Articles | Volume 10, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3893-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3893-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
24 Oct 2017
Research article |
| 24 Oct 2017
Chromatography related performance of the Monitor for AeRosols and GAses in ambient air (MARGA): laboratory and field-based evaluation
Xi Chen
National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Office of Research and
Development, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park,
North Carolina, 27711, USA
John T. Walker
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Office of Research and
Development, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park,
North Carolina, 27711, USA
Chris Geron
National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Office of Research and
Development, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park,
North Carolina, 27711, USA
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This study investigated the composition, structures, and light absorption of N-containing aromatic compounds (NACs) in PM2.5 emitted from burning red oak and charcoal in a variety of cookstoves. The results suggest that the identified NACs might have substantial fractions remaining in the gas phase. In comparison to other sources, cookstove emissions from red oak or charcoal fuels did not exhibit unique NAC structural features but had distinct NAC composition.
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Subject: Aerosols | Technique: In Situ Measurement | Topic: Instruments and Platforms
In situ volcanic ash sampling and aerosol–gas analysis based on UAS technologies (AeroVolc)
A solid-state infrared laser for two-step desorption–ionization processes in single-particle mass spectrometry
CIAO main upgrade: building up an ACTRIS-compliant aerosol in situ laboratory
STRAS: a new high-time-resolution aerosol sampler for particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) analysis
Lagrangian aerosol particle trajectories in a cloud free marine atmospheric boundary layer: Implications for sampling
The Flying Laboratory FLab: development and application of a UAS to measure aerosol particles and trace gases in the lower troposphere
Automated atmospheric profiling with the Robotic Lift (RoLi) at the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory
The T-Bird – A new aircraft-towed instrument platform to measure turbulence and aerosol properties close to the surface: Introduction to the aerosol measurement system
CARIBIC-AMS: A fully automated aerosol mass spectrometer for operation on routine passenger flights (IAGOS-CARIBIC): Instrument description and first flight application in the UTLS
Fast and sensitive measurements of sub-3 nm particles using Condensation Particle Counters For Atmospheric Rapid Measurements (CPC FARM)
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Development of a cascade impactor optimized for size-fractionated analysis of aerosol metal content by total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (TXRF)
Modular Multiplatform Compatible Air Measurement System (MoMuCAMS): a new modular platform for boundary layer aerosol and trace gas vertical measurements in extreme environments
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A study on the performance of low-cost sensors for source apportionment at an urban background site
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The Aerosol Research Observation Station (AEROS)
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Undersizing of aged African biomass burning aerosol by an ultra-high-sensitivity aerosol spectrometer
Evaluation methods for low-cost particulate matter sensors
Simulation-aided characterization of a versatile water-based condensation particle counter for atmospheric airborne research
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Assessment of online water-soluble brown carbon measuring systems for aircraft sampling
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Simon Thivet, Gholamhossein Bagheri, Przemyslaw M. Kornatowski, Allan Fries, Jonathan Lemus, Riccardo Simionato, Carolina Díaz-Vecino, Eduardo Rossi, Taishi Yamada, Simona Scollo, and Costanza Bonadonna
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 2803–2824, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2803-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2803-2025, 2025
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This work presents an innovative way of sampling and analyzing volcanic clouds using an unoccupied aircraft system (UAS). The UAS can reach hazardous environments to sample volcanic particles and measure in situ key parameters, such as the atmospheric concentration of volcanic aerosols and gases. Acquired data bridge the gap between the existing approaches of ground sampling and remote sensing, thereby contributing to the understanding of volcanic cloud dispersion and impact.
Marco Schmidt, Haseeb Hakkim, Lukas Anders, Aleksandrs Kalamašņikovs, Thomas Kröger-Badge, Robert Irsig, Norbert Graf, Reinhard Kelnberger, Johannes Passig, and Ralf Zimmermann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 2425–2437, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2425-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2425-2025, 2025
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Laser desorption of individual particles prior to ionization is the key to reveal their organic composition. The CO2 lasers required are bulky and maintenance-intensive, limiting their use in the field. We have developed a compact solid-state IR laser that is easily aligned with the particle beam. Mass spectra and hit rates are similar to those of the CO2 laser. For combined characterization of organic and inorganic particle compositions, both lasers are superior to conventional single UV pulses.
