Articles | Volume 17, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1051-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1051-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
13 Feb 2024
Research article |
| 13 Feb 2024
| 13 Feb 2024
Towards a hygroscopic growth calibration for low-cost PM2.5 sensors
Milan Y. Patel
Department of Chemistry, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Pietro F. Vannucci
Department of Chemistry, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Jinsol Kim
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
William M. Berelson
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
Department of Chemistry, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Related authors
No articles found.
Deepangsu Chatterjee, Randall V. Martin, Chi Li, Dandan Zhang, Haihui Zhu, Daven K. Henze, James H. Crawford, Ronald C. Cohen, Lok N. Lamsal, and Alexander M. Cede
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12687–12706, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12687-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12687-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the hourly variation of NO2 columns and surface concentrations by applying the GEOS-Chem model to interpret aircraft and ground-based measurements over the US and Pandora sun photometer measurements over the US, Europe, and Asia. Corrections to the Pandora columns and finer model resolution improve the modeled representation of the summertime hourly variation of total NO2 columns to explain the weaker hourly variation in NO2 columns than at the surface.
Benjamin A. Nault, Katherine R. Travis, James H. Crawford, Donald R. Blake, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Ronald C. Cohen, Joshua P. DiGangi, Glenn S. Diskin, Samuel R. Hall, L. Gregory Huey, Jose L. Jimenez, Kyung-Eun Min, Young Ro Lee, Isobel J. Simpson, Kirk Ullmann, and Armin Wisthaler
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 9573–9595, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9573-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9573-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Ozone (O3) is a pollutant formed from the reactions of gases emitted from various sources. In urban areas, the density of human activities can increase the O3 formation rate (P(O3)), thus impacting air quality and health. Observations collected over Seoul, South Korea, are used to constrain P(O3). A high local P(O3) was found; however, local P(O3) was partly reduced due to compounds typically ignored. These observations also provide constraints for unmeasured compounds that will impact P(O3).
Katherine R. Travis, Benjamin A. Nault, James H. Crawford, Kelvin H. Bates, Donald R. Blake, Ronald C. Cohen, Alan Fried, Samuel R. Hall, L. Gregory Huey, Young Ro Lee, Simone Meinardi, Kyung-Eun Min, Isobel J. Simpson, and Kirk Ullman
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 9555–9572, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9555-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9555-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Human activities result in the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that contribute to air pollution. Detailed VOC measurements were taken during a field study in South Korea. When compared to VOC inventories, large discrepancies showed underestimates from chemical products, liquefied petroleum gas, and long-range transport. Improved emissions and chemistry of these VOCs better described urban pollution. The new chemical scheme is relevant to urban areas and other VOC sources.
Qindan Zhu, Rebecca H. Schwantes, Matthew Coggon, Colin Harkins, Jordan Schnell, Jian He, Havala O. T. Pye, Meng Li, Barry Baker, Zachary Moon, Ravan Ahmadov, Eva Y. Pfannerstill, Bryan Place, Paul Wooldridge, Benjamin C. Schulze, Caleb Arata, Anthony Bucholtz, John H. Seinfeld, Carsten Warneke, Chelsea E. Stockwell, Lu Xu, Kristen Zuraski, Michael A. Robinson, J. Andrew Neuman, Patrick R. Veres, Jeff Peischl, Steven S. Brown, Allen H. Goldstein, Ronald C. Cohen, and Brian C. McDonald
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5265–5286, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5265-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5265-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) fuel the production of air pollutants like ozone and particulate matter. The representation of VOC chemistry remains challenging due to its complexity in speciation and reactions. Here, we develop a chemical mechanism, RACM2B-VCP, that better represents VOC chemistry in urban areas such as Los Angeles. We also discuss the contribution of VOCs emitted from volatile chemical products and other anthropogenic sources to total VOC reactivity and O3.
Jinsol Kim, John B. Miller, Charles E. Miller, Scott J. Lehman, Sylvia E. Michel, Vineet Yadav, Nick E. Rollins, and William M. Berelson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14425–14436, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14425-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14425-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we present the partitioning of CO2 signals from biogenic, petroleum and natural gas sources by combining CO, 13CO2 and 14CO2 measurements. Using measurements from flask air samples at three sites in the greater Los Angeles region, we find larger and positive contributions of biogenic signals in winter and smaller and negative contributions in summer. The largest contribution of natural gas combustion generally occurs in summer.
Clara M. Nussbaumer, Bryan K. Place, Qindan Zhu, Eva Y. Pfannerstill, Paul Wooldridge, Benjamin C. Schulze, Caleb Arata, Ryan Ward, Anthony Bucholtz, John H. Seinfeld, Allen H. Goldstein, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13015–13028, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13015-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13015-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
NOx is a precursor to hazardous tropospheric ozone and can be emitted from various anthropogenic sources. It is important to quantify NOx emissions in urban environments to improve the local air quality, which still remains a challenge, as sources are heterogeneous in space and time. In this study, we calculate NOx emissions over Los Angeles, based on aircraft measurements in June 2021, and compare them to a local emission inventory, which we find mostly overpredicts the measured values.
Eva Y. Pfannerstill, Caleb Arata, Qindan Zhu, Benjamin C. Schulze, Roy Woods, John H. Seinfeld, Anthony Bucholtz, Ronald C. Cohen, and Allen H. Goldstein
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 12753–12780, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12753-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12753-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The San Joaquin Valley is an agricultural area with poor air quality. Organic gases drive the formation of hazardous air pollutants. Agricultural emissions of these gases are not well understood and have rarely been quantified at landscape scale. By combining aircraft-based emission measurements with land cover information, we found mis- or unrepresented emission sources. Our results help in understanding of pollution sources and in improving predictions of air quality in agricultural regions.
Qindan Zhu, Bryan Place, Eva Y. Pfannerstill, Sha Tong, Huanxin Zhang, Jun Wang, Clara M. Nussbaumer, Paul Wooldridge, Benjamin C. Schulze, Caleb Arata, Anthony Bucholtz, John H. Seinfeld, Allen H. Goldstein, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9669–9683, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9669-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9669-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Nitrogen oxide (NOx) is a hazardous air pollutant, and it is the precursor of short-lived climate forcers like tropospheric ozone and aerosol particles. While NOx emissions from transportation has been strictly regulated, soil NOx emissions are overlooked. We use the airborne flux measurements to observe NOx emissions from highways and urban and cultivated soil land cover types. We show non-negligible soil NOx emissions, which are significantly underestimated in current model simulations.
Chi Li, Randall V. Martin, Ronald C. Cohen, Liam Bindle, Dandan Zhang, Deepangsu Chatterjee, Hongjian Weng, and Jintai Lin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 3031–3049, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3031-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3031-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Models are essential to diagnose the significant effects of nitrogen oxides (NOx) on air pollution. We use an air quality model to illustrate the variability of NOx resolution-dependent simulation biases; how these biases depend on specific chemical environments, driving mechanisms, and vertical variabilities; and how these biases affect the interpretation of satellite observations. High-resolution simulations are thus critical to accurately interpret NOx and its relevance to air quality.
Amir H. Souri, Matthew S. Johnson, Glenn M. Wolfe, James H. Crawford, Alan Fried, Armin Wisthaler, William H. Brune, Donald R. Blake, Andrew J. Weinheimer, Tijl Verhoelst, Steven Compernolle, Gaia Pinardi, Corinne Vigouroux, Bavo Langerock, Sungyeon Choi, Lok Lamsal, Lei Zhu, Shuai Sun, Ronald C. Cohen, Kyung-Eun Min, Changmin Cho, Sajeev Philip, Xiong Liu, and Kelly Chance
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1963–1986, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1963-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1963-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We have rigorously characterized different sources of error in satellite-based HCHO / NO2 tropospheric columns, a widely used metric for diagnosing near-surface ozone sensitivity. Specifically, the errors were categorized/quantified into (i) an inherent chemistry error, (ii) the decoupled relationship between columns and the near-surface concentration, (iii) the spatial representativeness error of ground satellite pixels, and (iv) the satellite retrieval errors.
Viral Shah, Daniel J. Jacob, Ruijun Dang, Lok N. Lamsal, Sarah A. Strode, Stephen D. Steenrod, K. Folkert Boersma, Sebastian D. Eastham, Thibaud M. Fritz, Chelsea Thompson, Jeff Peischl, Ilann Bourgeois, Ilana B. Pollack, Benjamin A. Nault, Ronald C. Cohen, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Jose L. Jimenez, Simone T. Andersen, Lucy J. Carpenter, Tomás Sherwen, and Mat J. Evans
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1227–1257, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1227-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1227-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
NOx in the free troposphere (above 2 km) affects global tropospheric chemistry and the retrieval and interpretation of satellite NO2 measurements. We evaluate free tropospheric NOx in global atmospheric chemistry models and find that recycling NOx from its reservoirs over the oceans is faster than that simulated in the models, resulting in increases in simulated tropospheric ozone and OH. Over the U.S., free tropospheric NO2 contributes the majority of the tropospheric NO2 column in summer.
Helen L. Fitzmaurice and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 15403–15411, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15403-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15403-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We develop a novel method for finding heavy-duty vehicle (HDV) emission factors (g PM kg fuel) using regulatory sensor networks and publicly available traffic data. We find that particulate matter emission factors have decreased by a factor of ~ 9 in the past decade in the San Francisco Bay area. Because of the wide availability of similar data sets across the USA and globally, this method could be applied to other settings to understand long-term trends and regional differences in HDV emissions.
Glenn M. Wolfe, Thomas F. Hanisco, Heather L. Arkinson, Donald R. Blake, Armin Wisthaler, Tomas Mikoviny, Thomas B. Ryerson, Ilana Pollack, Jeff Peischl, Paul O. Wennberg, John D. Crounse, Jason M. St. Clair, Alex Teng, L. Gregory Huey, Xiaoxi Liu, Alan Fried, Petter Weibring, Dirk Richter, James Walega, Samuel R. Hall, Kirk Ullmann, Jose L. Jimenez, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, T. Paul Bui, Glenn Diskin, James R. Podolske, Glen Sachse, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 4253–4275, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4253-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4253-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Smoke plumes are chemically complex. This work combines airborne observations of smoke plume composition with a photochemical model to probe the production of ozone and the fate of reactive gases in the outflow of a large wildfire. Model–measurement comparisons illustrate how uncertain emissions and chemical processes propagate into simulated chemical evolution. Results provide insight into how this system responds to perturbations, which can help guide future observation and modeling efforts.
Helen L. Fitzmaurice, Alexander J. Turner, Jinsol Kim, Katherine Chan, Erin R. Delaria, Catherine Newman, Paul Wooldridge, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3891–3900, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3891-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3891-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
On-road emissions are thought to vary widely from existing predictions, as the effects of the age of the vehicle fleet, the performance of emission control systems, and variations in speed are difficult to assess under ambient driving conditions. We present an observational approach to characterize on-road emissions and show that the method is consistent with other approaches to within ~ 3 %.
