21. Performance of microAethalometers: Real-world Field Intercomparisons from Multiple Mobile Measurement Campaigns in Different Atmospheric EnvironmentsHoney Alas, Thomas Mueller, Kay Weinhold, Sascha Pfeifer, Kristina Glojek, Asta Gregorič, Griša Močnik, Luka Drinovec, Francesca Costabile, Martina Ristorini, A. Wiedensohler, 2020, original scientific article Abstract: Small aethalometers are frequently used to measure equivalent black carbon (eBC) mass concentrations in the context of personal exposure and air pollution mapping through mobile measurements (MM). The most widely used is the microAethalometer (AE51). Its performance in the laboratory and field is well documented, however, there is not sufficient data in the context of its performance in different environments. In this investigation, we present the characterization of the performance of the AE51 through field unit-to-unit intercomparisons (IC), and against a reference absorption photometer from three MM campaigns conducted in drastically different environments. Five IC parameters were considered: i) study area, ii) location of IC, iii) time of day, iv) duration of IC, and v) correction for the filter-loading effect. We can conclude that it is crucial where and how long the IC have been performed in terms of the correlation between the mobile and reference instruments. Better correlations (R2 > 0.8, slope = 0.8) are achieved for IC performed in rural, and background areas for more than 10 minutes. In locations with more homogenous atmosphere, the correction of the loading effect improved the correlation between the mobile and reference instruments. In addition, a newer microAethalometer model (MA200) was characterized in the field under extreme cold conditions and correlated against another MA200 (R2 > 0.8, slope ≈ 1.0), AE51(R2 > 0.9, slope ≈ 0.9), and a stationary Aethalometer (AE33) across all wavelengths (R2 > 0.8, slope ≈ 0.7). For MA200, the loading effect was more pronounced, especially at the lower wavelengths, hence the correction of the loading effect is essential to improve the correlation against the AE33. The MA200 and AE51 proved to be robust and dependable portable instruments for MM applications. Real-world quality assurance of these instruments should be performed through field IC against reference instruments with longer durations in areas of slowly changing eBC concentration. Keywords: Portable instruments, Mobile monitoring, Black carbon, Instrument intercomparisons Published in RUNG: 15.09.2020; Views: 2683; Downloads: 184 Full text (3,54 MB) |
22. Photo-thermal interferometerLuka Drinovec, Griša Močnik, 2020, patent Abstract: A photo-thermal interferometer for measuring the light absorption of an aerosol or gas comprises a first laser source emitting a laser beam and a beam splitter adapted to divide the laser beam into a probe beam and a reference beam. The interferometer further comprises first optical elements which are adapted to direct the probe beam such that it passes through the aerosol and interferes with the reference beam thereafter thereby causing interference patterns. A detector detects the interference patterns. The interferometer further comprises a second laser source configured to emit a pump beam for transferring energy to the aerosol. Second optical elements are adapted to direct the pump beam such that it overlaps with the probe beam at least partially in the aerosol or gas. At least one of the second optical elements modifying the pump beam is an axicon. Keywords: aerosol, absorption, black carbon Published in RUNG: 15.09.2020; Views: 2954; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |
23. The new instrument using a TC–BC (total carbon–black carbon) method for the online measurement of carbonaceous aerosolsMartin Rigler, Luka Drinovec, Gašper Lavrič, Anastasia Vlachou, André S. H. Prévôt, Jean-Luc Jaffrezo, IASONAS STAVROULAS, Jean Sciare, Judita Burger, Irena Krajnc, Janja Turšič, Anthony D. A. Hansen, Griša Močnik, 2020, original scientific article Abstract: We present a newly developed total carbon analyzer (TCA08) and a method for online speciation of carbonaceous aerosol with a high time resolution. The total carbon content is determined by flash heating of a sample collected on a quartz-fiber filter with a time base between 20 min and 24 h. The limit of detection is approximately 0.3 µg C, which corresponds to a concentration of 0.3 µg C m−3 at a sample flow rate of 16.7 L min−1 and a 1 h sampling time base. The concentration of particulate equivalent organic carbon (OC) is determined by subtracting black carbon concentration, concurrently measured optically by an Aethalometer®, from the total carbon concentration measured by the TCA08. The combination of the TCA08 and Aethalometer (AE33) is an easy-to-deploy and low-maintenance continuous measurement technique for the high-time-resolution determination of equivalent organic and elemental carbon (EC) in different particulate matter size fractions, which avoids pyrolytic correction and the need for high-purity compressed gases. The performance of this online method relative to the standardized off-line thermo-optical OC–EC method and respective instruments was evaluated during a winter field campaign at an urban background location in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The organic-matter-to-organic-carbon ratio obtained from the comparison with an aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) was OM/OC=1.8, in the expected range. Keywords: total carbon, aeroosl, black carbon, carbonaceous matter Published in RUNG: 17.08.2020; Views: 2936; Downloads: 76 Full text (226,45 KB) |
24. A new optical-based technique for real-time measurements of mineral dust concentration in PM10 using a virtual impactorLuka Drinovec, Jean Sciare, IASONAS STAVROULAS, Spiros Bezantakos, Michael Pikridas, FLORIN UNGA, Chrysanthos Savvides, Bojana Višnjić, Maja Remškar, Griša Močnik, 2020, original scientific article Abstract: Atmospheric mineral dust influences Earth’s radiative
budget, cloud formation, and lifetime; has adverse
health effects; and affects air quality through the increase of
regulatory PM10 concentrations, making its real-time quantification
in the atmosphere of strategic importance. Only
few near-real-time techniques can discriminate dust aerosol
in PM10 samples and they are based on the dust chemical
composition. The online determination of mineral dust using
aerosol absorption photometers offers an interesting and
competitive alternative but remains a difficult task to achieve.
