Three years of observations at the highest
global atmosphere watch (GAW) station
in the world: Chacaltaya, Bolivia

 

Chacaltaya GAW station (16°21.014'S, 68°07.886'W) is located at 5240 m asl over the eastern chain of the Andean mountains. Due to its strategic location, air from various source regions is sampled continuously at the station. The dominant source regions of the air sampled are the Amazon, the Altiplano plateau, the Pacific Ocean and the nearby city of La Paz, the second largest metropolitan area of Bolivia and the largest city in the region. Optical and chemical properties of particulate matter and concentration of gases, both reactive and greenhouse, have been measured since December, 2011. We will describe both the instruments working at the station and at the Laboratory for Atmospheric Physics, which is located at an elevation of 3420 m asl and at distance of 22 km in straight line from Chacaltaya. Results from measurements during the period of 2012 to 2014 are presented. Special emphasis is placed on processes related to transport from the surface to the free troposphere and long-range transport of biomass burning products from the low-lands to the Andean glaciers.

 

<