Olivier Sulpis, Matthew P. Humphreys, Monica M. Wilhelmus, Dustin Carroll, William M. Berelson, Dimitris Menemenlis, Jack J. Middelburg, and Jess F. Adkins
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 2105–2131, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2105-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2105-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
A quarter of the surface of the Earth is covered by marine sediments rich in calcium carbonates, and their dissolution acts as a giant antacid tablet protecting the ocean against human-made acidification caused by massive CO2 emissions. Here, we present a new model of sediment chemistry that incorporates the latest experimental findings on calcium carbonate dissolution kinetics. This model can be used to predict how marine sediments evolve through time in response to environmental perturbations.
Douglas A. Day, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Benjamin A. Nault, Brett B. Palm, Weiwei Hu, Hongyu Guo, Paul J. Wooldridge, Ronald C. Cohen, Kenneth S. Docherty, J. Alex Huffman, Suzane S. de Sá, Scot T. Martin, and Jose L. Jimenez
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 459–483, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-459-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-459-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Particle-phase nitrates are an important component of atmospheric aerosols and chemistry. In this paper, we systematically explore the application of aerosol mass spectrometry (AMS) to quantify the organic and inorganic nitrate fractions of aerosols in the atmosphere. While AMS has been used for a decade to quantify nitrates, methods are not standardized. We make recommendations for a more universal approach based on this analysis of a large range of field and laboratory observations.
Alexander J. Turner, Philipp Köhler, Troy S. Magney, Christian Frankenberg, Inez Fung, and Ronald C. Cohen
Biogeosciences, 18, 6579–6588, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-6579-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-6579-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This work builds a high-resolution estimate (500 m) of gross primary productivity (GPP) over the US using satellite measurements of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) between 2018 and 2020. We identify ecosystem-specific scaling factors for estimating gross primary productivity (GPP) from TROPOMI SIF. Extreme precipitation events drive four regional GPP anomalies that account for 28 % of year-to-year GPP differences across the US.
Xiaomeng Jin, Qindan Zhu, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15569–15587, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15569-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15569-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We describe direct estimates of NOx emissions and lifetimes for biomass burning plumes using daily TROPOMI retrievals of NO2. Satellite-derived NOx emission factors are consistent with those from in situ measurements. We observe decreasing NOx lifetime with fire intensity, which is due to the increase in NOx abundance and radical production. Our findings suggest promise for applying space-based observations to track the emissions and chemical evolution of reactive nitrogen from wildfires.
Erin R. Delaria, Jinsol Kim, Helen L. Fitzmaurice, Catherine Newman, Paul J. Wooldridge, Kevin Worthington, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5487–5500, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5487-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5487-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The use of a dense network of low-cost CO2 sensors is an attractive option for measuring CO2 emissions in cities. However, these low-cost sensors are also subject to uncertainties. Here, we describe a novel method of field calibration for correcting temperature-related errors in the CO2 sensors deployed in the BEACO2N network. We show that with this temperature correction, we can achieve a sufficiently low network error to allow for the evaluation of CO2 emissions at a neighborhood scale.
Xueling Liu, Arthur P. Mizzi, Jeffrey L. Anderson, Inez Fung, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9573–9583, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9573-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9573-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Observations of winds in the planetary boundary layer remain sparse, making it challenging to simulate and predict the atmospheric conditions that are most important for describing and predicting urban air quality. Here we investigate the application of data assimilation of NO2 columns as will be observed from geostationary orbit to improve predictions and retrospective analysis of wind fields in the boundary layer.
Erin R. Delaria, Bryan K. Place, Amy X. Liu, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 14023–14041, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14023-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14023-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Observations of NO2 deposition to vegetation have been widely reported, but the magnitude and mechanism remain uncertain. We use laboratory measurements to study NO2 deposition to leaves of 10 native California tree species. We report important differences in the uptake rates between species and find that this process is primarily diffusion-regulated. We suggest that processes within leaves at a cellular level represent a negligible limitation to NO2 deposition at the canopy level.
Sungyeon Choi, Lok N. Lamsal, Melanie Follette-Cook, Joanna Joiner, Nickolay A. Krotkov, William H. Swartz, Kenneth E. Pickering, Christopher P. Loughner, Wyat Appel, Gabriele Pfister, Pablo E. Saide, Ronald C. Cohen, Andrew J. Weinheimer, and Jay R. Herman
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2523–2546, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2523-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2523-2020, 2020
Nathaniel Kemnitz, William M. Berelson, Douglas E. Hammond, Laura Morine, Maria Figueroa, Timothy W. Lyons, Simon Scharf, Nick Rollins, Elizabeth Petsios, Sydnie Lemieux, and Tina Treude
Biogeosciences, 17, 2381–2396, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2381-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2381-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Our paper shows how sedimentation in a very low oxygen setting provides a unique record of environmental change. We look at the past 250 years through the filter of sediment accumulation via radioisotope dating and other physical and chemical analyses of these sediments. We conclude, remarkably, that there has been very little change in net sediment mass accumulation through the past 100–150 years, yet just prior to 1900 CE, sediments were accumulating at 50 %–70 % of today's rate.
Erin R. Delaria and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 2123–2141, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2123-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2123-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Uptake of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) through pores in the surfaces of leaves has been identified as a significant, but inadequately understood, loss process of atmospheric nitrogen oxides. We have constructed a simple model for examining the impact of NO2 foliar uptake on the atmospheric chemistry of nitrogen oxides. We show that an accurate representation in atmospheric models of the effects of weather and soil conditions on leaf NO2 uptake may be important for accurately predicting NO2 deposition.
Alexander J. Turner, Philipp Köhler, Troy S. Magney, Christian Frankenberg, Inez Fung, and Ronald C. Cohen
Biogeosciences, 17, 405–422, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-405-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-405-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We present the highest resolution solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) dataset from satellite measurements, providing previously unobservable phenomena related to plant photosynthesis. We find a strong correspondence between TROPOMI SIF and AmeriFlux GPP. We then observe a double peak in the seasonality of California's photosynthesis, not seen by traditional vegetation indices (e.g., MODIS). This is further corroborated by EOF/PC analysis.
Paul S. Romer Present, Azimeh Zare, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 267–279, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-267-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-267-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The chemistry of nitrogen oxides (NOx) affects both air quality and climate through its role in the production of ozone and secondary aerosols. We find that recent changes in emissions have caused a significant shift in the chemical loss of NOx away from direct production of HNO3 and towards production of organic nitrates. This shift is leading to a flatter distribution of NOx across the United States and helping transform air pollution from a local issue into a broader regional concern.
Qindan Zhu, Joshua L. Laughner, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 13067–13078, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-13067-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-13067-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Lightning NOx represents > 80 % of the NOx source in the upper troposphere. Despite its importance, lightning NOx is poorly understood. This work improves model performance in representing lighting NOx and reduces the uncertainty in satellite NO2 retrievals caused by poor representation of lightning NOx emissions in a priori assumptions.
Rachel F. Silvern, Daniel J. Jacob, Loretta J. Mickley, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Katherine R. Travis, Eloise A. Marais, Ronald C. Cohen, Joshua L. Laughner, Sungyeon Choi, Joanna Joiner, and Lok N. Lamsal
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 8863–8878, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8863-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8863-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The US EPA reports a steady decrease in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from fuel combustion over the 2005–2017 period, while satellite observations show a leveling off after 2009, suggesting emission reductions and related air quality gains have halted. We show the sustained decrease in NOx emissions is in fact consistent with observed trends in surface NO2 and ozone concentrations and that the flattening of the satellite trend reflects a growing influence from the non-anthropogenic background.
Shino Toma, Steve Bertman, Christopher Groff, Fulizi Xiong, Paul B. Shepson, Paul Romer, Kaitlin Duffey, Paul Wooldridge, Ronald Cohen, Karsten Baumann, Eric Edgerton, Abigail R. Koss, Joost de Gouw, Allen Goldstein, Weiwei Hu, and Jose L. Jimenez
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 1867–1880, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1867-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1867-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Acyl peroxy nitrates (APN) were measured near the ground in Alabama using GC in summer 2013 to study biosphere–atmosphere interactions. APN were lower than measured in the SE USA over the past 2 decades. Historical data showed APN in 2013 was limited by NOx and production was dominated by biogenic precursors more than in the past. Isoprene-derived MPAN correlated with isoprene hydroxynitrates as NOx-dependent products. MPAN varied with aerosol growth, but not with N-containing particles.
Joshua L. Laughner, Qindan Zhu, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 129–146, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-129-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-129-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We compared v3.0B of the BEHR satellite NO2 product against independent measurements to verify its accuracy. We found that the BEHR product generally performs better than standard NO2 products and the previous version of BEHR. Outside of the SE US, using daily NO2 profiles results in similar or better agreement with independent measurements than using monthly profiles, and direct evaluation of those profiles shows they better describe NO2 distribution in urban areas than monthly profiles.
Eloise A. Marais, Daniel J. Jacob, Sungyeon Choi, Joanna Joiner, Maria Belmonte-Rivas, Ronald C. Cohen, Steffen Beirle, Lee T. Murray, Luke D. Schiferl, Viral Shah, and Lyatt Jaeglé
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 17017–17027, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17017-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17017-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We intercompare two new products of global upper tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) retrieved from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). We evaluate these products with aircraft observations from NASA DC8 aircraft campaigns and interpret the useful information these products can provide about nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the global upper troposphere using the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model.
Joshua L. Laughner, Qindan Zhu, and Ronald C. Cohen
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 2069–2095, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-2069-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-2069-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This paper describes the upgrade of the BErkeley High Resolution (BEHR) NO2 retrieval from versions 2.1C to 3.0B. This retrieval measures NO2 over the continental US using input data at higher spatial and temporal resolution than global retrievals. We analyze how each part of the upgrade affected the measured NO2. Most interestingly, we find that using NO2 profiles at daily (rather than monthly) time resolution does lead to differences in multi-month averages for regions affected by lightning.
Azimeh Zare, Paul S. Romer, Tran Nguyen, Frank N. Keutsch, Kate Skog, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 15419–15436, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15419-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15419-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Organic nitrates play an important role in concentrations and distribution of NOx, ozone and aerosol as the most important air pollutants. We develop a state-of-the-science detailed chemical mechanism representing individual organic nitrates, which is appropriate to use in air quality models and results in a more accurate simulation of atmospheric chemistry. Using this mechanism we explore production and removal processes of organic nitrates in a rural environment that are poorly constrained.
William H. Brune, Xinrong Ren, Li Zhang, Jingqiu Mao, David O. Miller, Bruce E. Anderson, Donald R. Blake, Ronald C. Cohen, Glenn S. Diskin, Samuel R. Hall, Thomas F. Hanisco, L. Gregory Huey, Benjamin A. Nault, Jeff Peischl, Ilana Pollack, Thomas B. Ryerson, Taylor Shingler, Armin Sorooshian, Kirk Ullmann, Armin Wisthaler, and Paul J. Wooldridge
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 14493–14510, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-14493-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-14493-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Thunderstorms pull in polluted air from near the ground, transport it up through clouds containing lightning, and deposit it at altitudes where airplanes fly. The resulting chemical mixture in this air reacts to form ozone and particles, which affect climate. In this study, aircraft observations of the reactive gases responsible for this chemistry generally agree with modeled values, even in ice clouds. Thus, atmospheric oxidation chemistry appears to be mostly understood for this environment.