This is particularly challenging when dust is mixed with
black carbon, which features a much higher mass absorption
cross section. We build on previous work using filter photometers
and present here for the first time a highly timeresolved
online technique for quantification of mineral dust
concentration by coupling a high-flow virtual impactor (VI)
sampler that concentrates coarse particles with an aerosol absorption
photometer (Aethalometer, model AE33). The absorption
of concentrated dust particles is obtained by subtracting
the absorption of the submicron (PM1) aerosol fraction
from the absorption of the virtual impactor sample (VIPM1
method). This real-time method for detecting desert
dust was tested in the field for a period of 2 months (April and
May 2016) at a regional background site of Cyprus, in the
Eastern Mediterranean. Several intense desert mineral dust
events were observed during the field campaign with dust
concentration in PM10 up to 45 μgm Keywords: aerosol absorption, mineral dust, on-line detection, air quality Published in RUNG: 20.07.2020; Views: 2782; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |
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26. Investigation of Aerosol Properties and Structures in Two Representative Meteorological Situations over the Vipava Valley Using Polarization Raman LiDARLonglong Wang, Samo Stanič, William Eichinger, Griša Močnik, Luka Drinovec, Asta Gregorič, 2019, original scientific article Abstract: Vipava valley in Slovenia is a representative hot-spot for complex mixtures of different aerosol types of both anthropogenic and natural origin. Aerosol loading distributions and optical properties were investigated using a two-wavelength polarization Raman LiDAR, which provided extinction coefficient, backscatter coefficient, depolarization ratio, backscatter Ångström exponent and LiDAR ratio profiles. Two different representative meteorological situations were investigated to explore the possibility of identifying aerosol types present in the valley. In the first case, we investigated the effect of strong downslope (Bora) wind on aerosol structures and characteristics. In addition to observing Kelvin–Helmholtz instability above the valley, at the height of the adjacent mountain ridge, we found new evidence for Bora-induced processes which inject soil dust aerosols into the free troposphere up to twice the height of the planetary boundary layer (PBL). In the second case, we investigated aerosol properties and distributions in stable weather conditions. From the observed stratified vertical aerosol structure and specific optical properties of different layers we identified predominant aerosol types in these layers. Keywords: aerosol structures, aerosol characterization, polarization Raman LiDAR, Vipava valley Published in RUNG: 08.03.2019; Views: 3923; Downloads: 118 Full text (3,11 MB) |
27. Retrieval of Vertical Mass Concentration Distributions—Vipava Valley Case StudyLonglong Wang, Samo Stanič, Klemen Bergant, William Eichinger, Griša Močnik, Luka Drinovec, Janja Vaupotič, Miloš Miler, Mateja Gosar, Asta Gregorič, 2019, original scientific article Abstract: Aerosol vertical profiles are valuable inputs for the evaluation of aerosol transport models, in order to improve the understanding of aerosol pollution ventilation processes which drive the dispersion of pollutants in mountainous regions. With the aim of providing high-accuracy vertical distributions of particle mass concentration for the study of aerosol dispersion in small-scale valleys, vertical profiles of aerosol mass concentration for aerosols from different sources (including Saharan dust and local biomass burning events) were investigated over the Vipava valley, Slovenia, a representative hot-spot for complex mixtures of different aerosol types of both anthropogenic and natural origin. The analysis was based on datasets taken between 1–30 April 2016. In-situ measurements of aerosol size, absorption, and mass concentration were combined with lidar remote sensing, where vertical profiles of aerosol concentration were retrieved. Aerosol samples were characterized by SEM-EDX, to obtain aerosol morphology and chemical composition. Two cases with expected dominant presence of different specific aerosol types (mineral dust and biomass-burning aerosols) show significantly different aerosol properties and distributions within the valley. In the mineral dust case, we observed a decrease of the elevated aerosol layer height and subsequent spreading of mineral dust within the valley, while in the biomass-burning case we observed the lifting of aerosols above the planetary boundary layer (PBL). All uncertainties of size and assumed optical properties, combined, amount to the total uncertainty of aerosol mass concentrations below 30% within the valley. We have also identified the most indicative in-situ parameters for identification of aerosol type. Keywords: valley air pollution, aerosol vertical distributions, lidar remote sensing, in-situ measurements, aerosol identification Published in RUNG: 09.01.2019; Views: 4247; Downloads: 113 Full text (7,43 MB) |
