Title: ELT site prospect in Morocco: aerosol characterization
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.
Publication Year: 2006
Publication Date: 2006-06-14
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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