Teresa Laurita, Alessandro Mauceri, Francesco Cardellicchio, Emilio Lapenna, Benedetto De Rosa, Serena Trippetta, Michail Mytilinaios, Davide Amodio, Aldo Giunta, Ermann Ripepi, Canio Colangelo, Nikolaos Papagiannopoulos, Francesca Morrongiello, Claudio Dema, Simone Gagliardi, Carmela Cornacchia, Rosa Maria Petracca Altieri, Aldo Amodeo, Marco Rosoldi, Donato Summa, Gelsomina Pappalardo, and Lucia Mona
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 2373–2396, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2373-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2373-2025, 2025
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Silvia Nava, Roberta Vecchi, Paolo Prati, Vera Bernardoni, Laura Cadeo, Giulia Calzolai, Luca Carraresi, Carlo Cialdai, Massimo Chiari, Federica Crova, Alice Forello, Cosimo Fratticioli, Fabio Giardi, Marco Manetti, Dario Massabò, Federico Mazzei, Luca Repetto, Gianluigi Valli, Virginia Vernocchi, and Franco Lucarelli
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 2137–2147, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2137-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2137-2025, 2025
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The new high-time-resolution sampler STRAS has been designed, developed and tested. It enables automatic sequential sampling of up to 168 hourly samples of PM10, PM2.5 or PM1. It has been conceived for subsequent elemental composition analysis (from Na to Pb) by particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE), but optical techniques may also be applied to measure black and brown carbon. Its use combined with other high-temporal-resolution instrumentation can provide complete chemical speciation of aerosols on an hourly basis.
Hyungwon John Park, Jeffrey S. Reid, Peter F. Caffrey, Maria J. Chinita, and David H. Richter
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-576, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-576, 2025
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Sea spray impacts air-sea interaction, cloud microphysics, and the radiative budget. However, meteorological processes at the wind gust level complicate the physical interpretation of measured aerosol particle properties. We used meter scale models to track the life history of thousands of particles under different conditions to show that investigators must account for key factors to link observations at aircraft level to sea spray emissions at the ocean’s surface.
Lasse Moormann, Thomas Böttger, Philipp Schuhmann, Luis Valero, Friederike Fachinger, and Frank Drewnick
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1441–1459, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1441-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1441-2025, 2025
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The drone-based Flying Laboratory FLab was developed to simultaneously measure aerosol (number concentration, size distribution, and black carbon), trace gas (O3, CO2), and meteorological variables. FLab was characterized in the field regarding limitations and biases due to different flight maneuvers. Two application cases are presented: analysis of the development of the lowermost troposphere (up to 300 m) and successfully bridging ground-based and aircraft- and radiosonde-based measurements.
Sebastian Brill, Björn Nillius, Jan-David Förster, Paulo Artaxo, Florian Ditas, Dennis Geis, Christian Gurk, Thomas Kenntner, Thomas Klimach, Mark Lamneck, Rafael Valiati, Bettina Weber, Stefan Wolff, Ulrich Pöschl, and Christopher Pöhlker
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-295, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-295, 2025
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Highly resolved vertical profiles are crucial for understanding ecosystem-atmosphere interactions. We developed the robotic lift (RoLi) as a platform for vertical profile measurements at the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory in the central Amazon basin. Initial results reveal distinct spatiotemporal patterns in altitude profiles of temperature, humidity, fog, and aerosol properties, offering new insights into the diurnal dynamics of convective daytime mixing and stable nighttime stratification.
Zsófia Jurányi, Christof Lüpkes, Frank Stratmann, Jörg Hartmann, Jonas Schaefer, Anna-Marie Jörss, Alexander Schulz, Bruno Wetzel, David Simon, Eduard Gebhard, Maximilian Stöhr, Paula Hofmann, Dirk Kalmbach, Sarah Grawe, and Andreas Herber
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-619, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-619, 2025
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Understanding the lowest layers of the atmosphere is crucial for climate research, especially in the Arctic. Our study introduces the T-Bird, an aircraft-towed platform designed to measure turbulence and aerosol properties at extremely low altitudes. Traditional aircraft cannot access this region, making the T-Bird a breakthrough for capturing critical atmospheric data. Its first deployment over the Arctic demonstrated its potential to improve our understanding of polar processes.
