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Spatial distribution of SO2 concentration and population exposure in the tropical city of Villahermosa, Mexico

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Abstract

A hybrid system to compute a fine-resolution spatial distribution of population exposure to SO2 concentration due to mobile and area sources in the tropical city of Villahermosa is described, which consists of an air dispersion model, GIS analysis techniques, and a static exposure model. A methodology to spatially allocate SO2 emissions has been applied, which is adapted to the characteristics of a typical medium-sized city in a developing country. It was estimated that 363.2 tons of SO2 was emitted in the Villahermosa Metropolitan Zone, 21.3 % of which was produced by area sources and 78.7 % by mobile sources. The highest spatially allocated emissions were located in main road intersections, where they reached a maximum value of 39,804 μg s−1, and, in a lesser measure, in the most populated areas of Villahermosa. Performance of the ISCST3 model to simulate hourly SO2 concentrations was similar to that of other studies. The highest SO2 concentrations were located at intersections of main roads in the south-central and southwestern Villahermosa. On the other hand, the lowest SO2 concentrations were found in its north-central district. The highest population exposure to SO2 concentrations was located in areas with high population density like southwestern, south-central, and northeastern Villahermosa. On the other hand, its north-central zone had the lowest exposure due to a low SO2 concentration and low population density.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the PFICA research program of the Juarez Autonomous University of Tabasco. We want to thank Ebelia del Angel Meraz and Gaspar Lopez Ocaña for their collaboration. We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers that help us to improve greatly this paper.

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  1. División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juarez Autónoma de Tabasco, Carretera Villahermosa-Cardenas km 0.5, 86100, Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico

    Arturo Valdés Manzanilla & Xicotencatl de la Cruz Uc

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  1. Arturo Valdés Manzanilla
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  2. Xicotencatl de la Cruz Uc
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Correspondence to Arturo Valdés Manzanilla.

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Valdés Manzanilla, A., de la Cruz Uc, X. Spatial distribution of SO2 concentration and population exposure in the tropical city of Villahermosa, Mexico. Air Qual Atmos Health 8, 321–329 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-014-0273-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-014-0273-8

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