Abstract
In this study, satellite data and those obtained from air quality monitoring stations were used to evaluate the effect of cloud seeding missions conducted from January 2017 to March 2017 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). To determine PM variability during and after the cloud seeding missions, information on daily mean particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) concentrations obtained from 20 air quality ground-based stations was analyzed from January 2017 to April 2017. The stations were divided according to four distinct geographic zones, which include petrochemical and non-petrochemical industrial, residential, and low populated areas. Moreover, data from the MAIAC 1-km product (MCD19A2) obtained using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer onboard the Terra satellite were used to identify the correlation between aerosol optical depth and ground PM concentrations. The results showed that among the areas, the petrochemical and non-petrochemical industrial areas had the highest PM2.5 levels. Urban areas located adjacent to deserts had significantly higher PM10 concentrations than other urban areas. The PM concentration was high during the period of cloud seeding missions. This finding indicated that silver iodine crystals fired during the missions might have increased the concentration of PM in the air. Moreover, cloud seeding missions might have a more significant effect in increasing PM10 concentrations compared with PM2.5 concentrations. Hence, local weather conditions might have affected the decay of silver iodine particles during the missions. Long-range air mass transport may have an influence on the natural and anthropogenic particle concentrations in land and water bodies surrounding the UAE.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Code availability
Not applicable.
Availability of data and material
All the data used in the present study are freely available, if needed authors will provide data used in the present study to anyone.
References
Abuelgasim A, Farahat A (2020) Effect of dust loadings, meteorological conditions, and local emissions on aerosol mixing and loading variability over highly urbanized semiarid countries: United Arab Emirates case study. J Atmos Solar-Terrestrial Phys. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2020.105215
Al-Rehaili A (1999) Outdoor-indoor air quality in Riyadh: particulate Matter. Pb and CO Trans Built Environ 41(3509):1743
Al Mazroui A (2017). The UAE’s Leadership on Rain Enhancement Science Can Strengthen Global Water Security.
Anderson JO, Thundiyil JG, Stolbach A (2012) Clearing the air: a review of the effects of particulate matter air pollution on human health. J Med Toxicol 8:166–175. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13181-011-0203-1
Breed D, Rasmussen R, Weeks C, Boe B, Deshler T (2014) Evaluating winter orographic cloud seeding: design of the wyoming weather modification pilot project (WWMPP). J Appl Meteor Climatol 53:282–299. https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-13-0128.1-,p13-0128.1
Breed D, Bruintjes R, Jensen T, Salazar V, Fowler T (2005) The UAE rainfall enhancement assessment program: implications of thermodynamic profiles on the development of precipitation in convective clouds over the Oman mountains. AGU Fall Meet Admin
Bruintjes RT (1999) A review of cloud seeding experiments to enhance precipitation and some new prospects. Bull Amer Meteor Soc 80:805–820. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(1999)080%3c0805:AROCSE%3e2.0.CO;2
Dubovik O, Smirnov A, Holben BN, King MD, Kaufman YJ, Eck TF, Slutsker I (2000) Accuracy assessments of aerosol properties retrieved from aerosol robotic network (AERONET) sun and sky radiance measurements. J Geophys Res 105:9791–9806. https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JD900040
EAD 2019, Environmental Agency, Abu Dhabi (EAD). www.ead.gov.ae. Accessed 20 Dec, 2019
Eck TF, Holben BN, Ward DE, Dubovik O, Reid JS, Smirnov A, Mukelabai MM, Hsu NC, O’Neill NT, Slutsker I (2001) Characterization of the optical properties of biomass burning aerosols in Zambia during the 1997 ZIBBEE Field Campaign. J Geophys Res 106:3425–3448. https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JD900555
EEA 2020, European Environmental Agency (EEA). www.eea.europa.eu. Accessed 12 Jan, 2020
EPA 1997, US Environmental Protection Agency. National ambient air quality standards for particulate matter; final Rul. EPA. Last accessed 01 October 2019. www.who.int. Accessed 30 Apr 2020
Farahat A (2016) Air pollution in the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman): causes, effects, and aerosol categorization. Arab J Geosci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-015-2203-y
Farahat A (2019) Comparative analysis of MODIS, MISR, and AERONET climatology over the Middle East and North Africa. Ann Geophys 37:49–64. https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-37-49-2019
Farahat A, El-Askary H, Adetokunbo R, Fuad A (2016) AERONET analysis of aerosols absorption properties and transportation over North Africa and the Middle East. Ann Geophys 34:1031–1044. https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-34-1031-2016
Farahat A, El-Askary H, Al-Shaibani A (2015) Study of aerosols’ characteristics and dynamics over the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia using a multi sensor approach combined with ground observations. Adv Meteorol 2015:1–12. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/247531
Giles DM, Holben BN, Eck TF, Sinyuk A, Smirnov A, Slutsker I, Dickerson RR, Thompson AM, Schafer JS (2012) An analysis of AERONET aerosol absorption properties and classifications representative of aerosol source regions. J Geophys Res. https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JD018127
Guo X, Fu D, Li X, Hu Z, Lei H, Xiao H, Hong Y (2015) Advances in cloud physics and weather modification in China. Adv Atmos Sci 32:230–249. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-014-0006-9
Kambezidis H (2010) Long-range transport of dust aetrosols over the Arabian Sea and Indian region—A case study using satellite data and ground-based measurements