Johannes Schneider, Christiane Schulz, Florian Rubach, Anna Ludwig, Jonas Wilsch, Philipp Joppe, Christian Gurk, Sergej Molleker, Laurent Poulain, Florian Obersteiner, Torsten Gehrlein, Harald Bönisch, Andreas Zahn, Peter Hoor, Nicolas Emig, Heiko Bozem, Stephan Borrmann, and Markus Hermann
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3969, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3969, 2025
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IAGOS-CARIBIC operates an instrumented container laboratory on commercial regular passenger flights to obtain a long-term representative data set on the composition of the upper troposphere and lowermost stratosphere. Here we report on the development on a fully automated aerosol mass spectrometer for this project. We present technical specifications, necessary modifications for the automation, instrument calibration and comparisons, detection limits, and first in-flight data.
Darren Cheng, Stavros Amanatidis, Gregory S. Lewis, and Coty N. Jen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 197–210, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-197-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-197-2025, 2025
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This study describes a new method, the Condensation Particle Counters For Atmospheric Rapid Measurements (CPC FARM), to measure sub-3 nm size distribution at high time resolution and sensitivity. The CPC FARM is compared to traditionally used particle mobility sizers during a new particle formation campaign to study rapidly changing sub-3 nm particles in Pittsburgh, PA.
Ivonne Trebs, Céline Lett, Andreas Krein, Erika Matsumoto Kawaguchi, and Jürgen Junk
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6791–6805, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6791-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6791-2024, 2024
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This study explores the effectiveness of the Horiba PX-375 monitor for analysing the elemental composition of airborne particulate matter (PM). Understanding this composition of PM is important for identifying its sources, assessing potential health risks, and developing strategies to reduce air pollution. The PX-375 monitor proved to be a valuable tool for ongoing air quality monitoring studies and could be particularly useful as pollution levels and sources change in the future.
Wei-Chieh Huang, Hui-Ming Hung, Ching-Wei Chu, Wei-Chun Hwang, and Shih-Chun Candice Lung
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6073–6084, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6073-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6073-2024, 2024
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This study investigates aerosol properties crucial for health, cloud formation, and climate impact. Employing a low-cost sensor system, we assess hygroscopicity of particulate matter (PM) and the ability to influence cloud formation to improve the reported PM concentrations from low-cost sensors. The study introduces an alternate methodology for assessing aerosol hygroscopicity, offering insights into atmospheric science, air quality, and cloud dynamics.
Alexander Julian Böhmländer, Larissa Lacher, David Brus, Konstantinos-Matthaios Doulgeris, Zoé Brasseur, Matthew Boyer, Joel Kuula, Thomas Leisner, and Ottmar Möhler
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-120, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-120, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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Clouds and aerosol are important for weather and climate. Typically, pure water cloud droplets stay liquid until around -35 °C, unless they come into contact with ice-nucleating particles (INPs). INPs are a rare subset of aerosol particles. Using uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs), it is possible to collect aerosol particles and analyse them on their ice-nucleating ability. This study describes the test and validation of a sampling setup that can be used to collect aerosol particles onto a filter.
Adrien Pineau, Henriette Trollvik, Herman Greaker, Sveinung Olsen, Yngve Eilertsen, and Ingrid Mann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3843–3861, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3843-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3843-2024, 2024
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The mesosphere, part of the upper atmosphere, contains small solid dust particles, mostly made up of material from interplanetary space. We are preparing an experiment to collect such particles during a rocket flight. A new instrument has been designed and numerical simulations have been performed to investigate the airflow nearby as well as its dust collection efficiency. The collected dust particles will be further analyzed in the laboratory in order to study their chemical composition.
Chenjie Yu, Edouard Pangui, Kevin Tu, Mathieu Cazaunau, Maxime Feingesicht, Landsheere Xavier, Thierry Bourrianne, Vincent Michoud, Christopher Cantrell, Timothy B. Onasch, Andrew Freedman, and Paola Formenti
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To meet the requirements for measuring aerosol optical properties on airborne platforms and conducting dual-wavelength measurements, we introduced A2S2, an airborne dual-wavelength cavity-attenuated phase-shift single monitor. This study reports the results in the laboratory and an aircraft campaign over Paris and its surrounding regions. The results demonstrate A2S2's reliability in measuring aerosol optical properties at both wavelengths and its suitability for future aircraft campaigns.
