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2006•Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIERequires access

ELT site prospect in Morocco: aerosol characterization

Aziza Bounhir, Z. Benkhaldoun, Mougenot Bernard, El Arbi Siher, Mohamed Lazrek

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Abstract

In order to prospect for good astronomical sites in Morocco, we make a preliminary study in terms of aerosol characterization. For that purpose we use AERONET data and the Aerosol Index provided by Earth Probe platform. After establishing a good correlation between the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) and the aerosol index (AI) in three sites located in the area of interest, we try to extrapolate to areas where AERONET data are not available. The studied areas are: Marrakech, Dakhla located in Morocco, and Izana in the Canary Islands. These areas exhibit a predominance of desert dust aerosol particles. The altitude seems to be the predominant factor influencing the distribution of the aerosol optical thickness during the year. A full characterization of these sites makes possible a determination of the aerosol optical thickness of neighbouring areas.

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What this paper is about

In order to prospect for good astronomical sites in Morocco, we make a preliminary study in terms of aerosol characterization. For that purpose we use AERONET data and the Aerosol Index provided by Earth Probe platform. After establishing a good correlation between the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) and the aerosol index (AI) in three sites located in the area of interest, we try to extrapolate to areas where AERONET data are not available. The studied areas are: Marrakech, Dakhla located in Morocco, and Izana in the Canary Islands. These areas exhibit a predominance of desert dust aerosol particles. The altitude seems to be the predominant factor influencing the distribution of the aerosol optical thickness during the year. A full characterization of these sites makes possible a determination of the aerosol optical thickness of neighbouring areas.

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Available abstract

In order to prospect for good astronomical sites in Morocco, we make a preliminary study in terms of aerosol characterization. For that purpose we use AERONET data and the Aerosol Index provided by Earth Probe platform. After establishing a good correlation between the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) and the aerosol index (AI) in three sites located in the area of interest, we try to extrapolate to areas where AERONET data are not available. The studied areas are: Marrakech, Dakhla located in Morocco, and Izana in the Canary Islands. These areas exhibit a predominance of desert dust aerosol particles. The altitude seems to be the predominant factor influencing the distribution of the aerosol optical thickness during the year. A full characterization of these sites makes possible a determination of the aerosol optical thickness of neighbouring areas.

Key concepts: AERONET, Aerosol, Environmental science, Altitude (triangle), Remote sensing, Characterization (materials science), Atmospheric optics, Meteorology

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