Comparação estatística de duas séries de material particulado (MP10) na cidade de São Paulo

Abstract

Large urban centres have had to handle problems related to the air pollution. The inhaled particles (PM10) are an atmospheric pollutant that affects most of such urban centres, among which, the city of S˜ao Paulo. The (PM10) is regarded as an indicator of the air quality, a characteristic that highlights the relevance in studying it.Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate whether a time series of maximum dailypollution values of inhaled particles (PM10) observed at the Centro and Santo Amarostations - both located in the city of S˜ao Paulo - have been generated from the same stochastic process. The data were collected for the period from January, 1st, 2007 ton December, 19th, 2009. The following statistical methods were applied: the test for the equality of autocorrelation functions, the cumulative sum test, and a procedure of time series subtraction. The conclusion drawn by this study was that the two data series analysed were not generated by the same stochastic process. Hence, the data on air pollution levels obtained in one of the stations studied are not enough to explain the same type of data obtained in the other one.