The University of Nizwa, in cooperation with NASA, recently launched a research project related to the study of air pollution risks; titled: ‘Aerosols in the Middle East’.

The research is funded by the Competency-Based Institutional Funding Programme of the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation.

Dr. Issa bin Sulaiman Al Ameri, the Dean of the College of Sciences and Arts at the University of Nizwa, said: “The main objective of the research project is to learn the pollution rates caused by aerosols by measuring them via satellites, local monitoring stations, and laboratory analyses to measure the harmful particles carried by atoms in the atmosphere.

“This study can provide opportunities for decision makers to review policies that not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also improve air quality and advance environmental health in the Middle East.”

In an interview with the Oman News Agency, he was quoted as having said: “The research project has reached advanced stages, as the university recently organised a scientific symposium, titled: “The Synergy of Ground Measurements and Satellite Measurements to Monitor Aerosols Over the Middle East.”

NASA is standing up to the many environmental and climatic damages caused by global warming.

He pointed out that the symposium recommended the necessity of the participation of faculty members in scientific research through the formation of cooperative research groups and the involvement of students through research programs provided by the University of Nizwa, in cooperation and coordination with the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation.

The Dean of the College of Science and Arts at the University of Nizwa explained that NASA’s participation in this project stems from the Agency’s scientific position and its usual role in research and studies, foremost of which are atmospheric problems, represented in this project by Dr. Piyushkumar N. Patel, a climate scientist.

Dr. Patel works at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the California Institute of Technology in the United States of America, and the Oak Ridge Associated Universities. He is a researcher involved with a funded research project and has experience in satellite remote sensing and reprocessing satellite data.

He further stated that the significant role that aerosols play in the regional energy balance, the hydrological cycle, and air quality, will contribute to reaching the results reached in the current research project to reduce inaccurate information related to regional forecasts of climate change in the Sultanate of Oman and the Middle East.

Dr. Patel also pointed out that the establishment of an institution that provides valuable information to support efforts to mitigate air pollution and mitigate climate change, especially in terms of understanding the relationship between sources and the effectiveness of emissions and pollution mitigation measures in the Sultanate of Oman can help in identifying and minimising sources of pollution and regional climatic factors – all of which will be reflected in the long run on the entire Middle East region.