Patricia K. Quinn, Timothy S. Bates, Derek J. Coffman, James E. Johnson, and Lucia M. Upchurch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3157–3170, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3157-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3157-2024, 2024
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An uncrewed aerial observing system has been developed for the measurement of vertical profiles of aerosol and cloud properties that affect Earth's radiation balance. The system was successfully deployed from a ship and from a coastal site and flown autonomously up to 3050 m and for 4.5 h. These results indicate the potential of the observing system to make routine, operational flights from ships and land to characterize aerosol interactions with radiation and clouds.
Manuel Schöberl, Maximilian Dollner, Josef Gasteiger, Petra Seibert, Anne Tipka, and Bernadett Weinzierl
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2761–2776, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2761-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2761-2024, 2024
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Transporting a representative aerosol sample to instrumentation inside a research aircraft remains a challenge due to losses or enhancements of particles in the aerosol sampling system. Here, we present sampling efficiencies and the cutoff diameter for the DLR Falcon aerosol sampling system as a function of true airspeed by comparing the in-cabin and the out-cabin particle number size distributions observed during the A-LIFE aircraft mission.
Markus Knoll, Martin Penz, Hannes Juchem, Christina Schmidt, Denis Pöhler, and Alexander Bergmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2481–2505, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2481-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2481-2024, 2024
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Exhaust emissions from combustion-based vehicles are negatively affecting human health and our environment. In particular, a small share (< 20 %) of poorly maintained or tampered vehicles are responsible for the majority (60 %–90 %) of traffic-related emissions. The emissions from vehicles are currently not properly monitored during their lifetime. We present a roadside measurement technique, called
point sampling, which can be used to monitor vehicle emissions throughout their life cycle.
Claudio Crazzolara and Andreas Held
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2183–2194, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2183-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2183-2024, 2024
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Our paper describes the development of a collection device that can be used to collect airborne dust particles classified according to their size. This collection device is optimized for a special analysis method based on X-ray fluorescence so that particles can be collected from the air and analyzed with high sensitivity. This enables the determination of the content of heavy metals in the airborne particle fraction, which are of health-relevant significance.
Roman Pohorsky, Andrea Baccarini, Julie Tolu, Lenny H. E. Winkel, and Julia Schmale
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 731–754, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-731-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-731-2024, 2024
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This manuscript presents a new tethered-balloon-based platform for in situ vertical measurements of aerosols and trace gases in the lower atmosphere of polar and alpine regions. The system can host various instrumental setups to target different research questions and features new instruments, in particular a miniaturized scanning electrical mobility spectrometer, deployed for the first time in a tethered balloon.
Anna J. Miller, Fabiola Ramelli, Christopher Fuchs, Nadja Omanovic, Robert Spirig, Huiying Zhang, Ulrike Lohmann, Zamin A. Kanji, and Jan Henneberger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 601–625, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-601-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-601-2024, 2024
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We present a method for aerosol and cloud research using two uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs). The UAVs have a propeller heating mechanism that allows flights in icing conditions, which has so far been a limitation for cloud research with UAVs. One UAV burns seeding flares, producing a plume of particles that causes ice formation in supercooled clouds. The second UAV measures aerosol size distributions and is used for measuring the seeding plume or for characterizing the boundary layer.
Sophie Erb, Elias Graf, Yanick Zeder, Simone Lionetti, Alexis Berne, Bernard Clot, Gian Lieberherr, Fiona Tummon, Pascal Wullschleger, and Benoît Crouzy
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 441–451, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-441-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-441-2024, 2024
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In this study, we focus on an automatic bioaerosol measurement instrument and investigate the impact of using its fluorescence measurement for pollen identification. The fluorescence signal is used together with a pair of images from the same instrument to identify single pollen grains via neural networks. We test whether considering fluorescence as a supplementary input improves the pollen identification performance by comparing three different neural networks.
Miguel Ricardo A. Hilario, Avelino F. Arellano, Ali Behrangi, Ewan C. Crosbie, Joshua P. DiGangi, Glenn S. Diskin, Michael A. Shook, Luke D. Ziemba, and Armin Sorooshian
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 37–55, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-37-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-37-2024, 2024
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Wet scavenging strongly influences aerosol lifetime and interactions but is a large uncertainty in global models. We present a method to identify meteorological variables relevant for estimating wet scavenging. During long-range transport over the tropical western Pacific, relative humidity and the frequency of humid conditions are better predictors of scavenging than precipitation. This method can be applied to other regions, and our findings can inform scavenging parameterizations in models.
