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)
Enhanced emission of intermediate-volatility/semi-volatile organic matter in gas and particle phases from ship exhausts with low-sulfur fuels
Binyu Xiao, Fan Zhang, Zeyu Liu, Yan Zhang, Rui Li, Can Wu, Xinyi Wan, Yi Wang, Yubao Chen, Yong Han, Min Cui, Libo Zhang, Yingjun Chen, and Gehui Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7053–7069, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7053-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7053-2025, 2025
Short summary
Measurement report: Crustal materials play an increasing role in elevating particle pH – insights from 12-year records in a typical inland city of China
Hongyu Zhang, Shenbo Wang, Zhangsen Dong, Xiao Li, and Ruiqin Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6943–6955, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6943-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6943-2025, 2025
Short summary
Significant contributions of biomass burning to PM2.5-bound aromatic compounds: insights from field observations and quantum chemical calculations
Yanqin Ren, Zhenhai Wu, Fang Bi, Hong Li, Haijie Zhang, Junling Li, Rui Gao, Fangyun Long, Zhengyang Liu, Yuanyuan Ji, and Gehui Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6975–6990, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6975-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6975-2025, 2025
Short summary
Measurement report: In-depth characterization of ship emissions during operations in a Mediterranean port
Lise Le Berre, Brice Temime-Roussel, Grazia Maria Lanzafame, Barbara D'Anna, Nicolas Marchand, Stéphane Sauvage, Marvin Dufresne, Liselotte Tinel, Thierry Leonardis, Joel Ferreira de Brito, Alexandre Armengaud, Grégory Gille, Ludovic Lanzi, Romain Bourjot, and Henri Wortham
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6575–6605, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6575-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6575-2025, 2025
Short summary
Direct measurement of N2O5 heterogeneous uptake coefficients on atmospheric aerosols in southwestern China and evaluation of current parameterizations
Jiayin Li, Tianyu Zhai, Xiaorui Chen, Haichao Wang, Shuyang Xie, Shiyi Chen, Chunmeng Li, Yuanjun Gong, Huabin Dong, and Keding Lu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6395–6406, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6395-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6395-2025, 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