Articles | Volume 17, issue 13
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3897-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3897-2024
Research article
 | 
03 Jul 2024
Research article |  | 03 Jul 2024

A 2-year intercomparison of three methods for measuring black carbon concentration at a high-altitude research station in Europe

Sarah Tinorua, Cyrielle Denjean, Pierre Nabat, Véronique Pont, Mathilde Arnaud, Thierry Bourrianne, Maria Dias Alves, and Eric Gardrat

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Higher absorption enhancement of black carbon in summer shown by 2-year measurements at the high-altitude mountain site of Pic du Midi Observatory in the French Pyrenees
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Subject: Aerosols | Technique: In Situ Measurement | Topic: Validation and Intercomparisons
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Cited articles

Ammerlaan, B. A. J., Jedynska, A. D., Henzing, J. S., and Holzinger, R.: On a possible bias in elemental carbon measurements with the Sunset thermal/optical carbon analyser caused by unstable laser signal, Atmos. Environ., 122, 571–576, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2015.09.076, 2015. a
Arnott, W. P., Hamasha, K., Moosmüller, H., Sheridan, P. J., and Ogren, J. A.: Towards Aerosol Light-Absorption Measurements with a 7-Wavelength Aethalometer: Evaluation with a Photoacoustic Instrument and 3-Wavelength Nephelometer, Aerosol Sci. Tech., 39, 17–29, https://doi.org/10.1080/027868290901972, 2005. a
Arnott, W. P., Walker, J. W., Moosmüller, H., Elleman, R. A., Jonsson, H. H., Buzorius, G., Conant, W. C., Flagan, R. C., and Seinfeld, J. H.: Photoacoustic insight for aerosol light absorption aloft from meteorological aircraft and comparison with particle soot absorption photometer measurements: DOE Southern Great Plains climate research facility and the coastal stratocumulus imposed perturbation experiments, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 111, D05S02, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JD005964, 2006. a
Bauer, J. J., Yu, X.-Y., Cary, R., Laulainen, N., and Berkowitz, C.: Characterization of the Sunset Semi-Continuous Carbon Aerosol Analyzer, J. Air Waste Manage., 59, 826–833, https://doi.org/10.3155/1047-3289.59.7.826, 2009. a, b, c
Baumgardner, D., Raga, G., Peralta, O., Rosas, I., Castro, T., Kuhlbusch, T., John, A., and Petzold, A.: Diagnosing black carbon trends in large urban areas using carbon monoxide measurements, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 107, ICC 4-1–ICC 4-9, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JD000626, 2002. a
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Short summary
The three most widely used techniques for measuring black carbon (BC) have been deployed continuously for 2 years at a French high-altitude research station. Despite a similar temporal variation in the BC load, we found significant biases by up to a factor of 8 between the three instruments. This study raises questions about the relevance of using these instruments for specific background sites, as well as the processing of their data, which can vary according to the atmospheric conditions.
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