Magnetic and elemental characterization of the particulate matter deposited on leaves of urban trees in Santiago, Chile.

ABSTRACT: Airborne particulate matter is a serious threat to human health, especially in fast-growing cities. In this study, we carried out a magnetic and elemental study on tree leaves used as passive captors and urban dust from various sites in the city of Santiago, Chile, to assess the reliability of magnetic and elemental measurements to characterize particulate matter pollution from vehicular origin. We found that the magnetic susceptibility and saturation isothermal remanent magnetization measured on urban tree leaves is a good proxy for tracing anthropogenic metallic particles and allow controlling the exposure time for particulate matter collection, in agreement with other studies carried out in large cities. Similar measurements on urban soil can be influenced by particles of detritic (natu

SUBMITTER: Prendez M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10140104 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature