Abstract

Local atmospheric recirculation flows (i.e., river winds) induced by thermal contrast between wide Amazon rivers and adjacent forests could affect pollutant dispersion, but observational platforms for investigating this possibility have been lacking. Here we collected daytime vertical profiles of meteorological variables and chemical concentrations up to 500 m with a copter-type unmanned aerial vehicle during the 2019 dry season. Cluster analysis showed that a river-forest recirculation flow occurred for 23% (13 of 56) of the profiles. In fair weather, the thermally driven river winds fully developed for synoptic wind speeds below 4 m s−1, and during these periods the vertical profiles of carbon monoxide and total oxidants (defined as ozone and nitrogen dioxide) were altered. Numerical modeling shows that the river winds can recirculate pollution back toward the riverbank. There are implications regarding air quality for the many human settlements along the rivers throughout northern Brazil.

Atmospheric pollutants recirculated by river winds reduce air quality for riverbank communities in the Amazon, according to unmanned aerial vehicle measurements and large eddy simulations.

Details

Title
River winds and pollutant recirculation near the Manaus city in the central Amazon
Author
Zhao Tianning 1 ; Ye Jianhuai 2 ; Ribeiro, Igor O 3 ; Ma Yongjing 4 ; Hui-Ming, Hung 5   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Batista, Carla E 3 ; Stewart, Matthew P 1 ; Guimarães, Patricia C 3 ; Vilà-Guerau de Arellano Jordi 6   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; de Souza Rodrigo A F 7   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Guenther, Alex B 8   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Martin, Scot T 9   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

1  Harvard University, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Cambridge, USA (GRID:grid.38142.3c) (ISNI:000000041936754X) 
2  Harvard University, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Cambridge, USA (GRID:grid.38142.3c) (ISNI:000000041936754X); Southern University of Science and Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shenzhen, China (GRID:grid.263817.9) 
3  National Institute of Amazonian Research, Post-graduate Program in Climate and Environment, Manaus, Brazil (GRID:grid.419220.c) (ISNI:0000 0004 0427 0577); Amazonas State University, School of Technology, Manaus, Brazil (GRID:grid.412290.c) (ISNI:0000 0000 8024 0602) 
4  Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Beijing, China (GRID:grid.9227.e) (ISNI:0000000119573309) 
5  National Taiwan University, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Taipei, Taiwan (GRID:grid.19188.39) (ISNI:0000 0004 0546 0241) 
6  Wageningen University & Research, Meteorology and Air Quality Group, Wageningen, The Netherlands (GRID:grid.4818.5) (ISNI:0000 0001 0791 5666) 
7  Amazonas State University, School of Technology, Manaus, Brazil (GRID:grid.412290.c) (ISNI:0000 0000 8024 0602) 
8  University of California, Department of Earth System Science, Irvine, USA (GRID:grid.266093.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 0668 7243) 
9  Harvard University, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Cambridge, USA (GRID:grid.38142.3c) (ISNI:000000041936754X); Harvard University, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Cambridge, USA (GRID:grid.38142.3c) (ISNI:000000041936754X) 
Publication year
2021
Publication date
Dec 2021
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
26624435
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00277-6
ProQuest document ID
2578267730
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2021. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.