Análise da Concentração em Massa e Composição Elementar do Material Particulado Fino (mp2,5) em Cachoeira Paulista, São Paulo: Agosto de 2010 a Outubro de 2011

http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/2179460X16221The MP2.5 has been subject of various studies about air pollution, due to its negative effect on human health, as well asthe direct and indirect effects on the climate energetic balance. The Paraíba Valley is a region that presents serious atmospheric pollution problems, considering its location, topography and economic activities. MP2.55 was sampled daily from August 2010 to October 2011 in Cachoeira Paulista city, located in the north of the Valley, and close to Via-Dutra highway which is characterized by intense traffic mainly trucks. The mass and elemental concentrations were determined bygravimetric and x-rays fluorescence techniques, respectively. The daily average value of 25 µg/m3recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) exceeded in 71 days during the period of study,while the annual average concentration of 19.8 µg/m³ was almost twice the value of the WHO recommendation (10 µg/m3). The elemental concentration analysis showed high average values of sulfur (462 ng/m³), silicon (332 ng/m³), aluminum (187 ng/m³), potassium (163 ng/m³), iron (137 ng/m³), calcium (42,4 ng/m³) and zinc (35,4 ng/m³) to all the period. The variability of potassium concentrations was related to the biomass burning observed in the region. The occurrence of raining was a favorable aspect to the decrease of the MP2.5 concentrations, reaching the average value of 14.68 ± 12.27 µg/m³, lower than 21.54± 1.,31µg/m³ in the dry period.O MP2.5 tem sido objeto de vários estudos sobre poluição do ar, devido ao seu efeito negativo à saúde humana, além dos efeitos diretos e indiretos no balanço energético e, portanto, no clima. O Vale do Paraíba, devido à sua localização, topografia e características econômicas é uma região que apresenta problemas de poluição atmosférica, sendo escolhida para o presente estudo a cidade de Cachoeira Paulista, localizada ao norte do Vale, e próxima à Rodovia Dutra a qual é caracterizada por tráfico intenso principalmente de caminhões. Amostragens de MP2,5foram realizadas no período de agosto de 2010 a outubro de 2011. Nestas amostras foram determinadas concentrações em massa e composição elementarpor gravimetria e fluorescência de raios-x, respectivamente. Foram observados 71 dias de ultrapassagem do valor da recomendação diária (25 mg/m3) de MP2.5pela Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS) durante o período estudado. Enquanto que a concentração média anual de 19,8 µg/m³ foi quase o dobro da recomendação da OMS (10mg/m3). As concentrações elementares mostraram altos valores médios de enxofre (461,7 ng/m³), silício (331,9 ng/m³), alumínio (187,4 ng/m³), potássio (163,4 ng/m³), ferro (137,4 ng/m³), cálcio (42,4 ng/m³) e zinco (35,4 ng/m³) para todo o período estudado.

Divulgação do património geológico da ilha de Santa Maria

XIV Expedição Científica do Departamento de Biologia - Santa Maria 2009.As ilhas dos Açores apresentam uma grande variedade de rochas, formas, estruturas e paisagens, que derivam, entre outros factores, da natureza dos magmas, do tipo de vulcanismo, dos condicionalismos geotectónicos intrínsecos à sua génese e em especial do seu posicionamento no Atlântico Norte, na junção tripla das placas litosféricas Euroasiática, Norte Americana e Africana (ou Núbia). Das nove ilhas que constituem o Arquipélago dos Açores, Santa Maria é a ilha mais Oriental e Meridional do território insular. [...]. Santa Maria distingue-se das restantes ilhas açorianas pelas suas características edafo-climáticas, geológicas e morfológicas. A história geológica desta ilha traduz-se numa intensa actividade vulcânica, que terá feito emergir a mesma há cerca de 10 milhões de anos, alternada com períodos de acalmia, oscilações do nível do mar concomitantes e episódios de intensa erosão. Em consequência, a ilha, que contém as formações geológicas mais antigas do arquipélago, possui actualmente formas vulcânicas muito alteradas e índices de erosão superiores aos das outras ilhas do arquipélago, apresenta significativos afloramentos de rochas sedimentares com conteúdo fóssil abundante e diversificado e expõe abundantes afloramentos de lavas submarinas (Nunes et al., 2007). Em suma: a sua localização geográfica, clima, actividade vulcânica e oscilações do nível do mar que a afectaram contribuíram, indubitavelmente, para a sua evolução e a geodiversidade que evidencia

