Effects of urban pollution on the composition of gases and particles in a tropical forest

• Grant number: 16/12731-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): October 01, 2016
• Effective date (End): October 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences
• Principal Investigator: Paulo Eduardo Artaxo Netto
• Grantee: Patrick Schlag
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física (IF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/05014-0 - GoAmazon: interactions of the urban plume of Manaus with biogenic forest emissions in Amazonia, AP.PFPMCG.TEM

Abstract

This post-doctoral research project focuses on the study of the impact of emissions from an isolated urban area (Manaus) in the Central Amazon Basin. The focus of this post-doctoral plan is to study the formation of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) the interaction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other urban emissions with the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) emitted by the forest. The life cycle of aerosols in the Amazon will be studied, focusing on the impact of Manaus pollution plume in this cycle. We will determine how Manaus urban pollution interacts with the natural emissions in terms of reactivity, oxidation, formation of new particles and secondary organic aerosols. We also want to know what is the role of Hydroxyl radical (OH) and VOCs as isoprene in the formation of organic aerosols, and how this is influenced by the interaction pollution-natural emissions. We will also determine what is the distribution of secondary inorganic aerosols (ammonia and ammonium sulfate nitrate) pollution plume on a tropical megacity, and what are the optical properties of aerosols and their subsequent climate impacts on the rain forest environment. To achieve these objects, VOCs flows of untouched forest, upwind of Manaus, will be measured as well as the change in the composition of VOCs downwind of the city. To carry out the measurements proposed, we will operate and analyze data from a wide range of instruments downwind and upwind of Manaus. Three sites will be installed upwind of Manaus (ATTO, ZF2 and Embrapa) and two wind sites downwind (Iranduba and Manacapuru), with which we can follow the transport and atmospheric processing. The instrumentation will consist of an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM), an state-of-the art intstrument to perform chemical characterization of aerosols in real time, and Proton Transfer Reaction-Mass Spectrometer (PTR-MS), the high-sensitivity measurements of VOCs. In addition, additional instrumentation provides size distribution, optical properties of aerosols, CO / CO2, O3, SO2, elemental composition, OC-EC analysis, etc. Such wide set of measurements will allow an understanding of the atmosphere processes, as well as the climatic effect of the interaction pollution-VOCs in aerosols, clouds, precipitation and radiative balance in Central Amazon. (AU)