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Atmos. Chem. Phys., 7, 2447-2473, 2007
www.atmos-chem-phys.net/7/2447/2007/ doi:10.5194/acp-7-2447-2007 © Author(s) 2007. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. |
Air quality in North America's most populous city – overview of the MCMA-2003 campaign
1Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
2Molina Center for Energy and Environment, La Jolla, CA, USA
3Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA, USA
4Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA
5Laboratory for Atmospheric Research, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
6Department of Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
7Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
8Cooperative Institute for Research in the Environmental Sciences (CIRES), Univ. of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
9Secretary of Environment, Government of the Federal District, Mexico, DF, Mexico
10National Center for Environmental Research and Training, National Institute of Ecology, Mexico, DF, Mexico
11Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California at San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
Abstract. Exploratory field measurements in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) in February 2002 set the stage for a major air quality field measurement campaign in the spring of 2003 (MCMA-2003). Involving over 100 scientists from more than 30 institutions in Mexico, the United States and Europe, MCMA-2003 revealed important new insights into the meteorology, primary pollutant emissions, ambient secondary pollutant precursor concentrations, photochemical oxidant production and secondary aerosol particle formation in North America's most populated and polluted megacity. A description of meteorological and atmospheric chemistry and aerosol microphysics measurements performed during MCMA-2003 is presented. More than 40 published or submitted MCMA-2003 research papers are reviewed and key discoveries pertinent to understanding and improving air quality in Mexico City and similar megacities in the developing world are summarized.
Citation: Molina, L. T., Kolb, C. E., de Foy, B., Lamb, B. K., Brune, W. H., Jimenez, J. L., Ramos-Villegas, R., Sarmiento, J., Paramo-Figueroa, V. H., Cardenas, B., Gutierrez-Avedoy, V., and Molina, M. J.: Air quality in North America's most populous city – overview of the MCMA-2003 campaign, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 7, 2447-2473, doi:10.5194/acp-7-2447-2007, 2007.