Eddy Covariance Flux Measurements of Urban Aerosols During the MILAGRO Mexico City Field Campaign

Expansive urban development in the fast growing number of megacities around the world raises concerns regarding the pollution levels in such sites. The Mexico City MILAGRO 2006 (Megacity Initiative: Local and Global Research Observations) field campaign was a worldwide initiative aiming to understand sources, chemical nature and evolution of pollution in one of the largest urban developments. As part of the MILAGRO campaign, urban fluxes of aerosols and related trace gases were measured near the centre of Mexico City at 42 m above street level. Aerosol concentrations (1 min. averages) and aerosol fluxes (10 Hz, selected ion monitoring) were measured with an Aerodyne quadrupole aerosol mass spectrometer operated in an alternating 30 minute mode of ambient concentrations and fluxes. The fluxes were derived using eddy covariance calculations. The aerosol flux data were supported by additional flux measurements of CO2 and a number of gas phase VOC species using a combination of techniques, including Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry using a disjunct eddy covariance technique and GC-FID analysis of samples from a disjunct eddy accumulation sampler. Preliminary results of aerosol concentrations and flux measurements indicate that the urban landscape is a significant source of organic aerosols.