PM2.5 Chemical Composition and Source Apportionment in Medellín, Colombia (2019-2020)

Mauricio A. Correa-Ochoa's dataset contains chemical characterization data for 112 PM2.5 samples collected at an urban background site in Medellín, Colombia, between March 2019 and March 2020. Daily PM2.5 concentrations ranged from 8.15 to 37.86 g/m³, with a mean of 21.73 ± 6.75 g/m³. Principal Component Analysis identified five major pollution sources, including mineral dust and secondary aerosols, with supporting data from NOAA HYSPLIT back-trajectories and NASA FIRMS fire hotspots.

Use Cases

• Training source apportionment models based on chemical speciation data for metals, anions, and carbonaceous species.
• Analyzing seasonal pollution patterns based on the described dry and wet periods and their influence on concentration levels.
• Modeling the impact of long-range transport from the Magdalena, Orinoco, and Amazon basins on local air quality.
• Investigating the relationship between regional biomass burning events (from fire hotspot data) and episodic high-pollution concentrations.

Strengths

• Includes 112 PM2.5 samples with comprehensive chemical characterization using ICP-MS, ion chromatography, and thermal/optical analysis.
• Provides specific concentration statistics: daily values ranged from 8.15 to 37.86 g/m³ with a mean of 21.73 ± 6.75 g/m³.
• Integrates multiple data sources, including on-site measurements, PCA source apportionment results, and satellite-derived fire hotspot data.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The dataset is very small at 5.5 KB, indicating limited scope or highly summarized data.

Provenance

Source

Mauricio A. Correa-Ochoa via figshare.

Collection Method

Samples collected and chemically characterized; source apportionment performed via Principal Component Analysis (PCA).

Time Range

March 2019 to March 2020.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-27 17:42:07; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Urban background site in Medellín, Colombia, a city in a topographically constrained valley in the Andes.