Erin R. Delaria, Megan Vieira, Julie Cremieux, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 14161–14173, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-14161-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-14161-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Observations of NOx exchange between the atmosphere and vegetation have been widely reported. However, the magnitude, direction, and mechanism of this atmosphere–biosphere exchange remain uncertain across different ecosystems. We use laboratory measurements to study the rates of NOx deposition to the leaves of a California oak tree species. We detect no evidence of NOx emission and find that NOx loss to oak leaves is substantial even at low NOx concentrations relevant to forested environments.
Alexis A. Shusterman, Jinsol Kim, Kaitlyn J. Lieschke, Catherine Newman, Paul J. Wooldridge, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 13773–13785, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13773-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13773-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We describe the diversity and heterogeneity of urban CO2 levels observed using the BErkeley Atmospheric CO2 Observation Network, a distributed instrument of > 50 CO2 sensors stationed every ~ 2 km across the San Francisco Bay Area. We demonstrate that relatively simple mathematical techniques, applied to these observations, can be used to detect the small changes in highway CO2 emissions expected to result from upcoming fuel economy regulations, affirming the policy relevance of low-cost sensors.
Jinsol Kim, Alexis A. Shusterman, Kaitlyn J. Lieschke, Catherine Newman, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 1937–1946, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1937-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1937-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The newest generation of air quality sensors is small, low cost, and easy to deploy. These sensors are an attractive option for developing dense observation networks in support of regulatory activities and scientific research. However, these sensors are difficult to interpret. Here we describe a novel calibration strategy for a set of low cost sensors and demonstrate this calibration on a subset of the sensors comprising BEACO2N, a distributed network at the San Francisco Bay Area.
Jingqiu Mao, Annmarie Carlton, Ronald C. Cohen, William H. Brune, Steven S. Brown, Glenn M. Wolfe, Jose L. Jimenez, Havala O. T. Pye, Nga Lee Ng, Lu Xu, V. Faye McNeill, Kostas Tsigaridis, Brian C. McDonald, Carsten Warneke, Alex Guenther, Matthew J. Alvarado, Joost de Gouw, Loretta J. Mickley, Eric M. Leibensperger, Rohit Mathur, Christopher G. Nolte, Robert W. Portmann, Nadine Unger, Mika Tosca, and Larry W. Horowitz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 2615–2651, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2615-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2615-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This paper is aimed at discussing progress in evaluating, diagnosing, and improving air quality and climate modeling using comparisons to SAS observations as a guide to thinking about improvements to mechanisms and parameterizations in models.
Paul S. Romer, Kaitlin C. Duffey, Paul J. Wooldridge, Eric Edgerton, Karsten Baumann, Philip A. Feiner, David O. Miller, William H. Brune, Abigail R. Koss, Joost A. de Gouw, Pawel K. Misztal, Allen H. Goldstein, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 2601–2614, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2601-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2601-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Observations of increased ozone on hotter days are widely reported, but the mechanisms driving this relationship remain uncertain. We use measurements from the rural southeastern United States to study how temperature affects ozone production. We find that changing NOx emissions, most likely from soil microbes, can be a major driver of increased ozone with temperature in the continental background. These findings suggest that ozone will increase with temperature under a wide range of conditions.
Jingyi Li, Jingqiu Mao, Arlene M. Fiore, Ronald C. Cohen, John D. Crounse, Alex P. Teng, Paul O. Wennberg, Ben H. Lee, Felipe D. Lopez-Hilfiker, Joel A. Thornton, Jeff Peischl, Ilana B. Pollack, Thomas B. Ryerson, Patrick Veres, James M. Roberts, J. Andrew Neuman, John B. Nowak, Glenn M. Wolfe, Thomas F. Hanisco, Alan Fried, Hanwant B. Singh, Jack Dibb, Fabien Paulot, and Larry W. Horowitz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 2341–2361, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2341-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2341-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We present the first comprehensive model evaluation of summertime reactive oxidized nitrogen using a high-resolution chemistry–climate model with up-to-date isoprene oxidation chemistry, along with a series of observations from aircraft campaigns and ground measurement networks from 2004 to 2013 over the Southeast US. We investigate the impact of NOx emission reductions on changes in reactive nitrogen speciation and export efficiency as well as ozone in the past and future decade.
Joshua L. Laughner and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4403–4419, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4403-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4403-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
NO2 (a gas that plays an important role in air quality) can be measured by satellite-based instruments. These measurements require a best guess of the vertical distribution of NO2 and are very sensitive to the changes in that distribution near the top of the troposphere (~ 12 km). NO2 concentrations at this altitude are strongly influenced by lightning; therefore, we study how different representations of lightning in models that provide that best guess affect the NO2 measured by satellites.
Carlena J. Ebben, Tamara L. Sparks, Paul J. Wooldridge, Teresa L. Campos, Christopher A. Cantrell, Roy L. Mauldin, Andrew J. Weinheimer, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2017-671, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2017-671, 2017
Revised manuscript has not been submitted
Short summary
Short summary
We use observations from the FRAPPÉ campaign to examine the evolution of reactive nitrogen as it is transported from Denver. We provide estimates for dilution rates, chemical lifetimes, and deposition rates. While dilution is the primary loss process in the immediate outflow from Denver, chemically, a majority of NOx is converted to HNO3 and is subsequently deposited. Understanding the evolution of reactive nitrogen informs how urban emissions affect air quality in the surrounding regions.
Xueling Liu, Arthur P. Mizzi, Jeffrey L. Anderson, Inez Y. Fung, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 7067–7081, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7067-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7067-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We describe a chemical ensemble data assimilation system with high spatial and temporal resolution that simultaneously adjusts meteorological and chemical variables and NOx emissions. We investigate the sensitivity of emission inversions to the accuracy and uncertainty of the wind analyses and the emission update scheme. The results provide insight into optimal uses of the observations from future geostationary satellite missions that will observe atmospheric composition.
Caroline C. Womack, J. Andrew Neuman, Patrick R. Veres, Scott J. Eilerman, Charles A. Brock, Zachary C. J. Decker, Kyle J. Zarzana, William P. Dube, Robert J. Wild, Paul J. Wooldridge, Ronald C. Cohen, and Steven S. Brown
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 1911–1926, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-1911-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-1911-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
The accurate detection of reactive nitrogen species (NOy) is key to understanding tropospheric ozone production. Typically, NOy is detected by thermal conversion to NO2, followed by NO2 detection. Here, we assess the conversion efficiency of several NOy species to NO2 in a thermal dissociation cavity ring-down spectrometer and discuss how this conversion efficiency is affected by certain experimental conditions, such as oven residence time, and interferences from non-NOy species.
Nga Lee Ng, Steven S. Brown, Alexander T. Archibald, Elliot Atlas, Ronald C. Cohen, John N. Crowley, Douglas A. Day, Neil M. Donahue, Juliane L. Fry, Hendrik Fuchs, Robert J. Griffin, Marcelo I. Guzman, Hartmut Herrmann, Alma Hodzic, Yoshiteru Iinuma, José L. Jimenez, Astrid Kiendler-Scharr, Ben H. Lee, Deborah J. Luecken, Jingqiu Mao, Robert McLaren, Anke Mutzel, Hans D. Osthoff, Bin Ouyang, Benedicte Picquet-Varrault, Ulrich Platt, Havala O. T. Pye, Yinon Rudich, Rebecca H. Schwantes, Manabu Shiraiwa, Jochen Stutz, Joel A. Thornton, Andreas Tilgner, Brent J. Williams, and Rahul A. Zaveri
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 2103–2162, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-2103-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-2103-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Oxidation of biogenic volatile organic compounds by NO3 is an important interaction between anthropogenic
and natural emissions. This review results from a June 2015 workshop and includes the recent literature
on kinetics, mechanisms, organic aerosol yields, and heterogeneous chemistry; advances in analytical
instrumentation; the current state NO3-BVOC chemistry in atmospheric models; and critical needs for
future research in modeling, field observations, and laboratory studies.
Joshua L. Laughner, Azimeh Zare, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 15247–15264, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15247-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15247-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Satellite measurements of the atmosphere provide global information on pollutants that play an important role in air quality. These measurements require assumed knowledge about the vertical profile of these pollutants, which are often simulated at coarse resolution in space and time. We find that simulating these inputs with better spatial and temporal resolution alters individual measurements by up to 40 % and the average measurement by up to 13 %, and increases derived emissions by up to 100 %.
Katherine R. Travis, Daniel J. Jacob, Jenny A. Fisher, Patrick S. Kim, Eloise A. Marais, Lei Zhu, Karen Yu, Christopher C. Miller, Robert M. Yantosca, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Anne M. Thompson, Paul O. Wennberg, John D. Crounse, Jason M. St. Clair, Ronald C. Cohen, Joshua L. Laughner, Jack E. Dibb, Samuel R. Hall, Kirk Ullmann, Glenn M. Wolfe, Illana B. Pollack, Jeff Peischl, Jonathan A. Neuman, and Xianliang Zhou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 13561–13577, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13561-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13561-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Ground-level ozone pollution in the Southeast US involves complex chemistry driven by anthropogenic emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and biogenic emissions of isoprene. We find that US NOx emissions are overestimated nationally by as much as 50 % and that reducing model emissions by this amount results in good agreement with SEAC4RS aircraft measurements in August and September 2013. Observations of nitrate wet deposition fluxes and satellite NO2 columns further support this result.
Alexander J. Turner, Alexis A. Shusterman, Brian C. McDonald, Virginia Teige, Robert A. Harley, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 13465–13475, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13465-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13465-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Our paper investigates the ability of different types of observational networks to estimate urban CO2 emissions. We have quantified the trade-off between precision and network density for estimating urban greenhouse gas emissions. Our results show that different observing systems may fall into noise- or site-limited regimes where reducing the uncertainty in the estimated emissions is governed by a single factor.
Alexis A. Shusterman, Virginia E. Teige, Alexander J. Turner, Catherine Newman, Jinsol Kim, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 13449–13463, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13449-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13449-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We describe the design of and first results from the BErkeley Atmospheric CO2 Observation Network, a distributed instrument of 28 CO2 sensors stationed across and around the city of Oakland, California at ~ 2 km intervals. We evaluate the network via 4 performance parameters (cost, reliability, precision, systematic uncertainty) and find this high density technique to be sufficiently cost-effective and rigorous to inform understanding of small-scale urban emissions relevant to climate regulation.
