Browsing by Author "Quansah, E."

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    Development of high spatial resolution rainfall data for Ghana
    (International Journal of Climatology, 2018-08-25) Aryee, J. N. A.; Amekudzi, L. K.; Quansah, E.; Klutse, N. A. B.; Atiah, W. A.
    Various sectors of the country’s economy – agriculture, health, energy, among others – largely depend on climate information, hence availability of quality climate data is very essential for climate-impact studies in these sectors. In this paper, a monthly rainfall database (GMet v1.0) has been developed at a 0.5∘ × 0.5∘ spatial resolution, from 113 Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) gauge network distributed across the four agro-ecological zones of Ghana, and spanning a 23-year period (1990–2012). The datasets were frst homogenized with quantile-matching adjustments and thereafter, gridded at a spatial resolution of 0.5∘ × 0.5∘ using Minimum Surface Curvature with tensioning parameter, allowing for comprehensive spatial felds assessment on the developed dataset. Afterwards, point-pixel validation was performed using GMet v1.0 against gauge data from stations that were earlier excluded due to large datagaps. This proved the reliability of GMet v1.0, with high and statistically signifcant correlations at 99% confdence level, and relatively low biases and rmse. Furthermore, GMet v1.0 was compared with GPCC and TRMM rainfall estimates, with both products found to adequately mimick GMet v1.0, with high correlations which are signifcant at 99% confdence level, low biases and rmse. In addition, the ratio of 90th – percentile provided fairly similar capture of extremes by both TRMM and GPCC, in relation to GMet v1.0. Finally, based on annual rainfall totals and monthly variability, k-means cluster analysis was performed on GMet v1.0, which delineated the country into four distinct climatic zones. The developed rainfall data, when offcially released, will be a useful product for climate impact and further rainfall validation studies in Ghana.
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    First performance assessment of blends of jatropha, palm oil and soya bean biodiesel with kerosene as fuel for domestic purposes in rural-Ghana
    (International Journal of Energy and Environment (IJEE), 2011) Quansah, E.; Preko, K.; Amekudzi, L. K.
    Performance assessments of jatropha, palm oil and soya bean based biodiesel were carried out to investigate their potential use as conventional substitute for kerosene for domestic purposes in ruralGhana. The assessments were done by comparing some of the combustion characteristics of blends of the biodiesel with kerosene. The blends were categorised as B100 (100% biodiesel), B80 (80% biodiesel and 20% kerosene), B60 (60% biodiesel and 40% kerosene), B40 (40% biodiesel and 60% kerosene), B20 (20% biodiesel and 80% kerosene) and B0 (pure kerosene). The results showed that the calorific values of the B100s were less than that of the B0 and decreasing in the order of jatropha, soya bean and palm oil. The wick wastage results for both the B100s and B0, revealed higher rates in the WTL than the BB even though the BB recorded low fuel consumption rates than the WTL for both B100s and B0. Similarly, the luminous intensity test with the B100s showed low values in WTL than the BB in a decreasing order of jatropha, soya bean and palm oil. However, B0 recorded higher luminous intensity values that were quite comparable in both WTL and BB.
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    The Influence of Temperature and Relative Humidity on Indoor Ozone Concentrations during the Harmattan
    (Journal of Emerging Trends in Engineering and Applied Sciences (JETEAS), 2012) Quansah, E.; Amekudzi, L. K.; Preko, K.
    A study to understand the influence of temperature and relative humidity on indoor ozone levels during the Harmattan season over Kotei, a suburb of Kumasi in Ghana has been carried out. The hourly-maximum and average ozone concentrations were measured using the A-22 Eco sensor. A strong diurnal variation of ozone levels within 0.004 and 0.229 ppm for the measurement period was observed. Ozone levels were found to be slightly above the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended ambient air quality ozone concentration. A strong correlation coefficient of 0.75 and -0.63 for ozone was found with temperature and relative humidity respectively. This indicates that in addition to particulate matter, high ozone levels could contribute to respiratory health problems during the Harmattan season.