Installation

This page outlines the steps required to set up and run the DUSTY system for tracking and analyzing dust storms using MERRA-2 datasets.

Prerequisites

Python 3.9 or higher
Git (for cloning the repository)
A Unix-like or Windows OS with internet access
A NASA Earthdata account (required to download MERRA-2 files)

Required Python Packages

To install the necessary dependencies, run:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Your requirements.txt file should include (or manually install):

numpy
pandas
xarray
matplotlib
tqdm
requests
netCDF4
scipy
geopy
scikit-image

Clone the Repository

Use the following command to clone the project:

git clone https://github.com/AqeelPilot/DustFlight.git
cd DustFlight

Set Up Authentication (Earthdata)

MERRA-2 data requires NASA Earthdata login credentials. You need to:

Create an Earthdata account: https://urs.earthdata.nasa.gov
Create a .netrc file in your home directory with the following format:

machine urs.earthdata.nasa.gov
login your_username
password your_password

On Windows, ensure the path to .netrc is set using:

os.environ["NETRC"] = r"C:\\Users\\yourname\\login_netrc"

Or, edit this path in MERRA2AODProcessor and MERRA2AODANAProcessor constructors.

Configuration File

DUSTY requires a configuration .json file. This file specifies:

region_bounds: [lat_min, lat_max, lon_min, lon_max]
start_date, end_date: “YYYY-MM-DD”
modis_output_dir, AOD_output_dir, csv_output_path: output folder paths
project_name: project identifier used in output file names

Example:

{
  "region_bounds": [15, 35, 40, 65],
  "start_date": "2023-06-01",
  "end_date": "2023-06-30",
  "modis_output_dir": "data/merra2",
  "AOD_output_dir": "data/aodana",
  "csv_output_path": "output",
  "project_name": "DustyGulf"
}

Running DUSTY

Once installed and configured, run the main script:

python DustyMain.py

You will be prompted to select the configuration file and choose whether to use the Fusion Storm Detector.