Articles | Volume 11, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4883-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4883-2018
Research article
 | 
27 Aug 2018
Research article |  | 27 Aug 2018

The influence of humidity on the performance of a low-cost air particle mass sensor and the effect of atmospheric fog

Rohan Jayaratne, Xiaoting Liu, Phong Thai, Matthew Dunbabin, and Lidia Morawska

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Cited articles

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Short summary
It is important to correctly interpret the readings reported by low cost airborne particle sensors at high humidity. We demonstrate that deliquescent growth of particles and the formation of fog droplets in the atmosphere can lead to significant increases in particle number and mass concentrations reported by such sensors, unless they are fitted with dryers at the inlet. This is important as air quality standards for particles are specifically limited to solid particles.