Browsing by Author "Huneeus, Nicolas"

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    Contaminant emissions as indicators of chemical elements in the snow along a latitudinal gradient in southern Andes
    (NATURE RESEARCH, 2021) Pizarro, Jaime; Vergara, Pablo M.; Cerda, Sergio; Cordero, Raul R.; Castillo, Ximena; Rowe, Penny M.; Casassa, Gino; Carrasco, Jorge; Damiani, Alessandro; Llanillo, Pedro J.; Lambert, Fabrice; Rondanelli, Roberto; Huneeus, Nicolas; Fernandoy, Francisco; Alfonso, Juan; Neshyba, Steven
    The chemical composition of snow provides insights on atmospheric transport of anthropogenic contaminants at different spatial scales. In this study, we assess how human activities influence the concentration of elements in the Andean mountain snow along a latitudinal transect throughout Chile. The concentration of seven elements (Al, Cu, Fe, Li, Mg, Mn and Zn) was associated to gaseous and particulate contaminants emitted at different spatial scales. Our results indicate carbon monoxide (CO) averaged at 20 km and nitrogen oxide (NOx) at 40 km as the main indicators of the chemical elements analyzed. CO was found to be a significant predictor of most element concentrations while concentrations of Cu, Mn, Mg and Zn were positively associated to emissions of NOx. Emission of 2.5 mu m and 10 mu m particulate matter averaged at different spatial scales was positively associated to concentration of Li. Finally, the concentration of Zn was positively associated to volatile organic compounds (VOC) averaged at 40 km around sampling sites. The association between air contaminants and chemical composition of snow suggests that regions with intensive anthropogenic pollution face reduced quality of freshwater originated from glacier and snow melting.
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    Energy poverty effects on policy-based PM2.5 emissions mitigation in southern and central Chile
    (2022) Calvo, Ruben; Alamos, Nicolas; Huneeus, Nicolas; O'Ryan, Raill
    Residential firewood burning is the main source of PM2.5 emissions in southern and central Chile. In Chile, approximately 4000 premature deaths are observed each year due to air pollution. Mitigation policies aim to reduce dwellings' energy demand and foster cleaner but more expensive energy sources. Pre-existing energy poverty conditions are often overlooked in these policies, even though they can negatively affect the adoption of these measures. This article uses southern and central Chile as a case study to assess quantitatively different policy scenarios of PM2.5 emissions between 2017 and 2050, considering energy poverty-related effects. Results show that PM2.5 emissions will grow 16% over time under a business as usual scenario. If thermal improvement and stove/heater replacements are implemented, PM2.5 reductions depend on the scale of the policy: a 5%-6% reduction of total southern and central Chile PM2.5 emissions if only cities with Atmospheric Decontamination Plans are included; a 54%-56% reduction of PM2.5 emissions if these policies include other growing cities. Our study shows that the energy poverty effect potentially reduces the effectiveness of these measures in 25%. Consequently, if no anticipatory measures are taken, Chile's energy transition goals could be hindered and the effectiveness of mitigation policies to improve air quality significantly reduced.