Lidar measurements of tropospheric aerosol and water vapor profiles during the winter season campaigns over the metropolitan area of Sao Paulo - Brazil

摘要

The so-called Metropolitan Area of Sao Paulo, one of the largest megacities in the world, faces several problems related to the air quality due the high concentrations of aerosols produced either by local sources or by long-range transporting. Concerned with the elevated concentrations of aerosol and their impact in the air quality and the climate changes inside MASP, a measurement campaign were conducted during the South hemisphere winter of 2012, when the low temperatures and the low level of precipitation contribute to the poor dispersion of aerosols. A Raman Lidar system and air quality monitoring stations from University of Sao Paulo and Environment Agency of Sao Paulo State (CETESB) were employed in order to monitor the increasing of aerosol load in the atmosphere. Satellite data, in synergy with HYSPLIT air masses backward trajectories, were applied to track the aerosol from the long-range distanced regions to Metropolitan Area of Sao Paulo. In the beginning of September 2012, MASP experienced episodes of high air pollution concentration, reaching Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) values up to 0.89 at 550 nm and particulate matter concentration up to 293 μg/cm~3. Particle lidar ratio values of 60 to 70 sr retrieved by a Raman Lidar system at 532 nm provided information of the aerosol type, helping to determine the influence of biomass burning advected from large range distance to megacities such as Sao Paulo.