Gestão e controlo de circulação de tráfegos rodoviário e ferroviário

Dissertação de natureza científica para obtenção do grau de mestre em Engenharia Civil na área de especialização Vias de Comunicação e TransportesO presente documento tem como principais objetivos a análise e avaliação da Gestão e Controlo de Circulação de Tráfego na Rede Rodoviária e na Rede Ferroviária em Portugal, (ambas geridas pela IP – Infraestruturas de Portugal), com especial atenção para esta última. Complementarmente, pretende-se a apresentação de propostas de melhoria na infraestrutura tendo em vista a sua otimização. Na Rede Rodoviária, embora de forma superficial, realizou-se uma análise do Centro de Comando Operacional, da Segurança na Circulação e das atividades de Conservação e Manutenção. Na Rede Ferroviária, dada a sua especificidade, o principal objetivo traduziu-se na abordagem da Gestão da Capacidade envolvendo as diversas etapas, designadamente o processo de Afetações de Tráfego, e as suas principais fases, nomeadamente os pedidos de Canais Horários e a elaboração do Projeto de Horário Técnico e na Gestão da Circulação, onde foram identificados os principais intervenientes e a sua estrutura funcional na IP, incluindo os CCO - Centros de Comando Operacionais que têm um papel fulcral na gestão da circulação de tráfego ferroviário e onde se encontram instaladas várias funções integradas num mesmo espaço, permitindo assim uma maior eficácia na circulação, como foi possível de observar em resultado de visita técnica ao CCO de Lisboa. Ainda na Rede Ferroviária, para além de aspetos ligados à Conservação e Manutenção, foram igualmente objeto de análise as componentes de Monitorização e Segurança da mesma, envolvendo Sistemas de Comunicação, Sinalização e Controlo de Velocidade. Para além de uma análise geral das principais caraterísticas físicas da Rede Ferroviária (nomeadamente tipologia de via, bitola, eletrificação, comprimento útil de linhas em estações de cruzamento e cargas por eixo), foi realizado uma análise mais detalhada das linhas do Minho, Leixões, Norte, Beira Alta, Beira Baixa, Leste, Oeste, Vendas Novas, Alentejo, Sul, Évora e Sines, sendo que estas linhas foram entendidas como importantes, dado que estas estão associadas a ligações a portos e terminais de mercadorias, à fronteira espanhola, ao transporte de mercadorias e ao fecho de “malha”. Finalmente, dadas as implicações em termos de complementaridade com a Rede Ferroviária e a necessidade de criação / otimização de interfaces (marítimos e rodoviários) com a ferrovia, procedeu-se ainda a uma breve caraterização dos principais portos e terminais de mercadorias, designadamente Sines, Setúbal, Lisboa, Figueira da Foz, Leixões e Aveiro e ao nível rodoviário: Darque, Tadim, Irivo, Leixões, Valongo, Cacia, Guarda, Mangualde, Fundão, Alfarelos, Entroncamento, Poceirão, Praias Sado, Vale da Rosa e Loulé.This document primary objective is to analyze and evaluate the management and control of traffic circulation of road and railroad networks in Portugal, (both managed by IP - Infraestruturas de Portugal), with special attention to the latter. It also pretends to present improvement proposals for the infrastructure bearing in mind its optimization. In the Road Network, a superficial analysis was done of the Operation Command Center of security in circulation and ways of maintenance and conservation. In the Railway Network, because of its specificity, the main goal was to approach the management of its capacity involving its different stages, namely the process of traffic affectations and its main phases, such has the channel requests and elaboration of the Technical Schedule Project, the management of circulation where the main stakeholders were identified and its functional structure in IP, including the CCO – Central Command Centers that have an important role on the management of railroad traffic and where several functions are integrated in a common space allowing for a better efficacy in circulation as observed in the technical visit to Lisbon CCO. Still on the Railway Network, besides aspects connected to the Maintenance and Conservation, components of Security and Monitorization were equally analyzed, involving Communication, Signaling and Speed Control systems. Besides the general analysis of the Railway Network physical characteristics (namely lane type, Gauge, electrification, useful lane length in crossing stations and load per axis) a more in depth analysis was made to the Lines of Minho, Leixões, Norte, Beira Alta, Beira Baixa, Leste, Oeste, Vendas Novas, Alentejo, Sul, Évora and Sines. These Lines were considered important taking into account that they represent connections to Ports, to the Spanish border, to Freight transport and to the “fecho de malha”. Finally, given the implications in terms of complementarity with the Railroad Network and the need to create/optimize connections with Road Networks and Port Networks, a brief characterization of the main Ports and Freight Terminals was made, more specifically, in a Port of Sines, Setúbal, Lisboa, Figueira da Foz, Leixões, Aveiro and in a Roads Terminal of Darque, Tadim, Irivo, Leixões, Valongo, Cacia, Guarda, Mangualde, Fundão, Alfarelos, Entroncamento, Poceirão, Praias Sado, Vale da Rosa and Loulé.N/

Hydrogen peroxide in the rainwater of Sao Paulo megacity: measurements and controlling factors

