Ethanol, acetaldehyde, and methanol in the gas phase and rainwater in different biomes and urban regions of Brazil.

In the context of the increasing global use of ethanol biofuel, this work investigates the concentrations of ethanol, methanol, and acetaldehyde, in both the gaseous phase and rainwater, across six diverse urban regions and biomes in Brazil, a country where ethanol accounts for nearly half the light-duty vehicular fuel consumption. Atmospheric ethanol median concentrations in São Paulo (SP) (12.3 ± 12.1 ppbv) and Ribeirão Preto (RP) (12.1 ± 10.9 ppbv) were remarkably close, despite the SP vehicular fleet being ∼13 times larger. Likewise, the rainwater VWM ethanol concentration in SP (4.64 ± 0.38 µmol L-1) was only 26 % higher than in RP (3.42 ± 0.13 µmol L-1). This work demonstrated the importance of evaporative emissions, together with biomass burning, as sources of the compounds studied. The importance of biogenic emissions of methanol during forest flooding was identified in campaigns in the Amazon and Atlantic forests. Marine air masses arriving at a coastal site led to the lowest concentrations of ethanol measured in this work. Besides vehicular and biomass burning emissions, secondary formation of acetaldehyde by photochemical reactions may be relevant in urban and non-urban regions. The combined deposition flux of ethanol and methanol was 6.2 kg ha-1 year-1, avoiding oxidation to the corresponding and more toxic aldehydes. Considering the species determined here, the ozone formation potential (OFP) in RP was around two-fold higher than in SP, further evidencing the importance of emissions from regional distilleries and biomass burning, in addition to vehicles. At the forest and coastal sites, the OFP was approximately 5 times lower than at the urban sites. Our work evidenced that transition from gasoline to ethanol or ethanol blends brings the associated risk of increasing the concentrations of highly toxic aldehydes and ozone, potentially impacting the atmosphere and threatening air quality and human health in urban areas.

Flood Season Microbiota from the Amazon Basin Lakes: Analysis with Metagenome Sequencing.

Despite an apparent geographic separation of the Amazon water bodies, they are an interconnected system. During floods, the microbiota of rivers, lakes, and soil combines. This study used metagenomics sequencing to survey the microbiota of the Amazon Basin lakes during flood season, showing important patterns in microbial communities.

Metagenome Sequencing of Prokaryotic Microbiota Collected from Rivers in the Upper Amazon Basin.

Tropical freshwater environments, like rivers, are important reservoirs of microbial life. This study employed metagenomic sequencing to survey prokaryotic microbiota in the Solimões, Purus, and Urucu Rivers of the Amazon Basin in Brazil. We report a rich and diverse microbial community.

Metagenomics Analysis of Microorganisms in Freshwater Lakes of the Amazon Basin.

The Amazon Basin is the largest hydrographic basin on the planet, and the dynamics of its aquatic microorganisms strongly impact global biogeochemical cycles. However, it remains poorly studied. This metagenome project was performed to obtain a snapshot of prokaryotic microbiota from four important lakes in the Amazon Basin.