Paul S. Romer, Kaitlin C. Duffey, Paul J. Wooldridge, Hannah M. Allen, Benjamin R. Ayres, Steven S. Brown, William H. Brune, John D. Crounse, Joost de Gouw, Danielle C. Draper, Philip A. Feiner, Juliane L. Fry, Allen H. Goldstein, Abigail Koss, Pawel K. Misztal, Tran B. Nguyen, Kevin Olson, Alex P. Teng, Paul O. Wennberg, Robert J. Wild, Li Zhang, and Ronald C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 7623–7637, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7623-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7623-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
The lifetime of nitrogen oxides (NOx) is evaluated by analysis of field measurements from the southeastern United States. At warm temperatures in the daytime boundary layer, NOx interconverts rapidly with both PAN and alkyl and multifunctional nitrates (RONO2), and the relevant lifetime is the combined lifetime of these three classes. We find that the production of RONO2, followed by hydrolysis to produce nitric acid, is the dominant pathway for NOx removal in an isoprene dominated forest.
Jenny A. Fisher, Daniel J. Jacob, Katherine R. Travis, Patrick S. Kim, Eloise A. Marais, Christopher Chan Miller, Karen Yu, Lei Zhu, Robert M. Yantosca, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Jingqiu Mao, Paul O. Wennberg, John D. Crounse, Alex P. Teng, Tran B. Nguyen, Jason M. St. Clair, Ronald C. Cohen, Paul Romer, Benjamin A. Nault, Paul J. Wooldridge, Jose L. Jimenez, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Douglas A. Day, Weiwei Hu, Paul B. Shepson, Fulizi Xiong, Donald R. Blake, Allen H. Goldstein, Pawel K. Misztal, Thomas F. Hanisco, Glenn M. Wolfe, Thomas B. Ryerson, Armin Wisthaler, and Tomas Mikoviny
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 5969–5991, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5969-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5969-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We use new airborne and ground-based observations from two summer 2013 campaigns in the southeastern US, interpreted with a chemical transport model, to understand the impact of isoprene and monoterpene chemistry on the atmospheric NOx budget via production of organic nitrates (RONO2). We find that a diversity of species contribute to observed RONO2. Our work implies that the NOx sink to RONO2 production is only sensitive to NOx emissions in regions where they are already low.
Karen Yu, Daniel J. Jacob, Jenny A. Fisher, Patrick S. Kim, Eloise A. Marais, Christopher C. Miller, Katherine R. Travis, Lei Zhu, Robert M. Yantosca, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Ron C. Cohen, Jack E. Dibb, Alan Fried, Tomas Mikoviny, Thomas B. Ryerson, Paul O. Wennberg, and Armin Wisthaler
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 4369–4378, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4369-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4369-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Increasing the spatial resolution of a chemical transport model may improve simulations but can be computationally expensive. Using observations from the SEAC4RS aircraft campaign, we find that at higher spatial resolutions, models are better able to simulate the chemical pathways of ozone precursors, but the overall effect on regional mean concentrations is small. This implies that for continental boundary layer applications, coarse resolution models are adequate.
S. E. Pusede, K. C. Duffey, A. A. Shusterman, A. Saleh, J. L. Laughner, P. J. Wooldridge, Q. Zhang, C. L. Parworth, H. Kim, S. L. Capps, L. C. Valin, C. D. Cappa, A. Fried, J. Walega, J. B. Nowak, A. J. Weinheimer, R. M. Hoff, T. A. Berkoff, A. J. Beyersdorf, J. Olson, J. H. Crawford, and R. C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 2575–2596, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2575-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2575-2016, 2016
R. J. Wild, P. M. Edwards, T. S. Bates, R. C. Cohen, J. A. de Gouw, W. P. Dubé, J. B. Gilman, J. Holloway, J. Kercher, A. R. Koss, L. Lee, B. M. Lerner, R. McLaren, P. K. Quinn, J. M. Roberts, J. Stutz, J. A. Thornton, P. R. Veres, C. Warneke, E. Williams, C. J. Young, B. Yuan, K. J. Zarzana, and S. S. Brown
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 573–583, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-573-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-573-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
High wintertime ozone levels have been observed in the Uintah Basin, Utah, a sparsely populated rural region with intensive oil and gas operations. The reactive nitrogen budget plays an important role in tropospheric ozone formation, and we find that nighttime chemistry has a large effect on its partitioning. Much of the oxidation of reactive nitrogen during a high-ozone year occurred via heterogeneous uptake onto aerosol at night, keeping NOx at concentrations comparable to a low-ozone year.
B. R. Ayres, H. M. Allen, D. C. Draper, S. S. Brown, R. J. Wild, J. L. Jimenez, D. A. Day, P. Campuzano-Jost, W. Hu, J. de Gouw, A. Koss, R. C. Cohen, K. C. Duffey, P. Romer, K. Baumann, E. Edgerton, S. Takahama, J. A. Thornton, B. H. Lee, F. D. Lopez-Hilfiker, C. Mohr, P. O. Wennberg, T. B. Nguyen, A. Teng, A. H. Goldstein, K. Olson, and J. L. Fry
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 13377–13392, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13377-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13377-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
This paper reports atmospheric gas- and aerosol-phase field measurements from the southeastern United States in summer 2013 to demonstrate that the oxidation of biogenic volatile organic compounds by nitrate radical produces a substantial amount of secondary organic aerosol in this region. This process, driven largely by monoterpenes, results in a comparable aerosol nitrate production rate to inorganic nitrate formation by heterogeneous uptake of HNO3 onto dust particles.
L. Lee, P. J. Wooldridge, J. deGouw, S. S. Brown, T. S. Bates, P. K. Quinn, and R. C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 9313–9325, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9313-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9313-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Secondary organic aerosol affects both the environment and human health. We characterized the aerosol composition in Uintah Basin by measuring the concentration of nitrooxy group moiety which is produced through chemical interaction of volatile organic compounds and NOx emitted largely from local human activity. We found nitrooxy compounds to be a persistent, if not dominant, portion of fine aerosol mass. Similar results may be expected from emissions due to traffic in cities.
L. K. Emmons, S. R. Arnold, S. A. Monks, V. Huijnen, S. Tilmes, K. S. Law, J. L. Thomas, J.-C. Raut, I. Bouarar, S. Turquety, Y. Long, B. Duncan, S. Steenrod, S. Strode, J. Flemming, J. Mao, J. Langner, A. M. Thompson, D. Tarasick, E. C. Apel, D. R. Blake, R. C. Cohen, J. Dibb, G. S. Diskin, A. Fried, S. R. Hall, L. G. Huey, A. J. Weinheimer, A. Wisthaler, T. Mikoviny, J. Nowak, J. Peischl, J. M. Roberts, T. Ryerson, C. Warneke, and D. Helmig
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 6721–6744, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-6721-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-6721-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Eleven 3-D tropospheric chemistry models have been compared and evaluated with observations in the Arctic during the International Polar Year (IPY 2008). Large differences are seen among the models, particularly related to the model chemistry of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and reactive nitrogen (NOx, PAN, HNO3) partitioning. Consistency among the models in the underestimation of CO, ethane and propane indicates the emission inventory is too low for these compounds.
A. P. Teng, J. D. Crounse, L. Lee, J. M. St. Clair, R. C. Cohen, and P. O. Wennberg
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 4297–4316, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-4297-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-4297-2015, 2015
B. A. Nault, C. Garland, S. E. Pusede, P. J. Wooldridge, K. Ullmann, S. R. Hall, and R. C. Cohen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 987–997, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-987-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-987-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
We report the first atmospheric measurement of methyl peroxy nitrate (CH3O2NO2) and describe an experimental strategy to obtain NO2 observations free of methyl peroxy nitrate (CH3O2NO2). The accuracy of the CH3O2NO2 measurements are (+/- 40%) with a LOD of 15 pptv/min. We observe that CH3O2NO2 is ubiquitous in the upper troposphere with median mixing ratios of 100 to 200 pptv, and its composition to the total NOy budget is comparable to HNO3.
L. Lee, P. J. Wooldridge, J. B. Gilman, C. Warneke, J. de Gouw, and R. C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 12441–12454, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12441-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12441-2014, 2014
Short summary
Short summary
Alkyl nitrate formation is known to be an important sink of NOx in a wide range of environments. In a study in the Uintah basin in 2012, we find that formation of these compounds represents a more rapid NOx (NO + NO2) sink than does nitric acid formation. This rapid formation is in large part due to the low mean temperature (~0°C) during the study and is consistent with laboratory observations.
