Articles | Volume 24, issue 20
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12055-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12055-2024
Research article
 | 
28 Oct 2024
Research article |  | 28 Oct 2024

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

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Cited articles

Alas, H. D., Stöcker, A., Umlauf, N., Senaweera, O., Pfeifer, S., Greven, S., and Wiedensohler, A.: Pedestrian exposure to black carbon and PM2.5 emissions in urban hot spots: new findings using mobile measurement techniques and flexible Bayesian regression models, J. Expo. Sci. Environ. Epidemiol., 32, 604–614, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-021-00379-5, 2022. 
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. 
Arnott, W. P., Hamasha, K., Moosmüller, H., Sheridan, P. J., and Ogren, J. A.: Towards aerosol light-absorption measurements with a 7-wavelength aethalometer: Evaluation with a photoacoustic instrument and 3-wavelength nephelometer, Aerosol Sci. Technol., 39, 17–29, https://doi.org/10.1080/027868290901972, 2005. 
Backman, J., Schmeisser, L., Virkkula, A., Ogren, J. A., Asmi, E., Starkweather, S., Sharma, S., Eleftheriadis, K., Uttal, T., Jefferson, A., Bergin, M., Makshtas, A., Tunved, P., and Fiebig, M.: On Aethalometer measurement uncertainties and an instrument correction factor for the Arctic, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 5039–5062, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-5039-2017, 2017. 
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Short summary
Levels of black carbon (BC) are scarcely reported in the Southern Hemisphere, especially in high-altitude conditions. This study provides insight into the concentration level, variability, and optical properties of BC in La Paz and El Alto and at the Chacaltaya Global Atmosphere Watch Station. Two methods of source apportionment of absorption were tested and compared showing traffic as the main contributor to absorption in the urban area, in addition to biomass and open waste burning.
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