The BIOMASP+ project on biosphere-atmosphere exchanges and their role in air pollution in the subtropical megacity of São Paulo: motivations, methods and preliminary observations
Abstract Air pollution, especially in urban areas, is the result of a complex mixture of natural and anthropogenic emissions and their atmospheric processing. It causes millions of premature deaths worldwide and affects plant metabolism, which in turn alters the emissions of Biogenic Volatile Organic Compound (BVOCs) by plants. By taking the subtropical Metropolitan Area of São Paulo (MASP) as a natural laboratory, the BIOMASP+ project (BIOsphere-atmosphere interactions in the Metropolitan Area of São Paulo - plus ) aims to evaluate the interplay between the biosphere and secondary pollution (ozone and SOA formation and aging). The Brazilian Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica) is the target ecosystem as the fifth biodiversity hotspot in the world. Here we present the scientific motivations of the project, its methodology and the preliminary observations from the Special Observation Periods of year 2023 (SOP1, 2, 3 and 4). BIOMASP+ is (i) integrative, by combining in-situ/remote/laboratory observations and modeling, (ii) multidisciplinary, addressing micrometeorology, urban climate, atmospheric chemistry and biology. The project involves multiple nested scales: from leaf to above-canopy levels, from very short time (microseconds) to multi-year scale, from few millimeters (turbulence scale) to synoptic scale. In particular, the experimental effort relies on the implementation of two contrasting supersites (primary forest and urban forest) with a 30-m and 20-m flux towers, respectively, and a variety of state-of-the-art instruments. Ambient observations and the quantification of BVOC emissions have highlighted the complex interactions between meteorology, atmospheric composition of pollution, biogenic emissions of representative remnants of the Atlantic Forest and anthropogenic emissions.
Citação
@online{agnès2025,
author = {Agnès , Borbon and Adalgiza , Fornaro and Amauri P. ,
Oliveira and Silvia R. , Souza and Brito, Joel F., De and Jean-Luc ,
Jaffrezo and Michael , Staudt and Rita Y. , Ynoue and Georgia ,
Codato and Maciel P. , Sánchez and Lucas C. , Silveira and Luciana ,
Rizzo and Fernanda , Anselmo-Moreira and Etienne , Brugère and
Pauline , Fombelle and Manon , Rocco and Leonardo , Domingues and
Samara , Carbone and Eduardo L. M. , Catharino and Aurélie , Colomb
and Jacques , Florêncio and A. , Gandolfo and Marina , Jamar and J.
, Kempf and Alex , Nascimento and Olatunde , Murana and Jean-Eudes ,
Petit and Daniel C. , Zacharias and Junteng , Wu and Alexandre ,
Albinet and Hugo H. , Araújo and Jean-Luc , Baray and Marie ,
Bertrand and Maria L. A. M. , Campos and Lucas , Chiari and Armelle
, Crouzet and Pamela A. , Dominutti and Sébastien , Dusanter and
Cláudia Maria , Furlan and Costa, Bruno Ruiz Brandão, Da and Morgan
, Lopez and Jean , Martins and Tarcísio F. , Martins and Kátia ,
Mazzei and Camila S. , Meireles and Gregori A. , Moreira and Eduardo
, Landulfo and Edson P. Marques , Filho and Michel , Ramonet and
Véronique , Riffault and Ávila B. , Santos and Bruna L. , Paim and
Luzimar C. , Silva and Graciele D. D. , Soares and Gaëlle , Uzu and
Weixin , Xian},
title = {The BIOMASP+ project on biosphere-atmosphere exchanges and
their role in air pollution in the subtropical megacity of São
Paulo: motivations, methods and preliminary observations},
date = {2025-11-17},
doi = {10.1175/BAMS-D-23-0161.1},
langid = {pt-BR},
abstract = {Abstract Air pollution, especially in urban areas, is the
result of a complex mixture of natural and anthropogenic emissions
and their atmospheric processing. It causes millions of premature
deaths worldwide and affects plant metabolism, which in turn alters
the emissions of Biogenic Volatile Organic Compound (BVOCs) by
plants. By taking the subtropical Metropolitan Area of São Paulo
(MASP) as a natural laboratory, the BIOMASP+ project
(BIOsphere-atmosphere interactions in the Metropolitan Area of São
Paulo - plus ) aims to evaluate the interplay between the biosphere
and secondary pollution (ozone and SOA formation and aging). The
Brazilian Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica) is the target ecosystem
as the fifth biodiversity hotspot in the world. Here we present the
scientific motivations of the project, its methodology and the
preliminary observations from the Special Observation Periods of
year 2023 (SOP1, 2, 3 and 4). BIOMASP+ is (i) integrative, by
combining in-situ/remote/laboratory observations and modeling, (ii)
multidisciplinary, addressing micrometeorology, urban climate,
atmospheric chemistry and biology. The project involves multiple
nested scales: from leaf to above-canopy levels, from very short
time (microseconds) to multi-year scale, from few millimeters
(turbulence scale) to synoptic scale. In particular, the
experimental effort relies on the implementation of two contrasting
supersites (primary forest and urban forest) with a 30-m and 20-m
flux towers, respectively, and a variety of state-of-the-art
instruments. Ambient observations and the quantification of BVOC
emissions have highlighted the complex interactions between
meteorology, atmospheric composition of pollution, biogenic
emissions of representative remnants of the Atlantic Forest and
anthropogenic emissions.}
}