K.-E. Min, S. E. Pusede, E. C. Browne, B. W. LaFranchi, and R. C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 5495–5512, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-5495-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-5495-2014, 2014
S. E. Pusede, D. R. Gentner, P. J. Wooldridge, E. C. Browne, A. W. Rollins, K.-E. Min, A. R. Russell, J. Thomas, L. Zhang, W. H. Brune, S. B. Henry, J. P. DiGangi, F. N. Keutsch, S. A. Harrold, J. A. Thornton, M. R. Beaver, J. M. St. Clair, P. O. Wennberg, J. Sanders, X. Ren, T. C. VandenBoer, M. Z. Markovic, A. Guha, R. Weber, A. H. Goldstein, and R. C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 3373–3395, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3373-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3373-2014, 2014
A. K. Mebust and R. C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 2509–2524, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-2509-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-2509-2014, 2014
E. C. Browne, P. J. Wooldridge, K.-E. Min, and R. C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1225–1238, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1225-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1225-2014, 2014
L. C. Valin, A. R. Russell, and R. C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1–9, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1-2014, 2014
J. L. Fry, D. C. Draper, K. J. Zarzana, P. Campuzano-Jost, D. A. Day, J. L. Jimenez, S. S. Brown, R. C. Cohen, L. Kaser, A. Hansel, L. Cappellin, T. Karl, A. Hodzic Roux, A. Turnipseed, C. Cantrell, B. L. Lefer, and N. Grossberg
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 8585–8605, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-8585-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-8585-2013, 2013
Y. Xie, F. Paulot, W. P. L. Carter, C. G. Nolte, D. J. Luecken, W. T. Hutzell, P. O. Wennberg, R. C. Cohen, and R. W. Pinder
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 8439–8455, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-8439-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-8439-2013, 2013
T. H. Bertram, A. E. Perring, P. J. Wooldridge, J. Dibb, M. A. Avery, and R. C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 4617–4630, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-4617-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-4617-2013, 2013
E. C. Browne, K.-E. Min, P. J. Wooldridge, E. Apel, D. R. Blake, W. H. Brune, C. A. Cantrell, M. J. Cubison, G. S. Diskin, J. L. Jimenez, A. J. Weinheimer, P. O. Wennberg, A. Wisthaler, and R. C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 4543–4562, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-4543-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-4543-2013, 2013
A. R. Russell, L. C. Valin, and R. C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 12197–12209, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-12197-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-12197-2012, 2012
E. C. Browne and R. C. Cohen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 11917–11932, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-11917-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-11917-2012, 2012
Related subject area
Subject: Aerosols | Technique: In Situ Measurement | Topic: Data Processing and Information Retrieval
Spatial analysis of PM2.5 using a concentration similarity index applied to air quality sensor networks
A novel probabilistic source apportionment approach: Bayesian auto-correlated matrix factorization
Enhancing characterization of organic nitrogen components in aerosols and droplets using high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometry
Machine learning approaches for automatic classification of single-particle mass spectrometry data
A searchable database and mass spectral comparison tool for the Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) and the Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM)
Numerical investigation on retrieval errors of mixing states of fractal black carbon aerosols using single-particle soot photometer based on Mie scattering and the effects on radiative forcing estimation
Performance evaluation of MOMA (MOment MAtching) – a remote network calibration technique for PM2.5 and PM10 sensors
Mapping the performance of a versatile water-based condensation particle counter (vWCPC) with numerical simulation and experimental study
Development and evaluation of an improved offline aerosol mass spectrometry technique
SMEARcore – modular data infrastructure for atmospheric measurement stations
A multiple-charging correction algorithm for a broad-supersaturation scanning cloud condensation nuclei (BS2-CCN) system
An evaluation of the U.S. EPA's correction equation for PurpleAir sensor data in smoke, dust, and wintertime urban pollution events
Typhoon-associated air quality over the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, China: machine-learning-based prediction and assessment
Quantification of primary and secondary organic aerosol sources by combined factor analysis of extractive electrospray ionisation and aerosol mass spectrometer measurements (EESI-TOF and AMS)
A new method for calculating average visibility from the relationship between extinction coefficient and visibility
In situ particle sampling relationships to surface and turbulent fluxes using large eddy simulations with Lagrangian particles
The effect of the averaging period for PMF analysis of aerosol mass spectrometer measurements during offline applications
Calibrating networks of low-cost air quality sensors
Source apportionment resolved by time of day for improved deconvolution of primary source contributions to air pollution
Information content and aerosol property retrieval potential for different types of in situ polar nephelometer data
Rolling vs. seasonal PMF: real-world multi-site and synthetic dataset comparison
Comprehensive detection of analytes in large chromatographic datasets by coupling factor analysis with a decision tree
Combined organic and inorganic source apportionment on yearlong ToF-ACSM dataset at a suburban station in Athens
Retrieval of the sea spray aerosol mode from submicron particle size distributions and supermicron scattering during LASIC
Automated identification of local contamination in remote atmospheric composition time series
Ch3MS-RF: a random forest model for chemical characterization and improved quantification of unidentified atmospheric organics detected by chromatography–mass spectrometry techniques
Regularized inversion of aerosol hygroscopic growth factor probability density function: application to humidity-controlled fast integrated mobility spectrometer measurements
A systematic re-evaluation of methods for quantification of bulk particle-phase organic nitrates using real-time aerosol mass spectrometry
Revisiting matrix-based inversion of scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) and humidified tandem differential mobility analyzer (HTDMA) data
Data imputation in in situ-measured particle size distributions by means of neural networks
Analysis of mobile monitoring data from the microAeth® MA200 for measuring changes in black carbon on the roadside in Augsburg
New correction method for the scattering coefficient measurements of a three-wavelength nephelometer
Estimating mean molecular weight, carbon number, and OM∕OC with mid-infrared spectroscopy in organic particulate matter samples from a monitoring network
Modeled source apportionment of black carbon particles coated with a light-scattering shell
Estimation of particulate organic nitrates from thermodenuder–aerosol mass spectrometer measurements in the North China Plain
Aerosol pH indicator and organosulfate detectability from aerosol mass spectrometry measurements
Determination of equivalent black carbon mass concentration from aerosol light absorption using variable mass absorption cross section
Effects of multi-charge on aerosol hygroscopicity measurement by a HTDMA
A new method for long-term source apportionment with time-dependent factor profiles and uncertainty assessment using SoFi Pro: application to 1 year of organic aerosol data
Estimation of pollen counts from light scattering intensity when sampling multiple pollen taxa – establishment of an automated multi-taxa pollen counting estimation system (AME system)
A novel lidar gradient cluster analysis method of nocturnal boundary layer detection during air pollution episodes
Assessment of particle size magnifier inversion methods to obtain the particle size distribution from atmospheric measurements
A global analysis of climate-relevant aerosol properties retrieved from the network of Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) near-surface observatories
Development of an automatic linear calibration method for high-resolution single-particle mass spectrometry: improved chemical species identification for atmospheric aerosols
A hybrid method for reconstructing the historical evolution of aerosol optical depth from sunshine duration measurements
The influence of the baseline drift on the resulting extinction values of a cavity attenuated phase shift-based extinction monitor (CAPS PMex)
Evaluation of equivalent black carbon source apportionment using observations from Switzerland between 2008 and 2018
Analysis of functional groups in atmospheric aerosols by infrared spectroscopy: method development for probabilistic modeling of organic carbon and organic matter concentrations
Filling the gaps of in situ hourly PM2.5 concentration data with the aid of empirical orthogonal function analysis constrained by diurnal cycles
Gaussian process regression model for dynamically calibrating and surveilling a wireless low-cost particulate matter sensor network in Delhi
Rósín Byrne, John C. Wenger, and Stig Hellebust
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5129–5146, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5129-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5129-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents the concentration similarity index (CSI) for a quantitative and robust comparison of PM2.5 measurements within air quality sensor networks. Developed and tested on two Irish sensor networks, the CSI revealed real spatial variations in PM2.5 and enables assessment of the representativeness of regulatory monitoring locations. It underscores the impact of solid fuel combustion on PM2.5 and highlights the importance of wintertime data for accurate exposure assessments.
Anton Rusanen, Anton Björklund, Manousos I. Manousakas, Jianhui Jiang, Markku T. Kulmala, Kai Puolamäki, and Kaspar R. Daellenbach
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1251–1277, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1251-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1251-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present a Bayesian non-negative matrix factorization model that performs better on our test datasets than currently widely used models. Its advantages are better use of time information and providing a direct error estimation. We believe this could lead to better estimates of emission sources from measurements.
Xinlei Ge, Yele Sun, Justin Trousdell, Mindong Chen, and Qi Zhang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 423–439, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-423-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-423-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study aims to enhance the application of the Aerodyne high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-AMS) in characterizing organic nitrogen (ON) species within aerosol particles and droplets. A thorough analysis was conducted on 75 ON standards that represent a diverse spectrum of ambient ON types. The results underscore the capacity of the HR-AMS in examining the concentration and chemistry of atmospheric ON compounds, thereby offering insights into their sources and environmental impacts.
Guanzhong Wang, Heinrich Ruser, Julian Schade, Johannes Passig, Thomas Adam, Günther Dollinger, and Ralf Zimmermann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 299–313, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-299-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-299-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This research aims to develop a novel warning system for the real-time monitoring of pollutants in the atmosphere. The system is capable of sampling and investigating airborne aerosol particles on-site, utilizing artificial intelligence to learn their chemical signatures and to classify them in real time. We applied single-particle mass spectrometry for analyzing the chemical composition of aerosol particles and suggest several supervised algorithms for highly reliable automatic classification.
Sohyeon Jeon, Michael J. Walker, Donna T. Sueper, Douglas A. Day, Anne V. Handschy, Jose L. Jimenez, and Brent J. Williams
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 6075–6095, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-6075-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-6075-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
A searchable database tool for the Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) and Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) mass spectral datasets was built to improve the efficiency of data analysis using Igor Pro. The tool incorporates the published mass spectra (MS) and sample information uploaded on the website. The tool allows users to compare their own mass spectrum with the reference MS in the database.
Jia Liu, Guangya Wang, Cancan Zhu, Donghui Zhou, and Lin Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4961–4974, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4961-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4961-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Single-particle soot photometer (SP2) employs the core-shell model to represent coated BC particles, which introduces retrieval errors in the mixing state (Dp/Dc) of BC. We construct fractal models to represent thinly and thickly coated BC particles, and the retrieval errors of the mixing state are investigated from the numerical aspect. We find that errors in Dp/Dc are noteworthy, and the errors in Dp/Dc can further affect the evaluation accuracy of the radiative forcing of BC.
Lena Francesca Weissert, Geoff Steven Henshaw, David Edward Williams, Brandon Feenstra, Randy Lam, Ashley Collier-Oxandale, Vasileios Papapostolou, and Andrea Polidori
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4709–4722, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4709-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4709-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We apply a previously developed remote calibration framework to a network of particulate matter (PM) sensors deployed in Southern California. Our results show that a remote calibration can improve the accuracy of PM data, which was particularly visible for PM10. We highlight that sensor drift was mostly due to differences in particle composition than monitor operational factors. Thus, PM sensors may require frequent calibration if PM sources vary with different wind conditions or seasons.
Weixing Hao, Fan Mei, Susanne Hering, Steven Spielman, Beat Schmid, Jason Tomlinson, and Yang Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3973–3986, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3973-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3973-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Airborne aerosol instrumentation plays a crucial role in understanding the spatial distribution of ambient aerosol particles. This study investigates a versatile water-based condensation particle counter through simulations and experiments. It provides valuable insights to improve versatile water-based condensation particle counter (vWCPC) aerosol measurement and operation for the community.
Christina N. Vasilakopoulou, Kalliopi Florou, Christos Kaltsonoudis, Iasonas Stavroulas, Nikolaos Mihalopoulos, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2837–2850, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2837-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2837-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The offline aerosol mass spectrometry technique is a useful tool for the source apportionment of organic aerosol in areas and periods during which an aerosol mass spectrometer is not available. In this work, an improved offline technique was developed and evaluated in an effort to capture most of the partially soluble and insoluble organic aerosol material, reducing the uncertainty of the corresponding source apportionment significantly.
Anton Rusanen, Kristo Hõrrak, Lauri R. Ahonen, Tuomo Nieminen, Pasi P. Aalto, Pasi Kolari, Markku Kulmala, Tuukka Petäjä, and Heikki Junninen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2781–2793, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2781-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2781-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We present a framework for setting up SMEAR (Station for Measuring Ecosystem–Atmosphere Relations) type measurement station data flows. This framework, called SMEARcore, consists of modular open-source software components that can be chosen to suit various station configurations. The benefits of using this framework are automation of routine operations and real-time monitoring of measurement results.
Najin Kim, Hang Su, Nan Ma, Ulrich Pöschl, and Yafang Cheng
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2771–2780, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2771-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2771-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We propose a multiple-charging correction algorithm for a broad-supersaturation scanning cloud condensation nuclei (BS2-CCN) system which can obtain high time-resolution aerosol hygroscopicity and CCN activity. The correction algorithm aims at deriving the activation fraction's true value for each particle size. The meaningful differences between corrected and original κ values (single hygroscopicity parameter) emphasize the correction algorithm's importance for ambient aerosol measurement.
Daniel A. Jaffe, Colleen Miller, Katie Thompson, Brandon Finley, Manna Nelson, James Ouimette, and Elisabeth Andrews
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1311–1322, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1311-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1311-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
PurpleAir sensors (PASs) are low-cost tools to measure fine particulate matter (PM) concentrations. However, the raw PAS data have significant biases, so the sensors must be corrected. We analyzed data from numerous sites and found that the standard correction to the PAS Purple Air data is accurate in urban pollution events and smoke events but leads to a 6-fold underestimate in the PM2.5 concentrations in dust events. We propose a new correction algorithm to address this problem.
