scholarly journals Determination of Aethalometer multiple-scattering enhancement parameters and impact on source apportionment during the winter 2017/18 EMEP/ACTRIS/COLOSSAL campaign in Milan

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 2919-2940
Author(s):  
Vera Bernardoni ◽  
Luca Ferrero ◽  
Ezio Bolzacchini ◽  
Alice Corina Forello ◽  
Asta Gregorič ◽  
...  

Abstract. In the frame of the EMEP/ACTRIS/COLOSSAL campaign in Milan during winter 2018, equivalent black carbon measurements using the Aethalometer 31 (AE31), the Aethalometer 33 (AE33), and a Multi-Angle Absorption Photometer (MAAP) were carried out together with levoglucosan analyses on 12 h resolved PM2.5 samples collected in parallel. From AE31 and AE33 data, the loading-corrected aerosol attenuation coefficients (bATN) were calculated at seven wavelengths (λ, where λ values are 370, 470, 520, 590, 660, 880, and 950 nm). The aerosol absorption coefficient at 637 nm (babs_MAAP) was determined by MAAP measurements. Furthermore, babs was also measured at four wavelengths (405, 532, 635, 780 nm) on the 12 h resolved PM2.5 samples by a polar photometer (PP_UniMI). After comparing PP_UniMI and MAAP results, we exploited PP_UniMI data to evaluate the filter multiple-scattering enhancement parameter at different wavelengths for AE31 and AE33. We obtained instrument- and wavelength-dependent multiple-scattering enhancement parameters by linear regression of the Aethalometer bATN against the babs measured by PP_UniMI. We found significant dependence of the multiple-scattering enhancement parameter on filter material, hence on the instrument, with a difference of up to 30 % between the AE31 and the AE33 tapes. The wavelength dependence and day–night variations were small – the difference between the smallest and largest value was up to 6 %. Data from the different instruments were used as input to the so-called “Aethalometer model” for optical source apportionment, and instrument dependence of the results was investigated. Inconsistencies among the source apportionment were found fixing the AE31 and AE33 multiple-scattering enhancement parameters to their usual values. In contrast, optimised multiple-scattering enhancement parameters led to a 5 % agreement among the approaches. Also, the component apportionment “MWAA model” (Multi-Wavelength Absorption Analyzer model) was applied to the dataset. It was less sensitive to the instrument and the number of wavelengths, whereas significant differences in the determination of the absorption Ångström exponent for brown carbon were found (up to 22 %).

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera Bernardoni ◽  
Luca Ferrero ◽  
Ezio Bolzacchini ◽  
Alice Corina Forello ◽  
Asta Gregorič ◽  
...  

Abstract. In the frame of the EMEP/ACTRIS/COLOSSAL campaign in Milan during winter 2018, equivalent black carbon measurements using the Aethalometer 31 (AE31), the Aethalometer 33 (AE33), and the Multi-Angle Absorption Photometer (MAAP) were carried out together with levoglucosan analyses on 12-h resolved PM2.5 samples collected in parallel. From AE31 and AE33 data, the loading-corrected aerosol attenuation coefficients (bATN) were calculated at 7 wavelengths (λs, where λ = 370, 470, 520, 590, 660, 880, 950 nm). Aerosol absorption coefficient at 637 nm (babs_MAAP) was determined by MAAP measurements. Furthermore, babs was also measured at 4 wavelengths (405, 532, 635, 780 nm) on the 12-h resolved PM2.5 samples by a polar photometer (PP_UniMI). After comparing PP_UniMI and MAAP results, we exploited PP_UniMI data to evaluate the filter multiple-scattering enhancement parameter at different wavelengths for AE31 and AE33. We obtained instrument- and wavelength-dependent multiple-scattering parameters by linear regression of the Aethalometer bATN against the babs measured by PP_UniMI. We found significant filter material, and hence instrumental, dependence of the multiple-scattering enhancement parameter with the difference up to 30 % between the AE31 and the AE33 tapes. The wavelength dependence and day/night variations were small – the difference between the smallest and largest value was up to 6 %. Data from the different instruments were used as input to the so-called “Aethalometer model” for optical source apportionment and instrument-dependence of the results was investigated. Inconsistencies among the source apportionment were found fixing the AE31 and AE33 multiple-scattering enhancement parameters to their usual values. Opposite, optimised multiple-scattering enhancement parameters led to 5 % agreement among the approaches. Also, the component-apportionment “MWAA model” was applied to the dataset. It resulted less sensitive to the instrument and the number of wavelengths, whereas significant differences in the determination of the absorption Ångström exponent for brown carbon were found (up to 22 %).


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2837-2850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Saturno ◽  
Christopher Pöhlker ◽  
Dario Massabò ◽  
Joel Brito ◽  
Samara Carbone ◽  
...  

