Nébon Bado

From

Joseph Ki-Zerbo University of Ouagadougou - BF

In residence at

Laboratory of Physics and Chemistry of Environment and Space (LPC2E) / CNRS, University of Orléans, CNES - FR 

Host scientist

Gwenaël Berthet

Project

Microphysical and optical characterization of aerosols in urban areas by in situ and balloon flight measurements: application to the study of air quality in Burkina Faso, West Africa

The research project is a microphysical and optical characterization of aerosols based on new techniques developed at the LPC2E/CNRS in Orléans, with the aim of studying air quality and assessing the health and climatic impact of aerosols in Burkina Faso, located in the heart of West Africa. The LPC2E uses aerosol-counter optical instruments to measure the concentration of atmospheric particles on the ground and in flight using a meteorological balloon. These are the LOAC (Light Optical Aerosol Counter) instrument, which measures in at least 19 particle size ranges between 0.15 µm and 50 µm, and the POPS (Portable Optical Particle Spectrometer), which measures the concentration of liquid aerosols between 0.14 µm and 3 µm in meteorological balloons. One of the innovative qualities of the LOAC instrument is its ability to provide a typology of the particles present. In addition, LPC2E has a global chemistry-climate model CESM2 used to characterize the sources and climatic impact of aerosols, particularly for the West African zone, and especially for Burkina Faso, with a simulation already available for the period 2000-2020. All these techniques, tried and tested at LPC2E/CNRS in Orléans and particularly lacking in Burkina Faso, will constitute a first in this region of Africa, with a strategy that is intended to be multi-year via a long-term inter-institute collaboration. This research project will make an enormous contribution to the training of students, particularly in Burkina Faso, and the promotion of scientific skills in air quality characterization and the assessment of the health and climatic impact of aerosols.