Sarah Grawe, Conrad Jentzsch, Jonas Schaefer, Heike Wex, Stephan Mertes, and Frank Stratmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4551–4570, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4551-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4551-2023, 2023
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Measurements of ice-nucleating particle (INP) concentrations are valuable for the simulation of cloud properties. In recent years, filter sampling in combination with offline INP measurements has become increasingly popular. However, most sampling is ground-based, and the vertical transport of INPs is not well quantified. The High-volume flow aERosol particle filter sAmpler (HERA) for applications on board aircraft was developed to expand the sparse dataset of INP concentrations at cloud level.
Dimitri Castarède, Zoé Brasseur, Yusheng Wu, Zamin A. Kanji, Markus Hartmann, Lauri Ahonen, Merete Bilde, Markku Kulmala, Tuukka Petäjä, Jan B. C. Pettersson, Berko Sierau, Olaf Stetzer, Frank Stratmann, Birgitta Svenningsson, Erik Swietlicki, Quynh Thu Nguyen, Jonathan Duplissy, and Erik S. Thomson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3881–3899, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3881-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3881-2023, 2023
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Clouds play a key role in Earth’s climate by influencing the surface energy budget. Certain types of atmospheric aerosols, called ice-nucleating particles (INPs), induce the formation of ice in clouds and, thus, often initiate precipitation formation. The Portable Ice Nucleation Chamber 2 (PINCii) is a new instrument developed to study ice formation and to conduct ambient measurements of INPs, allowing us to investigate the sources and properties of the atmospheric aerosols that can act as INPs.
Franz Martin Schnaiter, Claudia Linke, Eija Asmi, Henri Servomaa, Antti-Pekka Hyvärinen, Sho Ohata, Yutaka Kondo, and Emma Järvinen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2753–2769, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2753-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2753-2023, 2023
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Light-absorbing particles from combustion processes are important contributors to climate warming. Their highly variable spectral light absorption properties need to be monitored in the field. Commonly used methods show measurement artefacts that are difficult to correct. We introduce a new instrument that is based on the photoacoustic effect. Long-term operation in the Finnish Arctic demonstrates the applicability of the new instrument for unattended light absorption monitoring.
Dominik Stolzenburg, Tiia Laurila, Pasi Aalto, Joonas Vanhanen, Tuukka Petäjä, and Juha Kangasluoma
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2471–2483, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2471-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2471-2023, 2023
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Size-distribution measurements of ultrafine particles are of special interest as they can be used to estimate the atmospheric significance of new particle formation, a process which is thought to influence the global climate. Here we show that improved counting statistics in size-distribution measurements through the usage of higher sampling flows can significantly reduce the uncertainties in such calculations.
Kamaljeet Kaur and Kerry E. Kelly
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2455–2470, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2455-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2455-2023, 2023
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We evaluated the AlphaSense OPC-N3 and PMS5003 compared to federal equivalent method (FEM) PM10 measurements in the Salt Lake Valley during five dust events. Before correction, the OPC-N3 agreed well, but the PMS PM10 measurements correlated poorly with the FEM. After correcting the PMS with a PM2.5 / PM10 ratio-based factor, the PMS PM10 correlations improved significantly. This suggests the possibility of better resolved spatial estimates of PM10 using PMS measurements and PM2.5 / PM10 ratios.
Balint Alfoldy, Asta Gregorič, Matic Ivančič, Irena Ježek, and Martin Rigler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 135–152, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-135-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-135-2023, 2023
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Atmospheric concentrations and source apportionment (SA) of black carbon (BC) and CO2 were determined in an urban environment during a heating season. BC particles were attributed to two major sources: traffic and heating. The BC SA was implemented by an Aethalometer model used for the SA of CO2 supposing that the source-specific CO2 components are correlated with the corresponding BC. Source-specific emission factors were determined as a ratio of corresponding BC and CO2 components.
Christian Pilz, Sebastian Düsing, Birgit Wehner, Thomas Müller, Holger Siebert, Jens Voigtländer, and Michael Lonardi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6889–6905, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6889-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6889-2022, 2022
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Tethered balloon observations are highly valuable for aerosol studies in the lowest part of the atmosphere. This study presents a newly developed platform called CAMP with four aerosol instruments for balloon-borne measurements in the Arctic. Laboratory characterizations and evaluations of the instruments and results of a first field deployment are shown. A case study highlights CAMP's capabilities and the importance of airborne aerosol studies for interpretation of ground-based observations.
