern and the western highs, z-tbutes by blocking the pollutants and suppressing the motion of the suspended 7:L1lates especially during the months of September through November when e -nd currents are weak. Wind and humidity are two factors that influence the ,eivior of air pollutants and should be put into consideration (El-Askaiy et al.,
— 10) Transport processes on a seasonal scale in the African upper troposphere riven by Hadley Meridional circulation which is strong during the winter. :‘flg the summer, the effect is from the east coming from the Asian monsoon tcvclone (April and May). During Africa’s monsoon season in the Northern Eisphere ozone precursors generated from biomass burning in the south are i-zisported to the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone and impact the composition of ±ca’s upper troposphere (Barrett et al., 2OO8)°’. Smoke or air pollution :::c:entrations are highest with low wind speeds, low vertical turbulence, iperature inversions, and high humidity (Barry, 1992)2). Therefore, it can be sn that the Northern African/East Mediterranean troposphere is a crossroad to rous transport processes both on regional and intercontinental scales. Barrett et
2QQ8)U) in a study on this pollution crossroad, showed pollution generated by sa can be transported towards Africa by the anticyclone flow of the Asian znmer monsoon.
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