Optical and thermal measurements of black carbon aerosol content in different environments: Variation of the specific attenuation cross-section, sigma (σ)

Liousse, Catherine; Cachier, H.; Jennings, S. G.

doi:10.1016/0960-1686(93)90246-u

Cited by 399 publications

(331 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

307

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In practice, a value of about 10 m 2 g −1 is typically used to derive BC e from absorption measurements. However, the range of values for α ATN reported in the literature is between about 1 to 30 m 2 g −1 (Liousse et al, 1993;Chylek et al, 1995;Liousse et al, 1995;Colbeck et al, 1997;Petzold et al, 1997;Martins et al, 1998a;Moosmüller et al, 1998;Reid et al, 1998a;Fuller et al, 1999;Kopp et al, 1999;Lavanchy et al, 1999;Dillner et al, 2001;Sharma et al, 2002;Lim et al, 2003;Schnaiter et al, 2003). This range is so large because, in addition to the inherent variability of α abs , α ATN is affected by experimental bias.…”

Section: Problems Related To the Relationship Of C Soot Mass Concentrmentioning

confidence: 72%

Black carbon or brown carbon? The nature of light-absorbing carbonaceous aerosols

Andreae

Gelencsér²

2006

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

1,761

1,033

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Although the definition and measurement techniques for atmospheric "black carbon" ("BC") or "elemental carbon'' ("EC") have long been subjects of scientific controversy, the recent discovery of light-absorbing carbon that is not black ("brown carbon, Cbrown") makes it imperative to reassess and redefine the components that make up light-absorbing carbonaceous matter (LAC) in the atmosphere. Evidence for the atmospheric presence of Cbrown comes from (1) spectral aerosol light absorption measurements near specific combustion sources, (2) observations of spectral properties of water extracts of continental aerosol, (3) laboratory studies indicating the formation of light-absorbing organic matter in the atmosphere, and (4) indirectly from the chemical analogy of aerosol species to colored natural humic substances. We show that brown carbon may severely bias measurements of "BC" and "EC" over vast parts of the troposphere, especially those strongly polluted by biomass burning, where the mass concentration of Cbrown is high relative to that of soot carbon. Chemical measurements to determine "EC" are biased by the refractory nature of Cbrown as well as by complex matrix interferences. Optical measurements of "BC" suffer from a number of problems: (1) many of the presently used instruments introduce a substantial bias into the determination of aerosol light absorption, (2) there is no unique conversion factor between light absorption and "EC" or "BC" concentration in ambient aerosols, and (3) the difference in spectral properties between the different types of LAC, as well as the chemical complexity of Cbrown, lead to several conceptual as well as practical complications. We also suggest that due to the sharply increasing absorption of Cbrown towards the UV, single-wavelength light absorption measurements may not be adequate for the assessment of absorption of solar radiation in the troposphere. We discuss the possible consequences of these effects for our understanding of tropospheric processes, including their influence on UV-irradiance, atmospheric photochemistry and radiative transfer in clouds.

show abstract

Section: Problems Related To the Relationship Of C Soot Mass Concentrmentioning

confidence: 72%

Black carbon or brown carbon? The nature of light-absorbing carbonaceous aerosols

Andreae

Gelencsér²

2006

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

1,761

1,033

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Consider that the ratio of the reflectance of a loaded filter to that of a clean filter, which is quantified as the SN (Equation (5)), is proportional to the attenuation of light according to the Beer-Lambert law (Liousse et al 1993;Petzold et al 1997),…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Updated Correlation Between Aircraft Smoke Number and Black Carbon Concentration

Stettler

Swanson

Barrett

et al. 2013

Aerosol Science and Technology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Furthermore, the specific attenuation coefficients of EC in Chengdu reached 23-28 m 2 g −1 when the recommended specific attenuation coefficients of BC (16.6 m 2 g −1 ) was used. The specific attenuation coefficients of EC in Chengdu were substantially higher than those measurements in the cities of USA, Canada and Europe, but much lower than 51 m 2 g −1 detected during the haze episodes at Philadelphia in the USA (Allen et al 1999;Jeong et al 2004;Lavanchy et al 1999;Liousse et al 1993;Sharma et al 2002). It showed that the specific attenuation coefficients of EC in Chengdu were higher than those in most cities in the world and the manufacturer's recommended value (16.6 m 2 g −1 ).…”

Section: Relationship Between Bc and Ecmentioning

confidence: 68%

“…Moreover, previous studies have suggested the constant specific attenuation coefficient varied by different sites (urban, rural and remote sites) rather than a constant value (Bond and Bergstrom 2006). For example, the attenuation coefficient ranged from 5 to 20 m 2 g −1 in different cities and even reached 51 m 2 g −1 during the haze episodes (Allen et al 1999;Jeong et al 2004;Lavanchy et al 1999;Liousse et al 1993;Sharma et al 2002). Obviously, measurement uncertainty of BC concentration could be large when using the constant specific attenuation coefficient recommended by the manufacturer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics of Mass Absorption Efficiency of Elemental Carbon in Urban Chengdu, Southwest China: Implication for the Coating Effects on Aerosol Absorption

Tao

Zhang

et al. 2018

Aerosol Sci Eng

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To investigate the mass absorption efficiency (MAE) of elemental carbon (EC) at Chengdu in China's Sichuan Basin, daily PM 2.5 filter samples were collected during the typical month for each season in 2011. PM 2.5 samples were subject to chemical analysis for water-soluble inorganic ions, organic carbon and EC, as well as biomass burning organic tracer (i.e., levoglucosan). Additionally, PM 2.5 samples were further conducted for aerosol absorption coefficient (b ap ) measurement at the wavelengths of 370 and 880 nm. To evaluate the seasonal variations of MAEs of EC, linear regression analyses were applied to EC (determined by thermal method), black carbon (BC, determined by optical method) and b ap for four seasons. The average BC concentration was 10 µg m −3 when using the manufacturer's recommended value (16.6 m 2 g −1 at the wavelength of 880 nm), which was 1.4 times the mean EC concentration. The MAE of EC at 880 nm was estimated to be 6.1 m 2 g −1 in autumn, which was evidently lower than 6.7-6.9 m 2 g −1 in other seasons. The higher MAE in other seasons was likely due to more effective light absorption by internally mixed EC with both transparent coatings (e.g., sulfate and nitrate) and organic matters coatings.

show abstract

Optical and thermal measurements of black carbon aerosol content in different environments: Variation of the specific attenuation cross-section, sigma (σ)

Cited by 399 publications

References 32 publications

Black carbon or brown carbon? The nature of light-absorbing carbonaceous aerosols

Black carbon or brown carbon? The nature of light-absorbing carbonaceous aerosols

Updated Correlation Between Aircraft Smoke Number and Black Carbon Concentration

Characteristics of Mass Absorption Efficiency of Elemental Carbon in Urban Chengdu, Southwest China: Implication for the Coating Effects on Aerosol Absorption

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About