Weilun Zhao, Gang Zhao, Ying Li, Song Guo, Nan Ma, Lizi Tang, Zirui Zhang, and Chunsheng Zhao
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6807–6817, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6807-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6807-2022, 2022
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A new method to determine black carbon mass size distribution (BCMSD) was proposed using the size-resolved absorption coefficient measured by an aerodynamic aerosol classifier in tandem with an aethalometer. This new method fills the gap in the high-time-resolution measurement of BCMSD ranging from upper submicron particle sizes to larger than 1 µm. This method can be applied to field measurement of BCMSD extensively for better understanding BC aging and better estimating the BC climate effect.
Antonis Dragoneas, Sergej Molleker, Oliver Appel, Andreas Hünig, Thomas Böttger, Markus Hermann, Frank Drewnick, Johannes Schneider, Ralf Weigel, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5719–5742, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5719-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5719-2022, 2022
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The ERICA is a specially designed aerosol particle mass spectrometer for in situ, real-time chemical composition analysis of aerosols. It can operate completely autonomously, in the absence of an instrument operator. Its design has enabled its operation under harsh conditions, like those experienced in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, aboard unpressurized high-altitude research aircraft. The instrument has successfully participated in several aircraft operations around the world.
Dimitrios Bousiotis, David C. S. Beddows, Ajit Singh, Molly Haugen, Sebastián Diez, Pete M. Edwards, Adam Boies, Roy M. Harrison, and Francis D. Pope
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4047–4061, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4047-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4047-2022, 2022
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In the last decade, low-cost sensors have revolutionised the field of air quality monitoring. This paper extends the ability of low-cost sensors to not only measure air pollution, but also to understand where the pollution comes from. This "source apportionment" is a critical step in air quality management to allow for the mitigation of air pollution. The techniques developed in this paper have the potential for great impact in both research and industrial applications.
Luka Drinovec, Uroš Jagodič, Luka Pirker, Miha Škarabot, Mario Kurtjak, Kristijan Vidović, Luca Ferrero, Bradley Visser, Jannis Röhrbein, Ernest Weingartner, Daniel M. Kalbermatter, Konstantina Vasilatou, Tobias Bühlmann, Celine Pascale, Thomas Müller, Alfred Wiedensohler, and Griša Močnik
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3805–3825, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3805-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3805-2022, 2022
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A new photothermal interferometer (PTAAM-2λ) for artefact-free determination of the aerosol absorption coefficient at two wavelengths is presented. The instrument is calibrated with NO2 and polydisperse nigrosin, resulting in very low uncertainties of the absorption coefficients: 4 % at 532 nm and 6 % at 1064 nm. The instrument’s performance makes the PTAAM-2λ a strong candidate for reference measurements of the aerosol absorption coefficient.
Markus Leiminger, Lukas Fischer, Sophia Brilke, Julian Resch, Paul Martin Winkler, Armin Hansel, and Gerhard Steiner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3705–3720, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3705-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3705-2022, 2022
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We developed an axial ion mobility classifier coupled to an atmospheric-pressure interface time-of-flight (APi-TOF) mass spectrometer to measure size-segregated atmospheric ions. We characterize the performance of the novel instrument with bipolar-electrospray-generated ion mobility standards and compare the results with CFD simulations and a simplified numerical particle-tracking model. Ultimately, we report first mass–mobility measurements of atmospheric ions in Innsbruck, Austria.
Andreas Hünig, Oliver Appel, Antonis Dragoneas, Sergej Molleker, Hans-Christian Clemen, Frank Helleis, Thomas Klimach, Franziska Köllner, Thomas Böttger, Frank Drewnick, Johannes Schneider, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2889–2921, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2889-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2889-2022, 2022
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We have serially combined the two well-established methods for in situ real-time measurement of fine particle chemical composition, the single-particle laser ablation method and the flash evaporation with electron impact ionization method, into a novel instrument. Here we present the design; instrument characteristics, as derived from laboratory and field measurements; and results from the first field deployment during the 2017 StratoClim aircraft campaign.