Yilin Chen, Yuanjian Yang, and Meng Gao
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1279–1294, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1279-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1279-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area suffers from summertime air pollution events related to typhoons. The present study leverages machine learning to predict typhoon-associated air quality over the area. The model evaluation shows that the model performs excellently. Moreover, the change in meteorological drivers of air quality on typhoon days and non-typhoon days suggests that air pollution control strategies should have different focuses on typhoon days and non-typhoon days.
Yandong Tong, Lu Qi, Giulia Stefenelli, Dongyu Simon Wang, Francesco Canonaco, Urs Baltensperger, André Stephan Henry Prévôt, and Jay Gates Slowik
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 7265–7291, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7265-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7265-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We present a method for positive matrix factorisation (PMF) analysis on a single dataset that includes measurements from both EESI-TOF and AMS in Zurich, Switzerland. For the first time, we resolved and quantified secondary organic aerosol (SOA) sources. Meanwhile, we also determined the retrieved EESI-TOF factor-dependent sensitivities. This method provides a framework for exploiting semi-quantitative, high-resolution instrumentation for quantitative source apportionment.
Zefeng Zhang, Hengnan Guo, Hanqing Kang, Jing Wang, Junlin An, Xingna Yu, Jingjing Lv, and Bin Zhu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 7259–7264, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7259-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7259-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we first analyze the relationship between the visibility, the extinction coefficient, and atmospheric compositions. Then we propose to use the harmonic average of visibility data as the average visibility, which can better reflect changes in atmospheric extinction coefficients and aerosol concentrations. It is recommended to use the harmonic average visibility in the studies of climate change, atmospheric radiation, air pollution, environmental health, etc.
Hyungwon John Park, Jeffrey S. Reid, Livia S. Freire, Christopher Jackson, and David H. Richter
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 7171–7194, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7171-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7171-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We use numerical models to study field measurements of sea spray aerosol particles and conclude that both the atmospheric state and the methods of instrument sampling are causes for the variation in the production rate of aerosol particles: a critical metric to learn the aerosol's effect on processes like cloud physics and radiation. This work helps field observers improve their experimental design and interpretation of measurements because of turbulence in the atmosphere.
Christina Vasilakopoulou, Iasonas Stavroulas, Nikolaos Mihalopoulos, and Spyros N. Pandis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6419–6431, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6419-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6419-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Offline aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) measurements can provide valuable information about ambient organic aerosols when online AMS measurements are not available. In this study, we examine whether and how the low time resolution (usually 24 h) of the offline technique affects source apportionment results. We concluded that use of the daily averages resulted in estimated average contributions that were within 8 % of the total OA compared with the high-resolution analysis.
Priyanka deSouza, Ralph Kahn, Tehya Stockman, William Obermann, Ben Crawford, An Wang, James Crooks, Jing Li, and Patrick Kinney
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6309–6328, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6309-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6309-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
How sensitive are the spatial and temporal trends of PM2.5 derived from a network of low-cost sensors to the calibration adjustment used? How transferable are calibration equations developed at a few co-location sites to an entire network of low-cost sensors? This paper attempts to answer this question and offers a series of suggestions on how to develop the most robust calibration function for different end uses. It uses measurements from the Love My Air network in Denver as a test case.
Sahil Bhandari, Zainab Arub, Gazala Habib, Joshua S. Apte, and Lea Hildebrandt Ruiz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6051–6074, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6051-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6051-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We present a new method to conduct source apportionment resolved by time of day using the underlying approach of positive matrix factorization. We report results for four example time periods in two seasons (winter and monsoon 2017) in Delhi, India. Compared to the traditional approach, we extract a larger number of factors that represent the expected sources of primary organic aerosol. This method can capture diurnal time series patterns of sources at low computational cost.
Alireza Moallemi, Rob L. Modini, Tatyana Lapyonok, Anton Lopatin, David Fuertes, Oleg Dubovik, Philippe Giaccari, and Martin Gysel-Beer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5619–5642, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5619-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5619-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosol properties (size distributions, refractive indices) can be retrieved from in situ, angularly resolved light scattering measurements performed with polar nephelometers. We apply an established framework to assess the aerosol property retrieval potential for different instrument configurations, target applications, and assumed prior knowledge. We also demonstrate how a reductive greedy algorithm can be used to determine the optimal placements of the angular sensors in a polar nephelometer.
Marta Via, Gang Chen, Francesco Canonaco, Kaspar R. Daellenbach, Benjamin Chazeau, Hasna Chebaicheb, Jianhui Jiang, Hannes Keernik, Chunshui Lin, Nicolas Marchand, Cristina Marin, Colin O'Dowd, Jurgita Ovadnevaite, Jean-Eudes Petit, Michael Pikridas, Véronique Riffault, Jean Sciare, Jay G. Slowik, Leïla Simon, Jeni Vasilescu, Yunjiang Zhang, Olivier Favez, André S. H. Prévôt, Andrés Alastuey, and María Cruz Minguillón
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5479–5495, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5479-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5479-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This work presents the differences resulting from two techniques (rolling and seasonal) of the positive matrix factorisation model that can be run for organic aerosol source apportionment. The current state of the art suggests that the rolling technique is more accurate, but no proof of its effectiveness has been provided yet. This paper tackles this issue in the context of a synthetic dataset and a multi-site real-world comparison.
Sungwoo Kim, Brian M. Lerner, Donna T. Sueper, and Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5061–5075, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5061-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5061-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric samples can be complex, and current analysis methods often require substantial human interaction and discard potentially important information. To improve analysis accuracy and computational cost of these large datasets, we developed an automated analysis algorithm that utilizes a factor analysis approach coupled with a decision tree. We demonstrate that this algorithm cataloged approximately 10 times more analytes compared to a manual analysis and in a quarter of the analysis time.
Olga Zografou, Maria Gini, Manousos I. Manousakas, Gang Chen, Athina C. Kalogridis, Evangelia Diapouli, Athina Pappa, and Konstantinos Eleftheriadis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4675–4692, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4675-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4675-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
A yearlong ToF-ACSM dataset was used to characterize ambient aerosols over a suburban Athenian site, and innovative software for source apportionment was implemented in order to distinguish the sources of the total non-refractory species of PM1. A comparison between the methodology of combined organic and inorganic PMF analysis and the conventional organic PMF took place.
Jeramy L. Dedrick, Georges Saliba, Abigail S. Williams, Lynn M. Russell, and Dan Lubin
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4171–4194, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4171-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4171-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
A new method is presented to retrieve the sea spray aerosol size distribution by combining submicron size and nephelometer scattering based on Mie theory. Using available sea spray tracers, we find that this approach serves as a comparable substitute to supermicron size distribution measurements, which are limited in availability at marine sites. Application of this technique can expand sea spray observations and improve the characterization of marine aerosol impacts on clouds and climate.
Ivo Beck, Hélène Angot, Andrea Baccarini, Lubna Dada, Lauriane Quéléver, Tuija Jokinen, Tiia Laurila, Markus Lampimäki, Nicolas Bukowiecki, Matthew Boyer, Xianda Gong, Martin Gysel-Beer, Tuukka Petäjä, Jian Wang, and Julia Schmale
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4195–4224, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4195-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4195-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We present the pollution detection algorithm (PDA), a new method to identify local primary pollution in remote atmospheric aerosol and trace gas time series. The PDA identifies periods of contaminated data and relies only on the target dataset itself; i.e., it is independent of ancillary data such as meteorological variables. The parameters of all pollution identification steps are adjustable so that the PDA can be tuned to different locations and situations. It is available as open-access code.
Emily B. Franklin, Lindsay D. Yee, Bernard Aumont, Robert J. Weber, Paul Grigas, and Allen H. Goldstein
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3779–3803, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3779-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3779-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The composition of atmospheric aerosols are extremely complex, containing hundreds of thousands of estimated individual compounds. The majority of these compounds have never been catalogued in widely used databases, making them extremely difficult for atmospheric chemists to identify and analyze. In this work, we present Ch3MS-RF, a machine-learning-based model to enable characterization of complex mixtures and prediction of structure-specific properties of unidentifiable organic compounds.
Jiaoshi Zhang, Yang Wang, Steven Spielman, Susanne Hering, and Jian Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2579–2590, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2579-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2579-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
New nonparametric, regularized methods are developed to invert the growth factor probability density function (GF-PDF) from humidity-controlled fast integrated mobility spectrometer measurements. These algorithms are computationally efficient, require no prior assumptions of the GF-PDF distribution, and reduce the error in inverted GF-PDF. They can be applied to humidified tandem differential mobility analyzer data. Among all algorithms, Twomey’s method retrieves GF-PDF with the smallest error.
Douglas A. Day, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Benjamin A. Nault, Brett B. Palm, Weiwei Hu, Hongyu Guo, Paul J. Wooldridge, Ronald C. Cohen, Kenneth S. Docherty, J. Alex Huffman, Suzane S. de Sá, Scot T. Martin, and Jose L. Jimenez
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 459–483, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-459-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-459-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Particle-phase nitrates are an important component of atmospheric aerosols and chemistry. In this paper, we systematically explore the application of aerosol mass spectrometry (AMS) to quantify the organic and inorganic nitrate fractions of aerosols in the atmosphere. While AMS has been used for a decade to quantify nitrates, methods are not standardized. We make recommendations for a more universal approach based on this analysis of a large range of field and laboratory observations.
Markus D. Petters
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7909–7928, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7909-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7909-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Inverse methods infer physical properties from a measured instrument response. Measurement noise often interferes with the inversion. This work presents a general, domain-independent, accessible, and computationally efficient software implementation of a common class of statistical inversion methods. In addition, a new method to invert data from humidified tandem differential mobility analyzers is introduced. Results show that the approach is suitable for inversion of large-scale datasets.
Pak Lun Fung, Martha Arbayani Zaidan, Ola Surakhi, Sasu Tarkoma, Tuukka Petäjä, and Tareq Hussein
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5535–5554, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5535-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5535-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosol size distribution measurements rely on a variety of techniques to classify the aerosol size and measure the size distribution. However, due to the instrumental insufficiency and inversion limitations, the raw dataset contains missing gaps or negative values, which hinder further analysis. With a merged particle size distribution in Jordan, this paper suggests a neural network method to estimate number concentrations at a particular size bin by the number concentration at other size bins.
Xiansheng Liu, Hadiatullah Hadiatullah, Xun Zhang, L. Drew Hill, Andrew H. A. White, Jürgen Schnelle-Kreis, Jan Bendl, Gert Jakobi, Brigitte Schloter-Hai, and Ralf Zimmermann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5139–5151, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5139-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5139-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
A monitoring campaign was conducted in Augsburg to determine a suitable noise reduction algorithm for the MA200 Aethalometer. Results showed that centred moving average (CMA) post-processing effectively removed spurious negative concentrations without major bias and reliably highlighted effects from local sources, effectively increasing spatio-temporal resolution in mobile measurements. Evaluation of each method on peak sample reduction and background correction further supports the reliability.
