Articles | Volume 12, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5431-2019
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5431-2019
Research article
 | 
11 Oct 2019
Research article |  | 11 Oct 2019

A low-cost monitor for simultaneous measurement of fine particulate matter and aerosol optical depth – Part 1: Specifications and testing

Eric A. Wendt, Casey W. Quinn, Daniel D. Miller-Lionberg, Jessica Tryner, Christian L'Orange, Bonne Ford, Azer P. Yalin, Jeffrey R. Pierce, Shantanu Jathar, and John Volckens

Related authors

Technical note: Investigating sub-city gradients of air quality: lessons learned with low-cost PM2.5 and AOD monitors and machine learning
Michael Cheeseman, Bonne Ford, Zoey Rosen, Eric Wendt, Alex DesRosiers, Aaron J. Hill, Christian L'Orange, Casey Quinn, Marilee Long, Shantanu H. Jathar, John Volckens, and Jeffrey R. Pierce
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2021-751,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2021-751, 2021
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
A low-cost monitor for measurement of fine particulate matter and aerosol optical depth – Part 2: Citizen-science pilot campaign in northern Colorado
Bonne Ford, Jeffrey R. Pierce, Eric Wendt, Marilee Long, Shantanu Jathar, John Mehaffy, Jessica Tryner, Casey Quinn, Lizette van Zyl, Christian L'Orange, Daniel Miller-Lionberg, and John Volckens
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 6385–6399, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6385-2019,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6385-2019, 2019
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Aerosols | Technique: In Situ Measurement | Topic: Instruments and Platforms
The Flying Laboratory FLab: development and application of a UAS to measure aerosol particles and trace gases in the lower troposphere
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
Short summary
Fast and sensitive measurements of sub-3 nm particles using Condensation Particle Counters For Atmospheric Rapid Measurements (CPC FARM)
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
Short summary
Performance evaluation of an online monitor based on X-ray fluorescence for detecting elemental concentrations in ambient particulate matter
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
Short summary
Deriving the hygroscopicity of ambient particles using low-cost optical particle counters
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
Short summary
STRAS: a new high time resolution aerosol sampler for PIXE analysis
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. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-137,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-137, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
Short summary

Cited articles

Ångström, A.: On the Atmospheric Transmission of Sun Radiation and on Dust in the Air, Geogr. Ann., 11, 156–166, https://doi.org/10.2307/519399, 1929. 
Arku, R. E., Birch, A., Shupler, M., Yusuf, S., Hystad, P., and Brauer, M.: Characterizing exposure to household air pollution within the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study, Environ. Int., 114, 307–317, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2018.02.033, 2018. 
Bland, M. J. and Altman, D.: Statistical Methods for Assessing Agreement Between Two Methods of Clinical Measurement, Lancet, 327, 307–310, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(86)90837-8, 1986. 
Bodhaine, B. A., Wood, N. B., Dutton, E. G., and Slusser, J. R.: On Rayleigh optical depth calculations, J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 16, 1854–1861, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0426(1999)016<1854:ORODC>2.0.CO;2, 1999. 
Boersma, K. F. and de Vroom, J. P.: Validation of MODIS aerosol observations over the Netherlands with GLOBE student measurements, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 111, 1–14, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JD007172, 2006. 
Short summary
We introduce a low-cost, compact device (aerosol mass and optical depth (AMOD) sampler) that can be used by citizen scientists to measure air quality. Our paper discusses the development and different components for measuring aerosols. It also shows that measurements made by the AMOD next to reference-grade monitors agreed within 10 %. Coupled with the cost of these instruments, this agreement demonstrates that the AMOD can be widely deployed to monitor air quality by citizen scientists.
Share