28. Aerosol monitoring over Vipava valley using Raman polarization lidarLonglong Wang, Samo Stanič, Klemen Bergant, William Eichinger, Asta Gregorič, Griša Močnik, Luka Drinovec, 2018, published scientific conference contribution abstract Abstract: Vipava valley in southwest Slovenia is a representative hot-spot for complex mixtures of different aerosol types of both anthropogenic and natural origin in mountainous terrain. An investigation of aerosol properties throughout the troposphere in different atmospheric conditions was made possible by a deployment of a two-wavelength polarization Raman lidar system combining with in-situ measurements in the valley (in the town of Ajdovščina) from September 2017. Using its aerosol identification capabilities, which are based on particle depolarization ratio and lidar ratio measurements, it was possible to identify predominant aerosol types in the observed atmospheric structures, for example in different atmospheric layers in the case of stratified atmosphere. Primary anthropogenic aerosols within the valley were found to be mainly emitted from two sources: individual domestic heating systems, which mostly use biomass fuel, and from traffic. A considerable fraction of natural aerosols (for example mineral dust and sea salt), transported over large distances, were observed both above and entering into the planetary boundary layer. According to the properties of different aerosol types, backscatter contribution of each aerosol type was evaluated and the corresponding extinction contribution was derived from lidar observations. Statistical analysis of the presence of different aerosol types was performed on the entire available dataset from 2017 and 2018. Keywords: lidar, aerosol type, Vipava valley Published in RUNG: 03.12.2018; Views: 4333; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |
29. Efficient traffic regulation based on urban Black Carbon measurements and prediction modelAsta Gregorič, Luka Drinovec, Griša Močnik, Anja Barle, Matija Marolt, Jernej Henigman, Borut Šuštar, Mitja Ferlan, Andrej Pangeršič, 2018, published scientific conference contribution abstract Keywords: air quality, black carbon Published in RUNG: 29.10.2018; Views: 3658; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |
30. Vertical profiling of aerosol properties with two-wavelength polarization Raman lidar over the Vipava valleyLonglong Wang, Samo Stamoč, Asta Gregorič, Griša Močnik, Luka Drinovec, Klemen Bergant, William Eichinger, 2018, published scientific conference contribution abstract Abstract: Presence of atmospheric aerosols affects the Earth’s radiation budget and thus also atmospheric thermal structure,
which in turn affects cloud and planetary boundary layer (PBL) dynamics. We combine in-situ and remote
measurements to determine aerosol properties in a representative hot-spot for air pollution in a complex terrain
configuration. Vertical profiles of aerosol properties were investigated using a two-wavelength polarization
Raman lidar system in the Vipava valley. Using lidar-obtained particle depolarization ratio, lidar ratio and
backscatter Ångström exponent (355 nm / 1064 nm), which depend on aerosol shape, size and refractive index,
thus the aerosols can be identified and the roles of different aerosol types in the observed atmospheric processes
were investigated. In addition, aerosol absorption coefficients were measured in-situ by Aethalometers (AE33,
Magee Scientific / Aerosol d.o.o.) on the valley floor and on the adjacent mountain range, 850 m above the lidar site.
Our primary goal was to study the variability of aerosol types within and above the Vipava valley, which
was performed using the entire lidar dataset from August – December 2017. Primary anthropogenic aerosols
within the valley is mainly emitted from two sources: individual domestic heating systems, which mostly use
biomass fuel and traffic. Natural aerosols, transported by long-range transport, such as mineral dust and sea salt,
were observed both above the PBL and entering into the PBL. Vertical distributions of aerosol properties, in par-
ticular the particle depolarization ratio, indicated atmospheric stratification with different aerosol types occupying
different height ranges. In the presence of Bora (strong down-slope wind), Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities were
observed between the PBL and the free troposphere. Using aerosol type identification capability of our system,
we discovered that this instability was responsible for ejecting aerosols from the PBL up to 2 km into the free
troposphere.
In addition, we improved the reliability of aerosol identification in vertical profiles using absorption coeffi-
cient measured by Aethalometer. Combining it with the aerosol extinction coefficient at 355 nm derived from
lidar data, we derived aerosol single scattering albedo (SSA), which is an important parameter for aerosol
characterization. Keywords: Aerosol, Vipava valley, lidar Published in RUNG: 23.04.2018; Views: 4382; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |