Observations of particulate matter, NO2, SO2, O3, H2S and selected VOCs at a semi-urban environment in the Amazon region

Sarah L Paralovo; Cybelli G G Barbosa; Isabela P S Carneiro; Priscila Kurzlop; Guilherme C Borillo; Maria Fernanda C Schiochet; Ana Flavia L Godoi; Carlos I Yamamoto; Rodrigo A F de Souza; Rita V Andreoli; Igor O Ribeiro; Antonio O Manzi; Ivan Kourtchev; Jose Oscar V Bustillos; Scot T Martin; Ricardo H M Godoi

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.073

Observations of particulate matter, NO₂, SO₂, O₃, H₂S and selected VOCs at a semi-urban environment in the Amazon region

Sci Total Environ. 2019 Feb 10;650(Pt 1):996-1006. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.073. Epub 2018 Sep 7.

Authors

Sarah L Paralovo¹, Cybelli G G Barbosa¹, Isabela P S Carneiro¹, Priscila Kurzlop¹, Guilherme C Borillo¹, Maria Fernanda C Schiochet¹, Ana Flavia L Godoi¹, Carlos I Yamamoto¹, Rodrigo A F de Souza², Rita V Andreoli², Igor O Ribeiro², Antonio O Manzi³, Ivan Kourtchev⁴, Jose Oscar V Bustillos⁵, Scot T Martin⁶, Ricardo H M Godoi⁷

Affiliations

¹ Federal University of Paraná, Environmental Engineering Department, Curitiba, Brazil.
² State University of Amazonas, Meteorology Department, Manaus, Brazil.
³ Amazon Research Institute - INPA, Manaus, Brazil.
⁴ University of Cambridge, Department of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK.
⁵ Nuclear and Energy Research Institute, São Paulo, Brazil.
⁶ Harvard University, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences & Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Cambridge, MA, USA.
⁷ Federal University of Paraná, Environmental Engineering Department, Curitiba, Brazil. Electronic address: rhmgodoi@ufpr.br.

PMID: 30308874
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.073

Abstract

This research aims to assess air quality in a transitional location between city and forest in the Amazon region. Located downwind of the Manaus metropolitan region, this study is part of the large-scale experiment GoAmazon2014/5. Based on their pollutant potential, inhalable particulate matter (PM_2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), ozone (O₃), hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and meta-, orto-, para-xylene (BTEX) were selected for analysis. Sampling took place during the wet season (March-April 2014) and dry season (August-October 2014). The number of forest fires in the surroundings was higher during the dry wet season. Results show significant increase during the dry season in mass concentration (wet: <0.01-10 μg m^-3; dry: 9.8-69 μg m^-3), NH₄⁺ soluble content (wet: 13-125 μg m^-3; dry: 86-323 μg m^-3) and K⁺ soluble content (wet: 11-168 μg m^-3; dry 60-356 μg m^-3) of the PM_2.5, and O₃ levels (wet: 1.4-14 μg m^-3; dry: 1.0-40 μg m^-3), indicating influence of biomass burning emissions. BTEX concentrations were low in both periods, but also increased during the dry season. A weak correlation in the time series of the organic and inorganic gaseous pollutants indicates a combination of different sources in both seasons and NO2 results suggest a spatial heterogeneity in gaseous pollutants levels beyond initial expectations.

Keywords: Amazon region; Green Ocean Amazon Experiment (GoAmazon2014/5); Inorganic gases; Particulate matter.