Abstract. Deriving absorption coefficients from Aethalometer attenuation data requires different corrections to compensate for artifacts related to filter-loading effects, scattering by filter fibers, and scattering by aerosol particles. In this study, two different correction schemes were applied to seven-wavelength Aethalometer data, using multi-angle absorption photometer (MAAP) data as a reference absorption measurement at 637 nm. The compensation algorithms were compared to five-wavelength offline absorption measurements obtained with a multi-wavelength absorbance analyzer (MWAA), which serves as a multiple-wavelength reference measurement. The online measurements took place in the Amazon rainforest, from the wet-to-dry transition season to the dry season (June–September 2014). The mean absorption coefficient (at 637 nm) during this period was 1.8 ± 2.1 Mm−1, with a maximum of 15.9 Mm−1. Under these conditions, the filter-loading compensation was negligible. One of the correction schemes was found to artificially increase the short-wavelength absorption coefficients. It was found that accounting for the aerosol optical properties in the scattering compensation significantly affects the absorption Ångström exponent (åABS) retrievals. Proper Aethalometer data compensation schemes are crucial to retrieve the correct åABS, which is commonly implemented in brown carbon contribution calculations. Additionally, we found that the wavelength dependence of uncompensated Aethalometer attenuation data significantly correlates with the åABS retrieved from offline MWAA measurements.


2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 3501-3513 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Sharma ◽  
I. J. Arnold ◽  
H. Moosmüller ◽  
W. P. Arnott ◽  
C. Mazzoleni

Abstract. A novel multi-wavelength photoacoustic-nephelometer spectrometer (SC-PNS) has been developed for the optical characterization of atmospheric aerosol particles. This instrument integrates a white light supercontinuum laser with photoacoustic and nephelometric spectroscopy to measure aerosol absorption and scattering coefficients at five wavelength bands (centered at 417, 475, 542, 607, and 675 nm). These wavelength bands are selected from the continuous spectrum of the laser (ranging from 400–2200 nm) using a set of optical interference filters. Absorption and scattering measurements on laboratory-generated aerosol samples were performed sequentially at each wavelength band. To test the instrument we measured the wavelength dependence of absorption and scattering coefficients of kerosene soot and common salt aerosols. Results were favorably compared to those obtained with a commercial 3-wavelength photoacoustic and nephelometer instrument demonstrating the utility of the SC light source for studies of aerosol optical properties at selected wavelengths. Here, we discuss instrument design, development, calibration, performance and experimental results.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Ryś ◽  
Lucyna Samek

Abstract. The evaluation of black carbon (BC) sources is very important, especially in environmental sciences. This study shows how the contributions of biomass burning and fossil fuel/traffic to PM2.5 mass can be assessed. MABI was used for this purpose and gave the possibility to measure the transmission of light at different wavelengths. Absorption coefficients were calculated from measurements data and recalculated for concentrations of eBC. The samples of PM2.5 fraction were collected from February 1, 2020 to March 27, 2021 every third day in Krakow, Poland (50°04' N, 19°54'47" E). The concentrations of equivalent BC (eBC) from fossil fuel/traffic and biomass burning were in the range 0.82–11.64 μg m−3) and 0.007–0.84 μg m−3, respectively. At the same time, PM2.5 concentrations varied from 3.14 to 55.24 μg m−3. It means that about 18 % of PM2.5 mass belongs to eBC and 11.3 % of this value comes from biomass burning. The eBC contribution is the significant part of PM2.5 mass and we observed seasonal variation of the eBC concentration during the year with the peak in winter. The contribution of biomass burning to PM2.5 mass is more stable during the whole year. The eBC concentration during workdays is a bit higher than during weekend days but biomass burning is similar for both days (work and weekend taken as the mean for the whole period).


1973 ◽  
Vol 51 (12) ◽  
pp. 1322-1334
Author(s):  
L. Gauthier ◽  
M. Razavy

A solvable model for scattering by two centers of force is studied. The force at each center is assumed to be a separable force acting on the S wave only. A force law of this kind enables one to find the scattering amplitude for overlapping as well as nonoverlapping potentials analytically. The resulting scattering amplitudes can be used to compare the range of validity of the Born and other high energy approximations and also to test the accuracy of the result obtained by retaining the leading terms in the multiple scattering series. By examining the relation between the exact scattering amplitude for the two centers and the scattering amplitude of one center, it is shown that in the case of nonoverlapping potentials, the former amplitude can be expressed completely in terms of the latter. Hence no additional information about the nature of force results from the determination of the two-center scattering amplitude. However, for overlapping potentials, one can discriminate among equivalent potentials by finding the scattering amplitude for the two-center-of-force problem. Finally to justify the use of a potential which acts only in one partial wave (l = 0), the following observation has been made. If one calculates the scattering length for two nonoverlapping hard sphere interactions, using S-wave scattering by each center, and then repeats the calculation for the same interactions but considers S and P waves and their interference, the difference between the two results will be quite small.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice C. Forello ◽  
Vera Bernardoni ◽  
Giulia Calzolai ◽  
Franco Lucarelli ◽  
Dario Massabò ◽  
...  

