Título
Black carbon and organic carbon emissions from wildfires in Mexico
Autor
Xochitl Cruz-Nuñez
MARIA DE LOURDES VILLERS RUIZ
CARLOS GAY GARCIA
Nivel de Acceso
Acceso Abierto
Referencia de publicación
URL/http://www.revistascca.unam.mx/atm/index.php/atm/article/view/38906
Materias
CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA - (CTI) black carbon - ([Atmósfera; Vol 27, No 2 (2014), ISSN: 0187-6236]) - ([Atmósfera; Vol 27, No 2 (2014), ISSN: 0187-6236]) organic carbon - ([Atmósfera; Vol 27, No 2 (2014), ISSN: 0187-6236]) - ([Atmósfera; Vol 27, No 2 (2014), ISSN: 0187-6236]) wildfires - ([Atmósfera; Vol 27, No 2 (2014), ISSN: 0187-6236]) - ([Atmósfera; Vol 27, No 2 (2014), ISSN: 0187-6236]) Mexico - ([Atmósfera; Vol 27, No 2 (2014), ISSN: 0187-6236]) - ([Atmósfera; Vol 27, No 2 (2014), ISSN: 0187-6236]) emissions - ([Atmósfera; Vol 27, No 2 (2014), ISSN: 0187-6236]) - ([Atmósfera; Vol 27, No 2 (2014), ISSN: 0187-6236])
Resumen o descripción
In Mexico, approximately 7,650 wildfires occur annually, affecting 263,115 hectares of land. In addition to their impact on land degradation, wildfires cause deforestation, damage to ecosystems and promote land use change; apart from being the source of emissions of toxic substances to the environment (i.e., hydrogen cyanide, black carbon and organic carbon).
Black carbon is a short-lived greenhouse pollutant that also promotes snow and ice melt and decreased rainfall; it has an estimated global warming potential close to 5000[1].
We present an estimate of the black carbon and organic carbon emissions from wildfires in Mexico from 2000 to 2012 using selected emission factors from the literature and activity data from local agencies. The results show average emissions of 5,955 Mg/year for black carbon and 62,085 Mg/year for organic carbon.
Black carbon emissions are estimated to be 14,888 Gg CO2 equivalent (CO2 eq) per year on average. With proper management of wildfires, such emissions can be mitigated. Moreover, improved air quality, conservation of ecosystems, improvement of visibility and maintenance of land use are a subset of the related co-benefits. Mitigating organic carbon emissions, which are ten times higher than black carbon emissions, would also prevent the morbidity and mortality impacts of toxic organics in the environment.
Editor
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Centro de Ciencias de la Atmósfera
Fecha de publicación
4 de febrero de 2014
Tipo de publicación
Artículo
Versión de la publicación
Versión publicada
Recurso de información
Formato
application/pdf
Fuente
Atmósfera; Vol 27, No 2 (2014)
ISSN: 0187-6236
Idioma
Inglés
Audiencia
Investigadores
Estudiantes
Repositorio Orígen
Repositorio Institucional del Centro de Ciencias de la Atmósfera de la UNAM
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