Evaluation of an Emission Inventory and Air Pollution in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires

Abstract

Air is a vital resource, so its quality must fall within a tightly bound range. This quality is the level needed to protect public health. In addition, the quality must be able to support other life, notably diverse and sustainable ecosystems. The atmosphere is an extremely complex system in which numerous physical and chemical processes occur simultaneously. Ambient measurements give us only a snapshot of atmospheric conditions at a particular time and location. Such measurements are often difficult to interpret without a clear conceptual model of atmospheric processes. Moreover, measurements alone cannot be used directly by policymakers to establish an effective strategy for solving air quality problems. An understanding of individual atmospheric processes (chemistry, transport, removal, etc.) does not imply an understanding of the system as a whole. Mathematical models provide the necessary framework for integration of our understanding of individual atmospheric processes and study of their interactions. A combination of state-of-the-science measurements with state-of-the-science models is the best approach for making real progress toward understanding the atmospheric environment. Over the past four decades, there has been a significant increase in the number of locations where air quality data have been obtained. Also, there has been a substantial improvement in the technique for modelling the different physical and chemical processes occurring in the atmosphere. Despite this progress, currently available observations are still spatially and temporally sparse and the predictions of current generation of air quality models are still uncertain. Consequently, observations and model outputs should be combined to create highresolution spatial-temporal maps of air quality. However, at present air quality observations and model results are generally used separately. Urban air pollution is still on rise at many cities worldwide, or has experienced only small improvements. Some causes of urban air pollution problems are the amount and density of air pollutant sources, particularly vehicles, residences and industries. Because of the complexity of urban systems, air quality management in these areas is still a serious problem. Emission inventories are important tools to describe the emission situation and eventually to manage air quality. An emission inventory is a list of the amount of pollutants from