Jie Qiu, Wangshu Tan, Gang Zhao, Yingli Yu, and Chunsheng Zhao
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4879–4891, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4879-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4879-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Considering nephelometers' major problems of a nonideal Lambertian light source and angle truncation, a new correction method based on a machine learning model is proposed. Our method has the advantage of obtaining data with high accuracy while achieving self-correction, which means that researchers can get more accurate scattering coefficients without the need for additional observation data. This method provides a more precise estimation of the aerosol’s direct radiative forcing.
Amir Yazdani, Ann M. Dillner, and Satoshi Takahama
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4805–4827, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4805-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4805-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We propose a spectroscopic method for estimating several mixture-averaged molecular properties (carbon number and molecular weight) in particulate matter relevant for understanding its chemical origins. This estimation is enabled by calibration models built and tested using laboratory standards containing molecules with known structure, and can be applied to filter samples of PM2.5 currently collected in existing air pollution monitoring networks and field campaigns.
Aki Virkkula
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3707–3719, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3707-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3707-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The Aethalometer model is used widely for estimating the contributions of fossil fuel emissions and biomass burning to black carbon. The calculation is based on measured absorption Ångström exponents, which is ambiguous since it not only depends on the dominant absorber but also on the size and internal structure of the particles, core size, and shell thickness. The uncertainties of the fractions of absorption by eBC from fossil fuel and biomass burning are evaluated with a core–shell Mie model.
Weiqi Xu, Masayuki Takeuchi, Chun Chen, Yanmei Qiu, Conghui Xie, Wanyun Xu, Nan Ma, Douglas R. Worsnop, Nga Lee Ng, and Yele Sun
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3693–3705, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3693-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3693-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Here we developed a method for estimation of particulate organic nitrates (pON) from the measurements of a high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometer coupled with a thermodenuder based on the volatility differences between inorganic nitrate and pON. The results generally had improvements in reducing negative values due to the influences of a high concentration of inorganic nitrate and a constant ratio of NO+ to NO2+ of organic nitrates (RON).
Melinda K. Schueneman, Benjamin A. Nault, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Duseong S. Jo, Douglas A. Day, Jason C. Schroder, Brett B. Palm, Alma Hodzic, Jack E. Dibb, and Jose L. Jimenez
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2237–2260, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2237-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2237-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This work focuses on two important properties of the aerosol, acidity, and sulfate composition, which is important for our understanding of aerosol health and environmental impacts. We explore different methods to understand the composition of the aerosol with measurements from a specific instrument and apply those methods to a large dataset. These measurements are confounded by other factors, making it challenging to predict aerosol sulfate composition; pH estimations, however, show promise.
Weilun Zhao, Wangshu Tan, Gang Zhao, Chuanyang Shen, Yingli Yu, and Chunsheng Zhao
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1319–1331, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1319-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1319-2021, 2021
Chuanyang Shen, Gang Zhao, and Chunsheng Zhao
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1293–1301, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1293-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1293-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosol hygroscopicity measured by the humidified tandem differential mobility analyzer (HTDMA) is affected by multiply charged particles from two aspects: (1) number contribution and (2) the weakening effect. An algorithm is proposed to do the multi-charge correction and applied to a field measurement. Results show that the difference between corrected and measured size-resolved κ can reach 0.05, highlighting that special attention needs to be paid to the multi-charge effect when using HTDMA.
Francesco Canonaco, Anna Tobler, Gang Chen, Yulia Sosedova, Jay Gates Slowik, Carlo Bozzetti, Kaspar Rudolf Daellenbach, Imad El Haddad, Monica Crippa, Ru-Jin Huang, Markus Furger, Urs Baltensperger, and André Stephan Henry Prévôt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 923–943, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-923-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-923-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Long-term ambient aerosol mass spectrometric data were analyzed with a statistical model (PMF) to obtain source contributions and fingerprints. The new aspects of this paper involve time-dependent source fingerprints by a rolling technique and the replacement of the full visual inspection of each run by a user-defined set of criteria to monitor the quality of each of these runs more efficiently. More reliable sources will finally provide better instruments for political mitigation strategies.
Kenji Miki and Shigeto Kawashima
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 685–693, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-685-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-685-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Laser optics have long been used in pollen counting systems. To clarify the limitations and potential new applications of laser optics for automatic pollen counting and discrimination, we determined the light scattering patterns of various pollen types, tracked temporal changes in these distributions, and introduced a new theory for automatic pollen discrimination.
Yinchao Zhang, Su Chen, Siying Chen, He Chen, and Pan Guo
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6675–6689, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6675-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6675-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Air pollution has an important impact on human health, climatic patterns, and the ecological environment. The complexity of the nocturnal boundary layer (NBL), combined with its strong physio-chemical effect, induces worse polluted episodes. Therefore, we present a new approach named cluster analysis of gradient method (CA-GM) to overcome the multilayer structure and remove the fluctuation of NBL height using raw data resolution.
Tommy Chan, Runlong Cai, Lauri R. Ahonen, Yiliang Liu, Ying Zhou, Joonas Vanhanen, Lubna Dada, Yan Chao, Yongchun Liu, Lin Wang, Markku Kulmala, and Juha Kangasluoma
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4885–4898, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4885-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4885-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Using a particle size magnifier (PSM; Airmodus, Finland), we determined the particle size distribution using four inversion methods and compared each method to the others to establish their strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, we provided a step-by-step procedure on how to invert measured data using the PSM. Finally, we provided recommendations, code and data related to the data inversion. This is an important paper, as no operating procedure exists regarding how to process measured PSM data.
Paolo Laj, Alessandro Bigi, Clémence Rose, Elisabeth Andrews, Cathrine Lund Myhre, Martine Collaud Coen, Yong Lin, Alfred Wiedensohler, Michael Schulz, John A. Ogren, Markus Fiebig, Jonas Gliß, Augustin Mortier, Marco Pandolfi, Tuukka Petäja, Sang-Woo Kim, Wenche Aas, Jean-Philippe Putaud, Olga Mayol-Bracero, Melita Keywood, Lorenzo Labrador, Pasi Aalto, Erik Ahlberg, Lucas Alados Arboledas, Andrés Alastuey, Marcos Andrade, Begoña Artíñano, Stina Ausmeel, Todor Arsov, Eija Asmi, John Backman, Urs Baltensperger, Susanne Bastian, Olaf Bath, Johan Paul Beukes, Benjamin T. Brem, Nicolas Bukowiecki, Sébastien Conil, Cedric Couret, Derek Day, Wan Dayantolis, Anna Degorska, Konstantinos Eleftheriadis, Prodromos Fetfatzis, Olivier Favez, Harald Flentje, Maria I. Gini, Asta Gregorič, Martin Gysel-Beer, A. Gannet Hallar, Jenny Hand, Andras Hoffer, Christoph Hueglin, Rakesh K. Hooda, Antti Hyvärinen, Ivo Kalapov, Nikos Kalivitis, Anne Kasper-Giebl, Jeong Eun Kim, Giorgos Kouvarakis, Irena Kranjc, Radovan Krejci, Markku Kulmala, Casper Labuschagne, Hae-Jung Lee, Heikki Lihavainen, Neng-Huei Lin, Gunter Löschau, Krista Luoma, Angela Marinoni, Sebastiao Martins Dos Santos, Frank Meinhardt, Maik Merkel, Jean-Marc Metzger, Nikolaos Mihalopoulos, Nhat Anh Nguyen, Jakub Ondracek, Noemi Pérez, Maria Rita Perrone, Jean-Eudes Petit, David Picard, Jean-Marc Pichon, Veronique Pont, Natalia Prats, Anthony Prenni, Fabienne Reisen, Salvatore Romano, Karine Sellegri, Sangeeta Sharma, Gerhard Schauer, Patrick Sheridan, James Patrick Sherman, Maik Schütze, Andreas Schwerin, Ralf Sohmer, Mar Sorribas, Martin Steinbacher, Junying Sun, Gloria Titos, Barbara Toczko, Thomas Tuch, Pierre Tulet, Peter Tunved, Ville Vakkari, Fernando Velarde, Patricio Velasquez, Paolo Villani, Sterios Vratolis, Sheng-Hsiang Wang, Kay Weinhold, Rolf Weller, Margarita Yela, Jesus Yus-Diez, Vladimir Zdimal, Paul Zieger, and Nadezda Zikova
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4353–4392, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4353-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4353-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The paper establishes the fiducial reference of the GAW aerosol network providing the fully characterized value chain to the provision of four climate-relevant aerosol properties from ground-based sites. Data from almost 90 stations worldwide are reported for a reference year, 2017, providing a unique and very robust view of the variability of these variables worldwide. Current gaps in the GAW network are analysed and requirements for the Global Climate Monitoring System are proposed.
Shengqiang Zhu, Lei Li, Shurong Wang, Mei Li, Yaxi Liu, Xiaohui Lu, Hong Chen, Lin Wang, Jianmin Chen, Zhen Zhou, Xin Yang, and Xiaofei Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4111–4121, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4111-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4111-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Single-particle aerosol mass spectrometry (SPAMS) is widely used to detect chemical compositions and sizes of individual aerosol particles. However, it has a major issue: the mass accuracy of high-resolution SPAMS is relatively low. Here we developed an automatic linear calibration method to greatly improve the mass accuracy of SPAMS spectra so that the elemental compositions of organic peaks, such as Cx, CxHy, CxHyOz and CxHyNO peaks, can be directly identified just based on their m / z values.
William Wandji Nyamsi, Antti Lipponen, Arturo Sanchez-Lorenzo, Martin Wild, and Antti Arola
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 3061–3079, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3061-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3061-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This paper proposes a novel and accurate method for estimating and reconstructing aerosol optical depth from sunshine duration measurements under cloud-free conditions at any place and time since the late 19th century. The method performs very well when compared to AErosol RObotic NETwork measurements and operates an efficient detection of signals from massive volcanic eruptions. Reconstructed long-term aerosol optical depths are in agreement with the dimming/brightening phenomenon.
Sascha Pfeifer, Thomas Müller, Andrew Freedman, and Alfred Wiedensohler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2161–2167, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2161-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2161-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The effect of the baseline drift on the resulting extinction values of three CAPS PMex monitors with different wavelengths was analysed for an urban background station. A significant baseline drift was observed, which leads to characteristic measurement artefacts for particle extinction. Two alternative methods for recalculating the baseline are shown. With these methods the extinction artefacts are diminished and the effective scattering of the resulting extinction values is reduced.
Stuart K. Grange, Hanspeter Lötscher, Andrea Fischer, Lukas Emmenegger, and Christoph Hueglin
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1867–1885, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1867-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1867-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Black carbon (BC) is an important atmospheric pollutant and can be monitored by instruments called aethalometers. A pragmatic data processing technique called the
aethalometer modelcan be used to apportion aethalometer observations into traffic and woodburning components. We present an exploratory data analysis evaluating the aethalometer model and use the outputs for BC trend analysis across Switzerland. The aethalometer model's robustness and utility for such analyses is discussed.