Khalil MAK, Butenhoff CL, Porter WC, Almazroui M, Alkhalaf A, Al-Sahafi MS (2016) Air quality in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. J Air Waste Manag Assoc 66:341–355. https://doi.org/10.1080/10962247.2015.1129999
Korneev VP, Potapov EI, Shchukin GG (2017) Environmental aspects of cloud seeding. Russ Meteorol Hydrol 42:477–483. https://doi.org/10.3103/S106837391707007X
Levy R, Hsu C et al (2015) MODIS Atmosphere L2 Aerosol Product. NASA MODIS adaptive processing system. Goddard Space Flight Center, USA
Li Y, Gibson JM, Jat P, Puggioni G, Hasan M, West JJ, Vizuete W, Sexton K, Serre M (2010) Burden of disease attributed to anthropogenic air pollution in the United Arab Emirates: estimates based on observed air quality data. Sci Total Environ 408:5784–5793. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2010.08.017
Loxham M, Nieuwenhuijsen MJ (2019) Health effects of particulate matter air pollution in underground railway systems–a critical review of the evidence. Part Fibre Toxicol 16:12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12989-019-0296-2
Lyapustin A, Martonchik J, Wang Y, Laszlo I, Korkin S (2011) Multi-angle implementation of atmospheric correction (MAIAC): Part 1. Radiative transfer basis and look-up tables. J Geophys Res 116:D03210. https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JD014985
Malik S, Rather R, Ahmad S (2018) Cloud seeding; its prospects and concerns in the modern world-A review. Int J Pure App Biosci 6:791–796. https://doi.org/10.18782/2320-7051.6824
Morawska L, Ayoko GA, Bae GN, Buonanno G, Chao CYH, Clifford S, Fu SC, Hänninen O, He C, Isaxon C, Mazaheri M, Salthammer T, Waring MS, Wierzbicka A (2017) Airborne particles in indoor environment of homes, schools, offices and aged care facilities: the main routes of exposure. Environ Int 108:75–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2017.07.025
National Center of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) in Abu Dhabi (2020) United Arab Emirates (UAE). https://www.ncm.ae/en/contact-us.html,. Accessed Apr 27
Omari K, Abuelgasim A, Alhebsi K (2019) Aerosol optical depth retrieval over the city of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) using Landsat-8 OLI images. Atmos Pollut Res. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2019.01.015
PME 2020, Saudi Arabia Presidency of Meteorology and Environment. https://www.pme.gov.sa/. Accessed 30 Jan 2020
Pope CA III, Bates DV, Raizenne ME (1995) Health effects of particulate air pollution: time for reassessment? Environ Health Perspect 103:472–480. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.95103472
Prasad AK, Singh RP, Singh A (2004) Variability of aerosol optical depth over Indian subcontinent using MODIS data. J Indian Soc Rem Sens 32:313–316. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03030855
Remer LA, Kaufman YJ, Tanré D, Mattoo S, Chu DA, Martins JV, Li R-R, Ichoku C, Levy RC, Kleidman RG, Eck TF, Vermote E, Holben BN (2005) The MODIS aerosol algorithm, products, and validation. J Atmos Sci 62:947–973. https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS3385.1
Ryan BF, King WD (1997) A critical review of the Australian experience in cloud seeding. Bull Amer Meteor Soc 78:239–354
Samara C, Voutsa D (2005) Size distribution of airborne particulate matter and associated heavy metals in the roadside environment. Chemosphere 59:1197–1206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2004.11.061
Schwela D (2000) Air pollution and health in urban Areas. Rev Environ Health 15:13–42. https://doi.org/10.1515/REVEH.2000.15.1-2.13
Sharma S, Mandal T, Saxena M, Rashmi GR, Sharma A, Gautam R (2013) Source apportionment of PM10 by using positive matrix factorization at an urban site of Delhi. India Urban Clim. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2013.11.002
Sheppard C, Al-Husiani M, Al-Jamali F, Al-Yamani F, Baldwin R, Bishop J, Benzoni F, Dutrieux E, Dulvy NK, Durvasula SRV, Jones DA, Loughland R, Medio D, Nithyanandan M, Pilling GM, Polikarpov I, Price ARG, Purkis S, Riegl B, Saburova M, Namin KS, Taylor O, Wilson S, Zainal K (2010) The Persian/Arabian Gulf: a young sea in decline. Mar Pollut Bull Mar Pollut Bull 60:13–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2009.10.017
Singh RP, Dey S, Tripathi SN, Tare V, Holben B (2004) Variability of aerosol parameters over Kanpur, northern India. J Geophys Res 109:D23206. https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JD004966
Tawabini BS, Lawal TT, Shaibani A, Farahat AM (2017) Morphological and chemical properties of particulate matter in the dammam metropolitan region: Dhahran, Khobar, and Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Adv Meteorol 2017:1–9. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/8512146
WHO 2020, World Health Oganization. https://www.WHO.int. Accessed on 30 April 2020
Zereini F, Wiseman C (2011) Urban airborne particulate matter: origin. Chem Fate Health Impacts. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-12278-1
Acknowledgement
The authors would also like to acknowledge the support and gratitude for the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency by providing the air quality station data. Dr. Abdelgadir Abuelgasim would like to acknowledge the continuous support from UAE University Office of Sponsored Research and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Dr. Ashraf Farahat would like to acknowledge the support provided by the Deanship of Research (DSR) at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), for funding this work through project no. SB181007.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Each co-author contributed to the completion of this paper. Specifically, their individual contributions are as follows: Conceptualization: Ideas of this study of AF. Data analysis, writing, and review—AF and AA.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Editorial responsibility: Mohamed F. Yassin.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Farahat, A., Abuelgasim, A. Effect of cloud seeding on aerosol properties and particulate matter variability in the United Arab Emirates. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 19, 951–968 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-020-03057-5
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-020-03057-5