Leila Droprinchinski Martins 1,4, Ricardo Hallak1, Rafaela Cruz Alves1, Daniela S. de Almeida1, Rafaela Squizzato1, Camila A.B. Moreira1, Alexandra Beal3, Iara da Silva1, Anderson Rudke1, Jorge A. Martins1,4 1 Federal University of Technology, Parana, Londrina 86047-125, Brazil
2 Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-090, Brazil
3 State University of Londrina, Londrina 86051-990, Brazil
4 Visiting Researcher at Lund University, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
Received:
November 30, 2017
Revised:
January 17, 2018
Accepted:
January 27, 2018
Download Citation:
||https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2017.11.0545
Cite this article:
Martins, L.D., Hallak, R., Alves, R.C., de Almeida, D.S., Squizzato, R., Moreira, C.A., Beal, A., da Silva, I., Rudke, A. and Martins, J.A. (2018). Long-range Transport of Aerosols from Biomass Burning over Southeastern South America and their Implications on Air Quality.
Aerosol Air Qual. Res.
18: 1734-1745. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2017.11.0545
HIGHLIGHTS
ABSTRACT
The long-range transport of aerosols is a global issue since it may significantly affect the air quality of regions without high concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Two significant occurrences of long-range transport of aerosols over the state of Parana in Brazil, which occurred during the periods Aug. 16–18 and Sep. 10–14 of 2016, were studied in order to characterize the atmospheric synoptic conditions of these events and to estimate their contribution to the air quality conditions in the northern region of the state. The South American Low Level Jet (SALLJ) was the key meteorological component used to define the origin of the air mass trajectories over the region. In the first event, the SALLJ lost its configuration, bringing air masses from the western part of São Paulo (state), while in the second event, the SALLJ formed over southern Brazil and brought air masses from the northern and central parts of the nation. The significant number of fires from biomass burning in central Brazil associated with synoptic conditions contributed to the increase in PM2.5 concentrations by approximately 70–87% in the region. The transport of aerosols was a determining factor in PM2.5 exceeding the air quality standard in the region. Therefore, to minimize this problem, it is imperative to control biomass burning in Brazil.ABSTRACT
Keywords:
Air pollution; Atmospheric conditions; Aerosol sampling and transport; Particulate matter.
