In this episode we discuss sources and dynamics of atmospheric mineral dust, their role in  Sub-Saharan Africa air quality, health, and climate.

• The impacts of mineral dust in the atmosphere and on Earth’s ecosystems
  
• Building capacity and air quality monitoring networks in Nigeria
  
• Challenges for developing atmospheric science research and collaboration in Africa
  

Our guest Prof Rabia Salihu Sa’id is a full professor of Atmospheric Physics at Bayero University, Kano, in Nigeria. She holds a PhD, MSc, and BSc in Physics and an MSc in Environment and Development, and is an expert in the effects of dust aerosols on climate and air quality measurements. In 2015, she received an Elsevier Foundation Award for Women Scientists in the Developing World, which rewards and encourages women working and living in developing countries who are in the early stages of their scientific careers, having often overcome great challenges to achieve research excellence. Find her on twitter.

Our interviewer Temitope Adebayo is a PhD candidate in Epidemiology at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) and University of Basel in the chronic disease unit. She has a MSc Public Health degree with specialization in environmental epidemiology and biostatistics from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She has worked on spatial-temporal dynamics of malaria in South Africa in collaboration with the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) and Aix-Marseille University. Her current research interest is understanding the combined health effects of multiple air pollutants on cardio-respiratory disease in Cape-Town.

Episode notes and references:

• Physics in Africa
  
• A Study of the Surface Air Temperature Variations in Nigeria
  
• Dust Aerosols And Climate: A Brief Review
  
• Dr Rabia Salihu Sa’id: Saving the Environment Four Hours at a Time
  

Music by: Ritesh Prasanna

Podcast website: https://atmospherictales.com