Detection of atmospheric aerosols and terrestrial nanoparticles collected in a populous city in southern Brazil

The main objective of this study is to analyze hazardous elements in nanoparticles (NPs) (smaller than 100 nm) and ultrafne particles (smaller than 1 µm) in Porto Alegre City, southern Brazil using a self-made passive sampler and Sentinel-3B SYN satellite images in 32 collection points. The Aerosol Optical Thickness proportion (T550) identifcation was conducted using images of the Sentinel-3B SYN satellite at 634 points sampled in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy analyses were performed to identify chemical elements present in NPs and ultrafne particles, followed by single-stage cascade impactor to be processed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. This process was coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and later analysis via secondary ion mass spectrometry. Data was acquired from Sentinel-3B SYN images, normalized to a standard mean of 0.83 µg/mg, at moderate spatial resolution (260 m), and modeled in the Sentinel Application Platform (SNAP) software v.8.0. Statistical matrix data was generated in the JASP software (Jefreys’s Amazing Statistics Program) v.0.14.1.0 followed by a K-means cluster analysis. The results demonstrate the presence of between 1 and 100 nm particles of the following chemical elements: Si, Al, K, Mg, P, and Ti. Many people go through these areas daily and may inhale or absorb these elements that can harm human health. In the Sentinel-3B SYN satellite images, the sum of squares in cluster 6 is 168,265 and in cluster 7 a total of 21,583. The use of images from the Sentinel-3B SYN satellite to obtain T550 levels is of great importance as it reveals that atmospheric pollution can move through air currents contaminating large areas on a global scale.

• Autores: Bortoluzzi, Marluse Guedes; Neckel, Alcindo; William Bodah, Brian; Tibério Cardoso, Grace; Oliveira, Marcos L. S.; Carollo Toscan, Paloma; Stolfo Maculan, Laércio; Lozano, Liliana P.; Bodah, Eliane Thaines; Silva, Luis F. O.
• Tipo de recurso: Article of investigation
• Fecha de publicación: 2023
• Institución: Corporación Universidad de la Costa
• Repositorio: REDICUC - Repositorio CUC
• Idioma: eng
• OAI Identifier: oai:repositorio.cuc.edu.co:11323/13542
• Acceso en línea: https://hdl.handle.net/11323/13542; https://repositorio.cuc.edu.co/
• Palabra clave: Nanoparticles; Ultrafne particulates; Atmospheric aerosols; Future projects; Global scale
• Rights: openAccess
• License: Atribución 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0)