Charlotte Bürki, Matteo Reggente, Ann M. Dillner, Jenny L. Hand, Stephanie L. Shaw, and Satoshi Takahama
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1517–1538, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1517-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1517-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Infrared spectroscopy is a chemically informative method for particulate matter characterization. However, recent work has demonstrated that predictions depend heavily on the choice of calibration model parameters. We propose a means for managing parameter uncertainties by combining available data from laboratory standards, molecular databases, and collocated ambient measurements to provide useful characterization of atmospheric organic matter on a large scale.
Kaixu Bai, Ke Li, Jianping Guo, Yuanjian Yang, and Ni-Bin Chang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1213–1226, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1213-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1213-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
A novel gap-filling method called the diurnal-cycle-constrained empirical orthogonal function (DCCEOF) is proposed. Cross validation indicates that this method gives high accuracy in predicting missing values in daily PM2.5 time series by accounting for the local diurnal phases, especially by reconstructing daily extrema that cannot be accurately restored by other approaches. The DCCEOF method can be easily applied to other data sets because of its self-consistent capability.
Tongshu Zheng, Michael H. Bergin, Ronak Sutaria, Sachchida N. Tripathi, Robert Caldow, and David E. Carlson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5161–5181, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5161-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5161-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Here we present a simultaneous Gaussian process regression (GPR) and linear regression pipeline to calibrate and monitor dense wireless low-cost particulate matter sensor networks (WLPMSNs) on the fly by using all available reference monitors across an area. Our approach can achieve an overall 30 % prediction error at a 24 h scale, can differentiate malfunctioning nodes, and track drift. Our solution can substantially reduce manual labor for managing WLPMSNs and prolong their lifetimes.
Cited articles
Adafruit Industries: Adafruit BME280 Humidity + Barometric Pressure + Temperature Sensor Breakout, 1–34, 2023.
Ambient Monitoring Technology Information Center: List of Designated Reference and Equivalent Methods, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, https://www.epa.gov/amtic/air-monitoring-methods-criteria-pollutants (last access: 20 July 2023), 2022.
Di Antonio, A., Popoola, O. A. M., Ouyang, B., Saffell, J., and Jones, R. L.: Developing a relative humidity correction for low-cost sensors measuring ambient particulate matter, Sensors, 18, 2790, https://doi.org/10.3390/s18092790, 2018.
Barkjohn, K. K., Gantt, B., and Clements, A. L.: Development and application of a United States-wide correction for PM2.5 data collected with the PurpleAir sensor, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4617–4637, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4617-2021, 2021.
Cerully, K. M., Bougiatioti, A., Hite Jr., J. R., Guo, H., Xu, L., Ng, N. L., Weber, R., and Nenes, A.: On the link between hygroscopicity, volatility, and oxidation state of ambient and water-soluble aerosols in the southeastern United States, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 8679–8694, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-8679-2015, 2015.
Chen, Y., Wang, Y., Nenes, A., Wild, O., Song, S., Hu, D., Liu, D., He, J., Hildebrandt Ruiz, L., Apte, J. S., Gunthe, S. S., and Liu, P.: Ammonium Chloride Associated Aerosol Liquid Water Enhances Haze in Delhi, India, Environ. Sci. Technol., 56, 7163–7173, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c00650, 2022.
Cohen, A. J., Brauer, M., Burnett, R., Anderson, H. R., Frostad, J., Estep, K., Balakrishnan, K., Brunekreef, B., Dandona, L., Dandona, R., Feigin, V., Freedman, G., Hubbell, B., Jobling, A., Kan, H., Knibbs, L., Liu, Y., Martin, R., Morawska, L., Pope, C. A., Shin, H., Straif, K., Shaddick, G., Thomas, M., van Dingenen, R., van Donkelaar, A., Vos, T., Murray, C. J. L., and Forouzanfar, M. H.: Estimates and 25-year trends of the global burden of disease attributable to ambient air pollution: an analysis of data from the Global Burden of Diseases Study 2015, Lancet, 389, 1907–1918, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30505-6, 2017.
Cohen Research: Berkeley Environmental Air-quality & CO2 Network (BEACO2N), University of California Berkeley, [data set], available at: http://beacon.berkeley.edu (last access: 1 October 2023), 2023.
Crilley, L. R., Shaw, M., Pound, R., Kramer, L. J., Price, R., Young, S., Lewis, A. C., and Pope, F. D.: Evaluation of a low-cost optical particle counter (Alphasense OPC-N2) for ambient air monitoring, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 709–720, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-709-2018, 2018.
deSouza, P., Barkjohn, K., Clements, A., Lee, J., Kahn, R., Crawford, B., and Kinney, P.: An analysis of degradation in low-cost particulate matter sensors, Environ. Sci. Atmos., 3, 521–536, https://doi.org/10.1039/d2ea00142j, 2023.
Fitzmaurice, H. L. and Cohen, R. C.: A method for using stationary networks to observe long-term trends of on-road emission factors of primary aerosol from heavy-duty vehicles, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 15403–15411, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15403-2022, 2022.
Giordano, M. R., Malings, C., Pandis, S. N., Presto, A. A., McNeill, V. F., Westervelt, D. M., Beekmann, M., and Subramanian, R.: From low-cost sensors to high-quality data: A summary of challenges and best practices for effectively calibrating low-cost particulate matter mass sensors, J. Aerosol Sci., 158, 105833, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaerosci.2021.105833, 2021.
Hagan, D. H. and Kroll, J. H.: Assessing the accuracy of low-cost optical particle sensors using a physics-based approach, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6343–6355, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6343-2020, 2020.
Han, J., Liu, X., Chen, D., and Jiang, M.: Influence of relative humidity on real-time measurements of particulate matter concentration via light scattering, J. Aerosol Sci., 139, 105462, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaerosci.2019.105462, 2020.
Hänel, G.: The real part of the mean complex refractive index and the mean density of samples of atmospheric aerosol particles, Tellus A, 20, 371–379, https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v20i3.10016, 1968.
Holder, A. L., Mebust, A. K., Maghran, L. A., McGown, M. R., Stewart, K. E., Vallano, D. M., Elleman, R. A., and Baker, K. R.: Field evaluation of low-cost particulate matter sensors for measuring wildfire smoke, Sensors, 20, 4796, https://doi.org/10.3390/s20174796, 2020.
Kaur, K. and Kelly, K. E.: Performance evaluation of the Alphasense OPC-N3 and Plantower PMS5003 sensor in measuring dust events in the Salt Lake Valley, Utah, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2455–2470, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2455-2023, 2023.
Kim, K. H., Kabir, E., and Kabir, S.: A review on the human health impact of airborne particulate matter, Environ. Int., 74, 136–143, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2014.10.005, 2015.
Kumar, V. and Sahu, M.: Evaluation of nine machine learning regression algorithms for calibration of low-cost PM2.5 sensor, J. Aerosol Sci., 157, 105809, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaerosci.2021.105809, 2021.
Kuula, J., Mäkelä, T., Aurela, M., Teinilä, K., Varjonen, S., González, Ó., and Timonen, H.: Laboratory evaluation of particle-size selectivity of optical low-cost particulate matter sensors, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2413–2423, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2413-2020, 2020.
Mackey, K. R. M., Stragier, S., Robledo, L., Cat, L. A., Xu, X., Capps, S., Treseder, K. K., Czimczik, C. I., and Faiola, C.: Seasonal variation of aerosol composition in Orange County, Southern California, Atmos. Environ., 244, 117795, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2020.117795, 2021.
Malings, C., Tanzer, R., Hauryliuk, A., Saha, P. K., Robinson, A. L., Presto, A. A., and Subramanian, R.: Fine particle mass monitoring with low-cost sensors: Corrections and long-term performance evaluation, Aerosol Sci. Technol., 54, 160–174, https://doi.org/10.1080/02786826.2019.1623863, 2020.
Molina Rueda, E., Carter, E., L'Orange, C., Quinn, C., and Volckens, J.: Size-Resolved Field Performance of Low-Cost Sensors for Particulate Matter Air Pollution, Environ. Sci. Tech. Lett., 10, 247–253, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.3c00030, 2023.
Nilson, B., Jackson, P. L., Schiller, C. L., and Parsons, M. T.: Development and evaluation of correction models for a low-cost fine particulate matter monitor, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3315–3328, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3315-2022, 2022.
Ouimette, J. R., Malm, W. C., Schichtel, B. A., Sheridan, P. J., Andrews, E., Ogren, J. A., and Arnott, W. P.: Evaluating the PurpleAir monitor as an aerosol light scattering instrument, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 655–676, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-655-2022, 2022.
Petters, M. D. and Kreidenweis, S. M.: A single parameter representation of hygroscopic growth and cloud condensation nucleus activity – Part 3: Including surfactant partitioning, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 1081–1091, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-1081-2013, 2013.
Sayahi, T., Butterfield, A., and Kelly, K. E.: Long-term field evaluation of the Plantower PMS low-cost particulate matter sensors, Environ. Pollut., 245, 932–940, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.11.065, 2019.
Shusterman, A. A., Teige, V. E., Turner, A. J., Newman, C., Kim, J., and Cohen, R. C.: The BErkeley Atmospheric CO2 Observation Network: initial evaluation, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 13449–13463, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13449-2016, 2016.
Stavroulas, I., Grivas, G., Michalopoulos, P., Liakakou, E., Bougiatioti, A., Kalkavouras, P., Fameli, K. M., Hatzianastassiou, N., Mihalopoulos, N., and Gerasopoulos, E.: Field evaluation of low-cost PM sensors (Purple Air PA-II) Under variable urban air quality conditions, in Greece, Atmosphere, 11, 926, https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11090926, 2020.
US EPA: Air Quality System, [data set], available at: https://www.epa.gpv/aqs (last access: 1 October 2023), 2023.
Wu, Z. J., Zheng, J., Shang, D. J., Du, Z. F., Wu, Y. S., Zeng, L. M., Wiedensohler, A., and Hu, M.: Particle hygroscopicity and its link to chemical composition in the urban atmosphere of Beijing, China, during summertime, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 1123–1138, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-1123-2016, 2016.
Yong, Z. and Haoxin, Z.: Plantower: Plantower PMS5003 Data Manual, https://www.aqmd.gov/docs/default-source/aq-spec/resourcespage/plantower-pms5003-manual_v2-3.pdf/ (last access: 20 July 2023), 2016.
Short summary
Low-cost particulate matter (PM) sensors are becoming increasingly common in community monitoring and atmospheric research, but these sensors require proper calibration to provide accurate reporting. Here, we propose a hygroscopic growth calibration scheme that evolves in time to account for seasonal changes in hygroscopic growth. In San Francisco and Los Angeles, CA, applying a seasonal hygroscopic growth calibration can account for sensor biases driven by the seasonal cycles in PM composition.
Low-cost particulate matter (PM) sensors are becoming increasingly common in community...
