Hit from both sides; tracking industrial and volcanic plumes in Mexico City with surface measurements and OMI SO (sub 2) retrievals during the MILAGRO field campaign

B. de Foy; N. A. Krotkov; N. Bei; S. C. Herndon; L. G. Huey; A. P. Martinez; L. G. Ruiz-Suarez; E. C. Wood; M. Zavala; L. T. Molina

Hit from both sides; tracking industrial and volcanic plumes in Mexico City with surface measurements and OMI SO (sub 2) retrievals during the MILAGRO field campaign

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Peer reviewed

Hit from both sides; tracking industrial and volcanic plumes in Mexico City with surface measurements and OMI SO (sub 2) retrievals during the MILAGRO field campaign

B. de Foy, N. A. Krotkov, N. Bei, S. C. Herndon, L. G. Huey, A. P. Martinez, L. G. Ruiz-Suarez, E. C. Wood, M. Zavala and L. T. Molina

Atmospheric chemistry and physics, Vol.9(24), pp.9599-9617

2009

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Abstract

aerosols

air pollution

atmospheric transport

biomass

boundary layer

correlation coefficient

dispersion patterns

Environmental geology

Federal District Mexico

humidity

industry

meteorology

Mexico

Mexico City Mexico

Mexico state

numerical models

particles

plumes

pollutants

pollution

Popocatepetl

radar methods

remote sensing

satellite methods

statistical analysis

sulfates

sulfur dioxide

time series analysis

trajectories

transport

urban environment

wind transport

winds

Large sulfur dioxide plumes were measured in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) during the MILAGRO field campaign. This paper seeks to identify the sources of these plumes and the meteorological processes that affect their dispersion in a complex mountain basin. Surface measurements of SO (sub 2) and winds are analysed in combination with radar wind profiler data to identify transport directions. Satellite retrievals of vertical SO (sub 2) columns from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) reveal the dispersion from both the Tula industrial complex and the Popocatepetl volcano. Oversampling the OMI swath data to a fine grid (3 by 3 km) and averaging over the field campaign yielded a high resolution image of the average plume transport. Numerical simulations are used to identify possible transport scenarios. The analysis suggests that both Tula and Popocatepetl contribute to SO (sub 2) levels in the MCMA, sometimes on the same day due to strong vertical wind shear. During the field campaign, model estimates suggest that the volcano accounts for about one tenth of the SO (sub 2) in the MCMA, with a roughly equal split for the rest between urban sources and the Tula industrial complex. The evaluation of simulations with known sources and pollutants suggests that the combination of observations and meteorological models will be useful in identifying sources and transport processes of other plumes observed during MILAGRO.

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Title: Hit from both sides; tracking industrial and volcanic plumes in Mexico City with surface measurements and OMI SO (sub 2) retrievals during the MILAGRO field campaign
Creators: B. de Foy - Saint Louis University, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences St. Louis, MO USA United States
N. A. Krotkov
N. Bei
S. C. Herndon
L. G. Huey
A. P. Martinez
L. G. Ruiz-Suarez
E. C. Wood
M. Zavala
L. T. Molina
Publication Details: Atmospheric chemistry and physics, Vol.9(24), pp.9599-9617
Publisher: Copernicus
Resource Type: Journal article
Language: English
Academic Unit: Chemistry
Identifiers: 991020902979404721

Hit from both sides; tracking industrial and volcanic plumes in Mexico City with surface measurements and OMI SO (sub 2) retrievals during the MILAGRO field campaign

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