Mexico City air quality: Progress of an international collaborative project to define air quality management options
Mexico City, faces a severe air pollution problem due to a combination of circumstances. The city is in a high mountain basin at a subtropical latitude. The basin setting inhibits dispersion of pollution and contributes to frequent wintertime thermal inversions which further trap pollutants near the surface. The elevation and latitude combine to provide plentiful sunshine which, in comparison to more northern latitudes, is enhanced in the UV radiation which drives atmospheric photochemistry to produce secondary pollutants such as ozone. The Area Metropolitana de la Ciudad de Mexico AMCW is defined to include the 16 delegations of the Federal District (D.F.) and 17 highly urbanized municipalities in the State of Mexico which border the D.F. The 1990 census (XI Censo General de Poblacion y Vivienda de 1990) records that slightly over 15 million people live in the AMCM. There are numerous other nearby communities which are in the airshed region of Mexico City, but which are not included in the definition and population of the AMCM. The Mexico City Air Quality Research Initiative is one project that is examining the complex relationship between air pollution, economic growth, societal values, and air quality management policies. The project utilizes a systems approach including computer modeling, comprehensive measurement studies of Mexico City`s air pollutants, environmental chemical reaction studies and socioeconomic analysis. Los Alamos National Laboratory (USA) and the Mexican Petroleum Institute are the designated lead institutions.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 10185379
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-92-2919; CONF-9210178-1; ON: DE93000798
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Supercities international conference on environmental quality and sustainable development,San Francisco, CA (United States),25-30 Oct 1992; Other Information: PBD: [1992]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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