Measurements of H2O2, major ions and meteorological parameters were made in rain events occurred in downtown Sao Paulo City, Brazil between July 2001 and January 2006. The H2O2 concentration ranged from 0.5 to 78 &#956;mol L-1 with an average of 14.5 &#956;mol L-1. The SO4(2-) and HCOO- concentrations mean were of 13.5 and 9.62 &#956;mol L-1, respectively. The H2O2 concentrations showed a positive and significant correlation with HCOO- (r = 0.70, n = 129, p < 0.0001) suggesting that the production of H2O2 in aqueous phase by consumption of formaldehyde by reaction with OH• radical is a factor which may control the H2O2 levels in the rainwater samples. Estimation of rate of wet deposition of H2O2 shows that nearly 70% of hydrogen peroxide is annually removed from the atmosphere by wet deposition in spring and summer. Sequential rainstorm analyses indicated that lightning activity and rainfall rate can influence the H2O2 contents in rainwater in this area

Urban air pollution: a representative survey of PM2.5 mass concentrations in six Brazilian cities

In urban areas of Brazil, vehicle emissions are the principal source of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The World Health Organization air quality guidelines state that the annual mean concentration of PM2.5 should be below 10 μg m−3. In a collaboration of Brazilian institutions, coordinated by the University of São Paulo School of Medicine and conducted from June 2007 to August 2008, PM2.5 mass was monitored at sites with high traffic volumes in six Brazilian state capitals. We employed gravimetry to determine PM2.5 mass concentrations, reflectance to quantify black carbon concentrations, X-ray fluorescence to characterize elemental composition, and ion chromatography to determine the composition and concentrations of anions and cations. Mean PM2.5 concentrations and proportions of black carbon (BC) in the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Recife, and Porto Alegre were 28.1 ± 13.6 μg m−3 (38% BC), 17.2 ± 11.2 μg m−3 (20% BC), 14.7 ± 7.7 μg m−3 (31% BC), 14.4 ± 9.5 μg m−3 (30% BC), 7.3 ± 3.1 μg m−3 (26% BC), and 13.4 ± 9.9 μg m−3 (26% BC), respectively. Sulfur and minerals (Al, Si, Ca, and Fe), derived from fuel combustion and soil resuspension, respectively, were the principal elements of the PM2.5 mass. We discuss the long-term health effects for each metropolitan region in terms of excess mortality risk, which translates to greater health care expenditures. This information could prove useful to decision makers at local environmental agencies

Evaluating atmospheric pollutants from urban buses under real-world conditions : Implications of the main public transport mode in São Paulo, Brazil

The broad expanse of the urban metropolitan area of São Paulo (MASP) has made buses, the predominant public transport mode for commuters in the city. In 2016, the bus fleet in the MASP reached 56,354 buses and it was responsible for more than 12 million daily trips. Here, we evaluate for the first time, the emission profile of gaseous and particulate pollutants from buses running on 7% biodiesel + 93% petroleum diesel and their spatial distribution in the MASP. This novel study, based on four bus terminal experiments, provides an extensive analysis of atmospheric pollutants of interest to public health and climate changes, such as CO2, CO, NOx, VOCs, PM10, PM2.5 and their constituents (black carbon (BC) and elements). Our results suggest that the renovation of the bus fleet from Euro II to Euro V and the incorporation of electric buses had a noticeable impact (by a factor of up to three) on the CO2 emissions and caused a decrease in NO emissions, by a factor of four to five. In addition, a comparison with previous Brazilian studies, shows that the newer bus fleet in the MASP emits fewer particles. Emissions from the public transport sector have implications for public health and air quality, not only by introducing reactive pollutants into the atmosphere but also by exposing the commuters to harmful concentrations. Our findings make a relevant contribution to the understanding of emissions from diesel-powered buses and about the impact of these new vehicular technologies on the air quality in the MASP

Seasonal trends of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in the megacity of São Paulo

The Metropolitan Area of São Paulo (MASP) is the largest megacity in South America, with 21 million inhabitants and more than 8 million vehicles. Those vehicles run on a complex fuel mix, with ethanol accounting for nearly 50% of all fuel sold. That has made the MASP a unique case study to assess the impact of biofuel use on air quality. Currently, the greatest challenge in terms of improving air quality is controlling the formation of secondary pollutants such as ozone, which represents the main air pollution problem in the MASP.We evaluated the temporal trends in the concentrations of ozone, its precursors (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and NO2), CO, and NO, from 2012 to 2016. Formaldehyde and acetaldehyde concentrations were frequently higher in winter than in other seasons, showing the importance of meteorological conditions to the distribution of atmospheric pollutants in the MASP.We found no clear evidence that the recent growth in ethanol consumption in Brazil has affected acetaldehyde concentrations, which are associated with emissions from ethanol combustion. In fact, the formaldehyde/acetaldehyde ratio remained relatively constant over the period studied, despite the change in the fuel consumption profile in the MASP