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A European aerosol phenomenology -4 : Harmonized concentrations of carbonaceous aerosol at 10 regional background sites across Europe

Cavalli, F. ; Alastuey, A. ; Areskoug, H. ; Ceburnis, D. ; Čech, J. ; Genberg, J. LU ; Harrison, R. M. ; Jaffrezo, J. L. ; Kiss, G. and Laj, P. , et al. (2016) In Atmospheric Environment 144. p.133-145
Abstract

Although particulate organic and elemental carbon (OC and EC) are important constituents of the suspended atmospheric particulate matter (PM), measurements of OC and EC are much less common and more uncertain than measurements of e.g. the ionic components of PM. In the framework of atmospheric research infrastructures supported by the European Union, actions have been undertaken to determine and mitigate sampling artefacts, and assess the comparability of OC and EC data obtained in a network of 10 atmospheric observatories across Europe. Positive sampling artefacts (from 0.4 to 2.8 μg C/m3) and analytical discrepancies (between −50% and +40% for the EC/TC ratio) have been taken into account to generate a robust data set, from... (More)

Although particulate organic and elemental carbon (OC and EC) are important constituents of the suspended atmospheric particulate matter (PM), measurements of OC and EC are much less common and more uncertain than measurements of e.g. the ionic components of PM. In the framework of atmospheric research infrastructures supported by the European Union, actions have been undertaken to determine and mitigate sampling artefacts, and assess the comparability of OC and EC data obtained in a network of 10 atmospheric observatories across Europe. Positive sampling artefacts (from 0.4 to 2.8 μg C/m3) and analytical discrepancies (between −50% and +40% for the EC/TC ratio) have been taken into account to generate a robust data set, from which we established the phenomenology of carbonaceous aerosols at regional background sites in Europe. Across the network, TC and EC annual average concentrations range from 0.4 to 9 μg C/m3, and from 0.1 to 2 μg C/m3, respectively. TC/PM10 annual mean ratios range from 0.11 at a Mediterranean site to 0.34 at the most polluted continental site, and TC/PM2.5 ratios are slightly greater at all sites (0.15–0.42). EC/TC annual mean ratios range from 0.10 to 0.22, and do not depend much on PM concentration levels, especially in winter. Seasonal variations in PM and TC concentrations, and in TC/PM and EC/TC ratios, differ across the network, which can be explained by seasonal changes in PM source contributions at some sites.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Aerosol, Carbonaceous, Europe, Phenomenology, PM
in
Atmospheric Environment
volume
144
pages
13 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:84984971106
ISSN
1352-2310
DOI
10.1016/j.atmosenv.2016.07.050
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
322220f0-f7ec-4cb3-95d4-a43396bdcdca
date added to LUP
2016-10-14 09:48:04
date last changed
2022-04-24 18:21:10
@article{322220f0-f7ec-4cb3-95d4-a43396bdcdca,
  abstract     = {{<p>Although particulate organic and elemental carbon (OC and EC) are important constituents of the suspended atmospheric particulate matter (PM), measurements of OC and EC are much less common and more uncertain than measurements of e.g. the ionic components of PM. In the framework of atmospheric research infrastructures supported by the European Union, actions have been undertaken to determine and mitigate sampling artefacts, and assess the comparability of OC and EC data obtained in a network of 10 atmospheric observatories across Europe. Positive sampling artefacts (from 0.4 to 2.8 μg C/m<sup>3</sup>) and analytical discrepancies (between −50% and +40% for the EC/TC ratio) have been taken into account to generate a robust data set, from which we established the phenomenology of carbonaceous aerosols at regional background sites in Europe. Across the network, TC and EC annual average concentrations range from 0.4 to 9 μg C/m<sup>3</sup>, and from 0.1 to 2 μg C/m<sup>3</sup>, respectively. TC/PM<sub>10</sub> annual mean ratios range from 0.11 at a Mediterranean site to 0.34 at the most polluted continental site, and TC/PM<sub>2.5</sub> ratios are slightly greater at all sites (0.15–0.42). EC/TC annual mean ratios range from 0.10 to 0.22, and do not depend much on PM concentration levels, especially in winter. Seasonal variations in PM and TC concentrations, and in TC/PM and EC/TC ratios, differ across the network, which can be explained by seasonal changes in PM source contributions at some sites.</p>}},
  author       = {{Cavalli, F. and Alastuey, A. and Areskoug, H. and Ceburnis, D. and Čech, J. and Genberg, J. and Harrison, R. M. and Jaffrezo, J. L. and Kiss, G. and Laj, P. and Mihalopoulos, N. and Perez, N. and Quincey, P. and Schwarz, J. and Sellegri, K. and Spindler, G. and Swietlicki, E. and Theodosi, C. and Yttri, K. E. and Aas, W. and Putaud, J. P.}},
  issn         = {{1352-2310}},
  keywords     = {{Aerosol; Carbonaceous; Europe; Phenomenology; PM}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{11}},
  pages        = {{133--145}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Atmospheric Environment}},
  title        = {{A European aerosol phenomenology -4 : Harmonized concentrations of carbonaceous aerosol at 10 regional background sites across Europe}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2016.07.050}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.atmosenv.2016.07.050}},
  volume       = {{144}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}