Aziza Bounhir

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Aziza Bounhir is a leading researcher in atmospheric aerosol science, with a primary focus on the optical properties and transport of dust and aerosols over North Africa. Her work is critical for understanding how Saharan dust influences regional climate, air quality, and even astronomical observations. Bounhir’s major contributions center on the long-term characterization of aerosol distributions in Southern Morocco, utilizing a powerful combination of ground-based AERONET data and satellite observations. Her 2022 study, with 12 citations, provides a unique 16-year climatology (2004–2020) of aerosol optical depth and Angström exponent across four stations, revealing seasonal and daily patterns of dust transport. She has also analyzed intense Saharan dust storm events, such as the August 2018 episode, detailing their impact on columnar aerosol loading and particle size distributions. Notably, her early work (2007) explored the implications of aerosol characterization for the European Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) site selection, linking atmospheric science to astronomical infrastructure. With over 20 combined citations, Bounhir’s research is essential for climate modeling, environmental monitoring, and the protection of sensitive optical instruments in dust-prone regions.