1. Intercomparison and characterization of 23 Aethalometers under laboratory and ambient air conditions : procedures and unit-to-unit variabilitiesAndrea Cuesta-Mosquera, Griša Močnik, Luka Drinovec, Thomas Müller, Sascha Pfeifer, Maria Cruz Minguillon, Björn Briel, Paul Buckley, Vadimas Dudoitis, Jesús Yus-Díez, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: Abstract. Aerosolized black carbon is monitored worldwide to quantify its impact on air quality and climate. Given its importance, measurements of black carbon mass concentrations must be conducted with instruments operating in quality-checked and ensured conditions to generate data which are reliable and comparable temporally and geographically. In this study, we report the results from the largest characterization and
intercomparison of filter-based absorption photometers, the Aethalometer model AE33, belonging to several European monitoring networks. Under controlled laboratory conditions, a total of 23 instruments measured mass
concentrations of black carbon from three well-characterized aerosol
sources: synthetic soot, nigrosin particles, and ambient air from the urban
background of Leipzig, Germany. The objective was to investigate the
individual performance of the instruments and their comparability; we
analyzed the response of the instruments to the different aerosol sources
and the impact caused by the use of obsolete filter materials and the
application of maintenance activities. Differences in the instrument-to-instrument variabilities from equivalent black carbon (eBC) concentrations reported at 880 nm were determined before maintenance
activities (for soot measurements, average deviation from total least square regression was −2.0 % and the range −16 % to 7 %; for nigrosin measurements, average deviation was 0.4 % and the range −15 % to 17 %), and after they were carried out (for soot measurements, average deviation was −1.0 % and the range −14 % to 8 %; for nigrosin measurements, the average deviation was 0.5 % and the range −12 % to 15 %). The deviations are in most of the cases explained by the type of filter material employed by the instruments, the total particle load on the filter, and the flow calibration. The results of this intercomparison activity show that relatively small
unit-to-unit variability of AE33-based particle light absorbing measurements is possible with well-maintained instruments. It is crucial to follow the guidelines for maintenance activities and the use of the proper filter tape in the AE33 to ensure high quality and comparable black carbon (BC) measurements among international observational networks.
Keywords: Aethalometer AE33, filter photometers
Published in RUNG: 29.11.2024; Views: 392; Downloads: 1
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2. Recommendations for reporting equivalent black carbon (eBC) mass concentrations based on long-term pan-European in-situ observationsMarjan Savadkoohi, Marco Pandolfi, Olivier Favez, Jean-Philippe Putaud, Konstantinos Eleftheriadis, Markus Fiebig, Philip Hopke, Paolo Laj, A. Wiedensohler, Griša Močnik, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: A reliable determination of equivalent black carbon (eBC) mass concentrations derived from filter absorption photometers (FAPs) measurements depends on the appropriate quantification of the mass absorption cross-section (MAC) for converting the absorption coefficient (babs) to eBC. This study investigates the spatial–temporal variability of the MAC obtained from simultaneous elemental carbon (EC) and babs measurements performed at 22 sites. We compared different methodologies for retrieving eBC integrating different options for calculating MAC including: locally derived, median value calculated from 22 sites, and site-specific rolling regression MAC. The eBC concentrations that underwent correction using these methods were identified as LeBC (local MAC), MeBC (median MAC), and ReBC (Rolling MAC) respectively. Pronounced differences (up to more than 50 %) were observed between eBC as directly provided by FAPs (NeBC; Nominal instrumental MAC) and ReBC due to the differences observed between the experimental and nominal MAC values. The median MAC was 7.8 ± 3.4 m2/g from 12 aethalometers at 880 nm, and 10.6 ± 4.7 m2/g from 10 MAAPs at 637 nm. The experimental MAC showed significant site and seasonal dependencies, with heterogeneous patterns between summer and winter in different regions. In addition, long-term trend analysis revealed statistically significant (s.s.) decreasing trends in EC. Interestingly, we showed that the corresponding corrected eBC trends are not independent of the way eBC is calculated due to the variability of MAC. NeBC and EC decreasing trends were consistent at sites with no significant trend in experimental MAC. Conversely, where MAC showed s.s. trend, the NeBC and EC trends were not consistent while ReBC concentration followed the same pattern as EC. These results underscore the importance of accounting for MAC variations when deriving eBC measurements from FAPs and emphasizes the necessity of incorporating EC observations to constrain the uncertainty associated with eBC.
Keywords: equivalent black carbon, mass absorption cross-section, filter absorption photometers, elemental carbon, absorption, site specific MAC, rolling MAC
Published in RUNG: 04.03.2024; Views: 1723; Downloads: 10
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