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The atmosphere over Brazilian cities is influenced by a variety of emissions sources. In this study, aerosol collection and back-trajectory analysis were used to determine the influence of local and remote sources. Aerosols were collected at three locations within the state of São Paulo: one megacity and two cities in which sugar cane burning in the surroundings is observed. We quantified the major water-soluble inorganic ions and trace metals. As expected, vehicle emissions influenced the atmosphere of the megacity heavily, and sugar cane burning influenced that of the other locations. During the period of this experiment the back-trajectory analysis revealed that air masses are transported into the state from the northeast of Brazil, where biomass burning occurs. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that the two principal components account for 48.5% of the total data variance. We conclude that local sources have a strong impact on the concentrations of particulate matter and pollutants. Remote sources also contribute to the concentrations of aerosol pollutants.Capsule: Brazil is the largest user of alternative fuels, like alcohol and natural gas, and is developing the implementation of bio-diesel for heavy duty fleet in a large scale. These different fuels can impact negatively the air quality in a way not yet understood. Data presented here is not only of local interest, but can supply information regarding the impact of different fuels, biomass burning and air transport in the atmospheric chemistry.

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