Environment International (Mar 2024)
Recommendations for reporting equivalent black carbon (eBC) mass concentrations based on long-term pan-European in-situ observations
- Marjan Savadkoohi,
- Marco Pandolfi,
- Olivier Favez,
- Jean-Philippe Putaud,
- Konstantinos Eleftheriadis,
- Markus Fiebig,
- Philip K. Hopke,
- Paolo Laj,
- Alfred Wiedensohler,
- Lucas Alados-Arboledas,
- Susanne Bastian,
- Benjamin Chazeau,
- Álvaro Clemente María,
- Cristina Colombi,
- Francesca Costabile,
- David C. Green,
- Christoph Hueglin,
- Eleni Liakakou,
- Krista Luoma,
- Stefano Listrani,
- Nikos Mihalopoulos,
- Nicolas Marchand,
- Griša Močnik,
- Jarkko V. Niemi,
- Jakub Ondráček,
- Jean-Eudes Petit,
- Oliver V. Rattigan,
- Cristina Reche,
- Hilkka Timonen,
- Gloria Titos,
- Anja H. Tremper,
- Stergios Vratolis,
- Petr Vodička,
- Eduardo Yubero Funes,
- Naděžda Zíková,
- Roy M. Harrison,
- Tuukka Petäjä,
- Andrés Alastuey,
- Xavier Querol
Affiliations
- Marjan Savadkoohi
- Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain; Department of Natural Resources & Environment, Industrial & TIC Engineering (EMIT-UPC), Manresa, Spain; Corresponding authors at: Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain.
- Marco Pandolfi
- Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain; Corresponding authors at: Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain.
- Olivier Favez
- Institut National de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques (INERIS), Verneuil-en-Halatte, France
- Jean-Philippe Putaud
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy
- Konstantinos Eleftheriadis
- Environmental Radioactivity & Aerosol Technology for Atmospheric & Climate Impact Lab, INRaSTES, NCSR “Demokritos”, Athens, Greece
- Markus Fiebig
- Dept. Atmospheric and Climate Research, NILU-Norwegian Institute for Air Research, Kjeller, Norway
- Philip K. Hopke
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA; Institute for a Sustainable Environment, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY, USA
- Paolo Laj
- Univ. Grenoble, CNRS, IRD, IGE, 38000 Grenoble, France
- Alfred Wiedensohler
- Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), Leipzig, Germany
- Lucas Alados-Arboledas
- Andalusian Institute for Earth System Research (IISTA-CEAMA), University of Granada, Granada, Spain
- Susanne Bastian
- Saxon State Office for Environment, Agriculture and Geology/Saxon State Department for Agricultural and Environmental Operations, Dresden, Germany
- Benjamin Chazeau
- Aix Marseille Univ., CNRS, LCE, Marseille, France; Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
- Álvaro Clemente María
- Atmospheric Pollution Laboratory (LCA), Department of Applied Physics, Miguel Hernández University, Avenida de la Universidad S/N, 03202, Elche, Spain
- Cristina Colombi
- Arpa Lombardia, Settore Monitoraggi Ambientali, Unità Operativa Qualità dell’Aria, Milano, Italy
- Francesca Costabile
- Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate-National Research Council, Rome, Italy
- David C. Green
- MRC Centre for Environment and Health, Environmental Research Group, Imperial College London, UK; HPRU in Environmental Exposures and Health, Imperial College London, UK
- Christoph Hueglin
- Laboratory for Air Pollution and Environmental Technology, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), Duebendorf, Switzerland
- Eleni Liakakou
- Institute for Environmental Research & Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, Athens, