PM-bound trace elements in pan-European urban atmosphere.

Although many studies have discussed the impact of Europe's air quality, very limited research focused on the detailed phenomenology of ambient trace elements (TEs) in PM in urban atmosphere. This study compiled long-term (2013-2022) measurements of speciation of ambient urban PM from 55 sites of 7 countries (Switzerland, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, UK), aiming to elucidate the phenomenology of 20 TEs in PM in urban Europe. The monitoring sites comprised urban background (UB, n = 26), traffic (TR, n = 10), industrial (IN, n = 5), suburban background (SUB, n = 7), and rural background (RB, n = 7) types.

Composition and chemical processing of volatile organic compounds in boundary layer polluted plumes: Insights from an airborne Q-PTR-MS on-board the French ATR-42 aircraft.

Over the last decade, the French ATR-42 research aircraft explored contrasting polluted plumes in the Paris megacity, the North-West Mediterranean Basin (WMB) and South West Africa (SWA) in the framework of the MEGAPOLI, ChArMEx/SAFMED and DACCIWA international projects, respectively. Major VOCs were measured by a high-sensitivity airborne Quadrupole Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometer (Q-PTR-MS), showing a robust and consistent response. Regardless of the location, the air mass composition is dominated by oxygenated VOC (OVOC: methanol, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone and isoprene oxidation products), which explain 70 % of the total VOC burden measured by the Q-PTR-MS.

Oxidative potential of particulate matter and its association to respiratory health endpoints in high-altitude cities in Bolivia.

Exposure to particulate matter (PM) pollution is a significant health risk, driving the search for innovative metrics that more accurately reflect the potential harm to human health. Among these, oxidative potential (OP) has emerged as a promising health-based metric, yet its application and relevance across different environments remain to be further explored. This study, set in two high-altitude Bolivian cities, aims to identify the most significant sources of PM-induced oxidation in the lungs and assess the utility of OP in assessing PM health impacts.

Disentangling fine particles (PM) composition in Hanoi, Vietnam: Emission sources and oxidative potential.

A comprehensive chemical characterization of fine particulate matter (PM) was conducted at an urban site in one of the most densely populated cities of Vietnam, Hanoi. Chemical analysis of a series of 57 daily PM samples obtained in 2019-2020 included the quantification of a detailed set of chemical tracers as well as the oxidative potential (OP), which estimates the ability of PM to catalyze reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in vivo as an initial step of health effects due to oxidative stress. The PM concentrations ranged from 8.

Evaluating major anthropogenic VOC emission sources in densely populated Vietnamese cities.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) play an important role in urban air pollution, both as primary pollutants and through their contribution to the formation of secondary pollutants, such as tropospheric ozone and secondary organic aerosols. In this study, more than 30 VOC species were continuously monitored in the two most populous cities in Vietnam, namely Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC, September-October 2018 and March 2019) and Hanoi (March 2019). In parallel with ambient VOC sampling, grab sampling was used to target the most prevalent regional-specific emission sources and estimate their emission factors (EFs).

Evaluation of the Sources, Precursors, and Processing of Aerosols at a High-Altitude Tropical Site.

This work presents the results from a set of aerosol- and gas-phase measurements collected during the BIO-MAÏDO field campaign in Réunion between March 8 and April 5, 2019. Several offline and online sampling devices were installed at the Maïdo Observatory (MO), a remote high-altitude site in the Southern Hemisphere, allowing the physical and chemical characterization of atmospheric aerosols and gases. The evaluation of short-lived gas-phase measurements allows us to conclude that air masses sampled during this period contained little or no anthropogenic influence.

The Latin America Early Career Earth System Scientist Network (LAECESS): addressing present and future challenges of the upcoming generations of scientists in the region.

Early career (EC) Earth system scientists in the Latin America and the Caribbean region (LAC) have been facing several issues, such as limited funding opportunities, substandard scientific facilities, lack of security of tenure, and unrepresented groups equality issues. On top of this, the worsening regional environmental and climatic crises call for the need for this new generation of scientists to help to tackle these crises by increasing public awareness and research. Realizing the need to converge and step up in making a collective action to be a part of the solution, the Latin America Early Career Earth System Scientist Network (LAECESS) was created in 2016.

Discovering oxidative potential (OP) drivers of atmospheric PM, PM, and PM simultaneously in North-Eastern Spain.

Ambient particulate matter (PM) is a major contributor to air pollution, leading to adverse health effects on the human population. It has been suggested that the oxidative potential (OP, as a tracer of oxidative stress) of PM is a possible determinant of its health impact. In this study, samples of PM, PM, and PM were collected roughly every four days from January 2018 until March 2019 at a Barcelona urban background site and Montseny rural background site in northeastern Spain.

Isoprene in urban Atlantic forests: Variability, origin, and implications on the air quality of a subtropical megacity.

Biosphere-atmosphere interactions play a key role in urban chemistry because of biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions. Of the BVOC, isoprene is the most emitted compound; however, it also has anthropogenic origins in urban areas. In this study, we aimed to investigate the spatio-temporal variability and atmospheric impacts of biogenic and anthropogenic isoprene in the subtropical megacity of São Paulo (MASP), Brazil.

One decade of VOCs measurements in São Paulo megacity: Composition, variability, and emission evaluation in a biofuel usage context.

In South America, the observations of atmospheric pollutants are deficient, and few cities have implemented air quality monitoring programs. In addition, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) observations are still missing, and little is known about their contributions to the atmospheric composition and impacts in a large ethanol usage context like Brazil. Here, we present a wide range of VOCs that have been measured for ten years in São Paulo Megacity (SPM) in different campaigns at traffic, urban and background sites.

Disentangling vehicular emission impact on urban air pollution using ethanol as a tracer.

The Sao Paulo Metropolitan Area is a unique case worldwide due to the extensive use of biofuel, particularly ethanol, by its large fleet of nearly 8 million cars. Based on source apportionment analysis of Organic Aerosols in downtown Sao Paulo, and using ethanol as tracer of passenger vehicles, we have identified primary emissions from light-duty-vehicles (LDV) and heavy-duty-vehicles (HDV), as well as secondary process component. Each of those factors mirror a relevant primary source or secondary process in this densely occupied area.