Influence of Meteorological Variables and Forest Fires Events on Air Quality in an Urban Area (Córdoba, Argentina)

MATEOS, A. C.; AMARILLO, A. C.; TAVERA BUSSO, I.; CARRERAS, H. A.

ARCHIVES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND TOXICOLOGY

SPRINGER

Año: 2019

0090-4341

Extreme environmental events, such as forest fres, are a major emission source of aerosols into the atmosphere. Thus, to investigate the contribution of local forest fres to urban particulate matter, we selected several forest fre indicators, such as number of heat sources, fre events, and burnt area, and collected particles smaller than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) during a 2.5-year period in Cordoba City (Argentina). Temporal variation of PM2.5 concentration and composition was described considering fre and nonfre periods, and the infuence of meteorological variables was estimated as well. On average, PM2.5 levelsregistered in Córdoba city during the study period were lower than values reported for other similar cities in Latin America,despite the fact that during wintertime an increase in PM2.5 levels was observed due to the occurrence of thermal inversions. Several fre events taking place in the nearby hills around the city during winter and spring 2013 suggest that biomass burning was a strong contribution to urban particles levels, which is consistent with the signifcant correlation between PM2.5 concentration and heat sources number. During fre periods, levels of Fe, Ca, and K, were signifcantly higher than in the nonfre periods, suggesting that these elements can be reliable forest fre markers.