1. Atmospheric black carbon concentrations in Mexico
- Author
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Isabel Saavedra, Oscar Peralta, Karen de la Cruz, Telma Castro, Abraham Ortínez-Alvarez, Naxieli Santiago, Amparo Martínez-Arroyo, Roberto Basaldud, María de la Luz Espinosa, Harry Alvarez-Ospina, Luis Gerardo Ruiz-Suárez, Valter Barrera, Víctor H. Páramo, Arturo Gavilan, and Felipe Adrián Vázquez-Gálvez
- Subjects
Atmospheric Science ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,chemistry.chemical_element ,Carbon black ,010501 environmental sciences ,01 natural sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,chemistry ,Mexico city ,Environmental chemistry ,Environmental science ,Carbon ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Carbon monoxide - Abstract
Atmospheric black carbon concentrations were measured at two urban sites (Mexico City and Monterrey), one suburban site (Juriquilla) and one high-altitude site (Altzomoni) in Mexico during 2015 and part of 2016. Black carbon concentrations were compared against other criteria gases finding a strong correlation with carbon monoxide at the urban sites. The carbon monoxide-black carbon correlation for the Mexico City site is 0.77. Urban sites had an average black carbon concentration of above 2.5 μg m−3, the suburban site 0.75 μg m−3, and the high-altitude site 0.27 μg m−3. Compared to other studies, the average levels are comparable, and the urban and suburban locations showed a trend towards increased atmospheric black carbon concentrations at year end. Other urban places (Guadalajara, Cuernavaca, and Iztapalapa) reported black carbon concentrations, but for less than a year. For the first time, a Latin-American country (Mexico) measured black carbon continuously at several sites for a year applying the same data quality assurance.
- Published
- 2019
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