Christopher D. Wallis, Mason D. Leandro, Patrick Y. Chuang, and Anthony S. Wexler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2547–2556, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2547-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2547-2022, 2022
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Measuring emissions from stacks requires techniques to address a broad range of conditions and measurement challenges. Here we describe an instrument package held by a crane above a stack to characterize both wet droplet and dried aerosol emissions from cooling tower spray drift in situ. The instrument package characterizes the velocity, size distribution, and concentration of the wet droplet emissions and the mass concentration and elemental composition of the dried PM2.5 and PM10 emissions.
Karin Ardon-Dryer, Mary C. Kelley, Xia Xueting, and Yuval Dryer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2345–2360, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2345-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2345-2022, 2022
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The Aerosol Research Observation Station (AEROS) located in West Texas was designed to continuously measure atmospheric particles, including different particulate matter sizes, total particle number concentration, and size distribution. This article provides a description of AEROS as well as an intercomparison of the different instruments using laboratory and atmospheric particles, showing similar concentration as well to distinguish between various pollution events (natural vs. anthropogenic).
Adam T. Ahern, Frank Erdesz, Nicholas L. Wagner, Charles A. Brock, Ming Lyu, Kyra Slovacek, Richard H. Moore, Elizabeth B. Wiggins, and Daniel M. Murphy
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1093–1105, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1093-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1093-2022, 2022
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Particles in the atmosphere play a significant role in climate change by scattering light back into space, reducing the amount of energy available to be absorbed by greenhouse gases. We built a new instrument to measure what direction light is scattered by particles, e.g., wildfire smoke. This is important because, depending on the angle of the sun, some particles scatter light into space (cooling the planet), but some light is also scattered towards the Earth (not cooling the planet).
Yuya Kobayashi and Nobuyuki Takegawa
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 833–844, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-833-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-833-2022, 2022
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We propose a new method to quantify particulate sodium and potassium salts (nitrate, chloride, and sulfate) by using a refractory aerosol thermal desorption mass spectrometer (rTDMS). The combination of a graphite particle collector and a carbon dioxide laser enables high desorption temperature. Laboratory experiments showed that major ion signals originating from sodium or potassium salts were clearly detected, associated with the increase in the desorption temperature by laser heating.
James R. Ouimette, William C. Malm, Bret A. Schichtel, Patrick J. Sheridan, Elisabeth Andrews, John A. Ogren, and W. Patrick Arnott
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 655–676, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-655-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-655-2022, 2022
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We show that the low-cost PurpleAir sensor can be characterized as a cell-reciprocal nephelometer. At two very different locations (Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii and the Table Mountain rural site in Colorado), the PurpleAir measurements are highly correlated with the submicrometer aerosol scattering coefficient measured by a research-grade integrating nephelometer. These results imply that, with care, PurpleAir data may be used to evaluate climate and air quality models.
Steven G. Howell, Steffen Freitag, Amie Dobracki, Nikolai Smirnow, and Arthur J. Sedlacek III
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7381–7404, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7381-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7381-2021, 2021
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Small particles in the air have important effects on visibility, clouds, and human health. For the ORACLES project we got a new particle sizing instrument that is fast, works over the most important particle sizes, and avoids some of the issues that plague other optical particle sizers. Unfortunately it sees some particles much smaller than they really are, likely because they heat up and evaporate. We show a crude correction and speculate why these particles heat up much more than expected.
Jeffrey K. Bean
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7369–7379, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7369-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7369-2021, 2021
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Understanding and improving the quality of data generated from low-cost air quality sensors are crucial steps in using these sensors. This work investigates how averaging time, choice of reference instrument, and the observation of higher pollutant concentrations can impact the perceived performance of low-cost sensors in an evaluation. The influence of these factors should be considered when comparing one sensor to another or determining if a sensor can produce data that fit a specific need.
Fan Mei, Steven Spielman, Susanne Hering, Jian Wang, Mikhail S. Pekour, Gregory Lewis, Beat Schmid, Jason Tomlinson, and Maynard Havlicek
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7329–7340, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7329-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7329-2021, 2021
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This study focuses on understanding a versatile water-based condensation particle counter (vWCPC 3789) performance under various ambient pressure conditions (500–1000 hPa). A vWCPC has the advantage of avoiding health and safety concerns. However, its performance characterization under low pressure is rare but crucial for ensuring successful airborne deployment. This paper provides advanced knowledge of operating a vWCPC 3789 to capture the spatial variations of atmospheric aerosols.