Abstract. In this paper, a new methodology coupling aerosol optical and chemical parameters in the same source apportionment study is reported. This approach gives additional relevant information such as estimates for the atmospheric Ångström Absorption Exponent (α) of the sources and Mass Absorption Coefficient (MAC) for fossil fuel emissions at different wavelengths. A multi-time source apportionment study using Multilinear Engine ME-2 was performed on a PM10 dataset with different time resolution (24 hours, 12 hours, and 1 hour) collected during two different seasons in Milan (Italy) in 2016. Samples were optically analysed to retrieve the aerosol absorption coefficient bap (in Mm−1) at four wavelengths (λ = 405 nm, 532 nm, 635 nm and 780 nm) and chemically characterised for elements, ions, levoglucosan, and carbonaceous components. Time-resolved chemically speciated data were coupled with bap multi-wavelength measurements and introduced as input data in the multi-time receptor model; this approach was proven to strengthen the identification of sources being particularly useful when important chemical markers (e.g. levoglucosan, elemental carbon, ...) are not available. The final solution consisted in 8 factors (nitrate, sulphate, resuspended dust, biomass burning, construction works, traffic, industry, aged sea salt); the implemented constraints led to a better physical description of factors and the bootstrap analysis supported the goodness of the solution. As for bap apportionment, consistently to what expected, the two factors assigned to biomass burning and traffic were the main contributors to aerosol absorption in atmosphere. A relevant feature of the approach proposed in this work is the possibility of retrieving many other information about optical parameters; for example, opposite to the more traditional approach used by optical source apportionment models, here we obtained the atmospheric Ångström Absorption Exponent (α) of the sources (α biomass burning = 1.83 and α fossil fuels = 0.80), without any a priori assumption. In addition, an estimate for the Mass Absorption Cross section (MAC) for fossil fuel emissions at four wavelengths was obtained and found to be consistent with literature ranges.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Yus-Díez ◽  
Vera Bernardoni ◽  
Griša Močnik ◽  
Andrés Alastuey ◽  
Davide Ciniglia ◽  
...  

Abstract. Accurate measurements of light absorption by aerosolized particles, especially black carbon (BC), are of utter importance since BC represents the second most important climate-warming agent after carbon dioxide (CO2). Reducing the uncertainties related to the absorption measurement techniques will improve the global estimation of BC concentration and the radiative effects of light absorbing aerosols. Currently, one of the most widely used instruments for BC and absorption measurements is the dual-spot aethalometer, AE33, which derives the absorption coefficients of aerosol particles at 7 different wavelengths from the measurements of optical attenuation through a filter where particles are continuously collected. An accurate determination of the absorption coefficient relies on the quantification of non-linear processes related to the collection of sample on the filter. The multiple-scattering correction factor (C(λ)), which depends on the filter tape used and on the optical properties of the collected particles, is the parameter with the greatest uncertainty.An in-depth analysis of the AE33 multiple-scattering correction factor and its wavelength dependence for different filter tapes, i.e. the old most referenced known as TFE-coated glass and the current most widely used M8060, has been carried out by comparing the AE33 attenuation measurements with the absorption measurements from different filter-based techniques. Online co-located multi-angle absorption photometer (MAAP) measurements and offline PP_UniMI polar photometer measurements were used with this aim. We used data from three different measurement stations in North-East of Spain: an urban background station (Barcelona; BCN), a regional background station (Montseny; MSY) and a mountain-top station (Montsec d'Ares; MSA). The median C values (at 637 nm) measured at the three stations ranged between 2.29 (at BCN and MSY; lowest 5th percentile of 1.97 and highest 95th percentile of 2.68) and 2.51 (at MSA; lowest 5th percentile of 2.06 and highest 95th percentile of 3.06). The C factor was wavelength-dependent only at the mountain-top station, whereas at the urban and regional stations no statistically significant difference was found at the 7 different AE33 wavelengths. The wavelength-dependence of C at the mountain station was in part driven by the predominant effect of dust particles during Saharan dust outbreaks at this station. At the mountain station, neglecting the wavelength dependence of the C factor led to an underestimation of the Absorption Ångström Exponent (AAE) of 12 %. The analysis of the cross-sensitivity to scattering for different filter tapes revealed a large increase of the C factor at the three stations when the single scattering albedo (SSA) of the collected particles was above 0.90–0.95, with up to a 3-fold increase above the average values. The result of the cross-sensitivity to scattering displayed a fitted constant multiple scattering parameter, Cf, of 2.21 and 1.96 and a cross-sensitivity factor, ms, of 0.8 % and 1.7 % for MSY and MSA stations, respectively, for the TFE-coated glass filter tape. For the M8060 filter tape, Cf of 2.50, 1.96, 1.82 and a ms of 0.7 %, 1.5 %, 2.7 %, for BCN, MSY and MSA stations, respectively, were obtained. Differences in the absorption coefficient determined from AE33 measurements at BCN, MSY and MSA of around a 35–40 % can be expected when using the site-dependent C determined experimentally instead of the nominal C value.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document