US - Egypt Cooperative Research: Studying Air Quality Dynamics in Cairo, Egypt Using A Linear Genetic Programming Approach Over Remotely Sensed Atmospheric Parameters

该合作研究项目由查普曼大学的Hesham El-Askary博士和埃及开罗大学的Ahmad Mahmoud博士共同承担，目的是确定经常在埃及开罗市及其周边大尼罗河三角洲地区上空沉降的大气气溶胶污染物的来源。政府间气候变化专门委员会（IPCC）的报告强调了城市污染对地表能量收支的影响。埃及开罗是一个人口稠密的城市地区，其特点是土地利用和土地覆盖的快速变化，影响当地气候的活动。应用于开罗上空卫星观测的传统统计和信号处理技术显示出不同程度的自然和人为污染。在调查期间，发现开罗和大尼罗河三角洲地区的其他城市在4月和10月同时发生不同程度的过量气溶胶事件（即沙尘暴和污染）。在观测到的资料中，水蒸气含量呈上升趋势，证实了气溶胶对局部气候变化的潜在贡献。PI计划在一段较长的时间内使用各种气溶胶衍生卫星参数。这些参数将与线性遗传规划（LGP）技术相结合，以实现更好的气候建模，以便了解开罗不同空气污染事件的影响。这种耦合将提供对空气动力学的微观物理学的洞察，并加强对正在研究的不同大气参数的作用和贡献程度或影响水平的理解。所获得的产出可用于识别和控制污染源，以提供第一手的纠正行动、适当的管理和政策建议。该合作研究项目为查普曼大学的一名初级科学家提供国际研究机会。此外，它将加强大学的国际合作努力，以及由PI教授的本科课程的国际内容。该项目由美国-埃及联合基金项目资助，该项目向两国的科学家和工程师提供赠款，以开展合作研究。

This collaborative research project is being undertaken by Dr. Hesham El-Askary, Chapman University, and Dr. Ahmad Mahmoud, Cairo University, Egypt, to identify the sources of atmospheric aerosol pollutants that frequently settle over the Egyptian City of Cairo and its surrounding Greater Nile Delta region.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report emphasizes the impacts of urban pollution on the surface energy budget. Cairo, Egypt is a highly populated urban area characterized by rapid land use and land cover changes, activities that affect the local climate. Traditional statistical and signal processing techniques applied to satellite derived observations over Cairo have shown varying degrees of natural and anthropogenic pollution. Excess aerosol episodes (namely dust storms and pollution) of varying magnitude have been found to occur over Cairo and other cities in the Greater Nile Delta region concurrently on the same months of April and October for the years under investigation. Among the data observed, there is an upward trend of water vapor content, confirming a potential aerosol contribution to localized climate change. The PI plans to use various aerosol derived satellite parameters over an extended time period. These parameters will be coupled with linear genetic programming (LGP) technology to achieve better climate modeling for the purpose of understanding the effects of different air pollution episodes over Cairo. Such coupling will provide insight into the microphysics of the air dynamics and enhance the understanding of the role and degree of contribution or the level of impact of different atmospheric parameters under investigation. The obtained output can be utilized for the identification and control of pollution sources to provide first hand corrective actions, proper management and policy recommendations. This collaborative research project involves international research opportunities for a junior scientist at Chapman University. Further, it will enhance international collaborative efforts at the university, as well as the international content of undergraduate courses taught by the PI.The project is funded under the US-Egypt Joint Fund Program, which provides grants to scientists and engineers in both countries to undertake cooperative research.