Rebecca A. Wernis, Nathan M. Kreisberg, Robert J. Weber, Yutong Liang, John Jayne, Susanne Hering, and Allen H. Goldstein
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6533–6550, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6533-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6533-2021, 2021
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cTAG is a new scientific instrument that measures concentrations of organic chemicals in the atmosphere. cTAG is the first instrument capable of measuring small, light chemicals as well as heavier chemicals and everything in between on a single detector, every hour. In this work we explain how cTAG works and some of the tests we performed to verify that it works properly and reliably. We also present measurements of alkanes that suggest they have three dominant sources in a Bay Area suburb.
Linghan Zeng, Amy P. Sullivan, Rebecca A. Washenfelder, Jack Dibb, Eric Scheuer, Teresa L. Campos, Joseph M. Katich, Ezra Levin, Michael A. Robinson, and Rodney J. Weber
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6357–6378, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6357-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6357-2021, 2021
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Three online systems for measuring water-soluble brown carbon are compared. A mist chamber and two different particle-into-liquid samplers were deployed on separate research aircraft targeting wildfires and followed a similar detection method using a long-path liquid waveguide with a spectrometer to measure the light absorption from 300 to 700 nm. Detection limits, signal hysteresis and other sampling issues are compared, and further improvements of these liquid-based systems are provided.
Zixia Liu, Martin Osborne, Karen Anderson, Jamie D. Shutler, Andy Wilson, Justin Langridge, Steve H. L. Yim, Hugh Coe, Suresh Babu, Sreedharan K. Satheesh, Paquita Zuidema, Tao Huang, Jack C. H. Cheng, and James Haywood
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6101–6118, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6101-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6101-2021, 2021
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This paper first validates the performance of an advanced aerosol observation instrument POPS against a reference instrument and examines any biases introduced by operating it on a quadcopter drone. The results show the POPS performs relatively well on the ground. The impact of the UAV rotors on the POPS is small at low wind speeds, but when operating under higher wind speeds, larger discrepancies occur. It appears that the POPS measures sub-micron aerosol particles more accurately on the UAV.
Eric A. Wendt, Casey Quinn, Christian L'Orange, Daniel D. Miller-Lionberg, Bonne Ford, Jeffrey R. Pierce, John Mehaffy, Michael Cheeseman, Shantanu H. Jathar, David H. Hagan, Zoey Rosen, Marilee Long, and John Volckens
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6023–6038, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6023-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6023-2021, 2021
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Fine particulate matter air pollution is one of the leading contributors to adverse health outcomes on the planet. Here, we describe the design and validation of a low-cost, compact, and autonomous instrument capable of measuring particulate matter levels directly, via mass sampling, and optically, via mass and sunlight extinction measurements. We demonstrate the instrument's accuracy relative to reference measurements and its potential for community-level sampling.
Jiaoshi Zhang, Steven Spielman, Yang Wang, Guangjie Zheng, Xianda Gong, Susanne Hering, and Jian Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5625–5635, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5625-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5625-2021, 2021
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In this study, we present a newly developed instrument, the humidity-controlled fast integrated mobility spectrometer (HFIMS), for fast measurements of aerosol hygroscopic growth. The HFIMS can measure the distributions of particle hygroscopic growth factors at six diameters from 35 to 265 nm under five RH levels from 20 to 85 % within 25 min. The HFIMS significantly advances our capability of characterizing the hygroscopic growth of atmospheric aerosols over a wide range of relative humidities.
Johannes Passig, Julian Schade, Robert Irsig, Lei Li, Xue Li, Zhen Zhou, Thomas Adam, and Ralf Zimmermann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4171–4185, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4171-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4171-2021, 2021
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Ships are major sources of air pollution; however, monitoring of ship emissions outside harbours is a challenging task. We optimized single-particle mass spectrometry (SPMS) for the detection of bunker fuel emissions and demonstrate the detection of individual ship plumes from more than 10 km in distance. The approach works independently of background air pollution and also when ships use exhaust-cleaning scrubbers. We discuss the potential and limits of SPMS-based monitoring of ship plumes.
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Short summary
The MARGA instrument is a powerful research tool for investigating atmospheric chemistry and the exchange of gases and particles between the atmosphere and biosphere. Our study examines the operating characteristics of the instrument with a focus on the software used to calculate air concentrations. We show that more accurate measurements may be obtained by calibrating the instrument with a range of standards in addition to the single internal standard used in online concentration calculations.
The MARGA instrument is a powerful research tool for investigating atmospheric chemistry and the...
