Articles | Volume 23, issue 18
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10325-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10325-2023
Research article
 | 
15 Sep 2023
Research article |  | 15 Sep 2023

Source apportionment study on particulate air pollution in two high-altitude Bolivian cities: La Paz and El Alto

Valeria Mardoñez, Marco Pandolfi, Lucille Joanna S. Borlaza, Jean-Luc Jaffrezo, Andrés Alastuey, Jean-Luc Besombes, Isabel Moreno R., Noemi Perez, Griša Močnik, Patrick Ginot, Radovan Krejci, Vladislav Chrastny, Alfred Wiedensohler, Paolo Laj, Marcos Andrade, and Gaëlle Uzu

Related authors

New particle formation dynamics in the central Andes: contrasting urban and mountaintop environments
Diego Aliaga, Victoria A. Sinclair, Radovan Krejci, Marcos Andrade, Paulo Artaxo, Luis Blacutt, Runlong Cai, Samara Carbone, Yvette Gramlich, Liine Heikkinen, Dominic Heslin-Rees, Wei Huang, Veli-Matti Kerminen, Alkuin Maximilian Koenig, Markku Kulmala, Paolo Laj, Valeria Mardoñez-Balderrama, Claudia Mohr, Isabel Moreno, Pauli Paasonen, Wiebke Scholz, Karine Sellegri, Laura Ticona, Gaëlle Uzu, Fernando Velarde, Alfred Wiedensohler, Doug Worsnop, Cheng Wu, Chen Xuemeng, Qiaozhi Zha, and Federico Bianchi
Aerosol Research, 3, 15–44, https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-3-15-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-3-15-2025, 2025
Short summary
Atmospheric black carbon in the metropolitan area of La Paz and El Alto, Bolivia: concentration levels and emission sources
Valeria Mardoñez-Balderrama, Griša Močnik, Marco Pandolfi, Robin L. Modini, Fernando Velarde, Laura Renzi, Angela Marinoni, Jean-Luc Jaffrezo, Isabel Moreno R., Diego Aliaga, Federico Bianchi, Claudia Mohr, Martin Gysel-Beer, Patrick Ginot, Radovan Krejci, Alfred Wiedensohler, Gaëlle Uzu, Marcos Andrade, and Paolo Laj
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12055–12077, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12055-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12055-2024, 2024
Short summary
Tropical tropospheric aerosol sources and chemical composition observed at high altitude in the Bolivian Andes
C. Isabel Moreno, Radovan Krejci, Jean-Luc Jaffrezo, Gaëlle Uzu, Andrés Alastuey, Marcos F. Andrade, Valeria Mardóñez, Alkuin Maximilian Koenig, Diego Aliaga, Claudia Mohr, Laura Ticona, Fernando Velarde, Luis Blacutt, Ricardo Forno, David N. Whiteman, Alfred Wiedensohler, Patrick Ginot, and Paolo Laj
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2837–2860, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2837-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2837-2024, 2024
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Aerosols | Research Activity: Field Measurements | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Chemistry (chemical composition and reactions)
Advances in characterization of black carbon particles and their associated coatings using the soot-particle aerosol mass spectrometer in Singapore, a complex city environment
Mutian Ma, Laura-Hélèna Rivellini, Yichen Zong, Markus Kraft, Liya E. Yu, and Alex King Yin Lee
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 8185–8211, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8185-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8185-2025, 2025
Short summary
Iron isotopes suggest significant aerosol dissolution over the Pacific Ocean
Capucine Camin, François Lacan, Catherine Pradoux, Marie Labatut, Anne Johansen, and James W. Murray
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 8213–8228, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8213-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8213-2025, 2025
Short summary
Enrichment of organic nitrogen in fog residuals observed in the Italian Po Valley
Fredrik Mattsson, Almuth Neuberger, Liine Heikkinen, Yvette Gramlich, Marco Paglione, Matteo Rinaldi, Stefano Decesari, Paul Zieger, Ilona Riipinen, and Claudia Mohr
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7973–7989, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7973-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7973-2025, 2025
Short summary
Asian dust transport of proteinaceous matter from the Gobi Desert to northern China
Ren-Guo Zhu, Hua-Yun Xiao, Meiju Yin, Hao Xiao, Zhongkui Zhou, Yuanyuan Pan, Guo Wei, and Cheng Liu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7699–7718, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7699-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7699-2025, 2025
Short summary
Machine-learning-assisted chemical characterization and optical properties of atmospheric brown carbon in Nanjing, China
Yu Huang, Xingru Li, Dan Dan Huang, Ruoyuan Lei, Binhuang Zhou, Yunjiang Zhang, and Xinlei Ge
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7619–7645, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7619-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7619-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Aliaga, D., Sinclair, V. A., Andrade, M., Artaxo, P., Carbone, S., Kadantsev, E., Laj, P., Wiedensohler, A., Krejci, R., and Bianchi, F.: Identifying source regions of air masses sampled at the tropical high-altitude site of Chacaltaya using WRF-FLEXPART and cluster analysis, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16453–16477, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16453-2021, 2021. 
Amato, F., Pandolfi, M., Escrig, A., Querol, X., Alastuey, A., Pey, J., Perez, N., and Hopke, P. K.: Quantifying road dust resuspension in urban environment by Multilinear Engine: A comparison with PMF2, Atmos. Environ., 43, 2770–2780, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2009.02.039, 2009. 
Amato, F., Viana, M., Richard, A., Furger, M., Prévôt, A. S. H., Nava, S., Lucarelli, F., Bukowiecki, N., Alastuey, A., Reche, C., Moreno, T., Pandolfi, M., Pey, J., and Querol, X.: Size and time-resolved roadside enrichment of atmospheric particulate pollutants, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 2917–2931, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-2917-2011, 2011. 
Belis, C. A., Pernigotti, D., Karagulian, F., Pirovano, G., Larsen, B., Gerboles, M., and Hopke, P.: A new methodology to assess the performance and uncertainty of source apportionment models in intercomparison exercises, Atmos. Environ., 119, 35–44, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2015.08.002, 2015. 
Download
Short summary
La Paz and El Alto are two fast-growing, high-altitude Bolivian cities forming the second-largest metropolitan area in the country. The sources of particulate matter (PM) in this conurbation were not previously investigated. This study identified 11 main sources of PM, of which dust and vehicular emissions stand out as the main ones. The influence of regional biomass combustion and local waste combustion was also observed, with the latter being a major source of hazardous compounds.
Share
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint