This work presents an analysis of the hourly average data of solar radiation flux and ozone concentrations at the surface level in the North and South of Quito for the years 2007 to 2012. The data was obtained from the public archives of the monitoring network in Quito.
Monthly diurnal variation profiles were prepared for solar radiation and ozone for each region. A large data dispersion was found, in particular for the solar radiation data set. The Northern region is generally sunnier than the Southern region, although higher ozone is recorded in the South. This feature reveals differences in the nature and abundance of ozone precursors in both regions. The summer months show the largest ozone concentrations, which correlates directly with the seasonal solar radiation intensity at the surface. The ozone concentrations in the South of the city can be four times higher than in the North at daylight hours. In the nighttime high ozone levels, as high as daytime levels, were detected in the South of the city. It is possible that high ozone concentrations in the residual layer become trapped in the nocturnal boundary layer. The results found in this study suggest potential future atmospheric experiments that could help prove some of the proposed hypotheses for the observed phenomena.
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