University of Nizwa publishes first aerosol study for Birkat Al Mouz with NASA, NCAR, IIT Bhubaneswar, and Oman Civil Aviation Authority
Dr Baiju Dayananda
Associate Professor
Natural and Medical Sciences Research Center
A University of Nizwa research team, working with colleagues from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), IIT Bhubaneswar (India), and the Oman Civil Aviation Authority, has published the first column-integrated aerosol study for Birkat al Mouz in Aerosol and Air Quality Research. This is also the first peer-reviewed study from Oman co-authored with NASA. The work maps seasonal dust dynamics, quantifies aerosol radiative forcing, and traces long-range transport pathways that shape air quality and climate across the country, providing evidence that will support climate-change assessments, air-quality management, economic planning, and public-health impact studies.
The study draws on AERONET sun-photometer observations collected on the University of Nizwa campus between December 2022 and November 2024. Researchers analyzed Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), Ångström Exponent, Single Scattering Albedo (SSA), and aerosol radiative forcing, and applied Concentration-Weighted Trajectory (CWT) analysis to identify upwind source regions. Results show that aerosol loading peaks in summer (AOD 0.49 ± 0.15) and is lowest in winter (AOD 0.17 ± 0.08); a summer SSA ≈ 0.95 indicates strong dust influence. The team estimates surface cooling at the bottom of the atmosphere (RF_BOA ≈ −43.81 W m⁻²) and atmospheric warming (RF_ATM ≈ +27.04 W m⁻²), with atmospheric heating ~0.74 K day⁻¹, strongest in July. CWT pinpoints the Horn of Africa and arid parts of the Arabian Peninsula as dominant sources, with additional contributions from the western Indian subcontinent and the Arabian Sea.
This achievement was made possible through the immense support of the University’s Chancellor, Prof. Ahmed Al Rawahi, and the work was conducted under the supervision of Prof. Ahmed Al Harrasi. It represents the first University of Nizwa paper co-authored with NASA, laying a foundation for future climate and air-quality studies in Oman. The research forms part of the University’s NASA AERONET project (2022–2032), led by Dr. Baiju Dayanandan (Principal Investigator) with Prof. Ahmed Al-Harrasi (Co-Principal Investigator), and underscores the University’s growing role in regional environmental monitoring and modeling.
Article: Initial Study of Column-Integrated Aerosol Optical Properties over Birkat Al Mouz, Sultanate of Oman, Aerosol and Air Quality Research (2025).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s44408-025-00014-0
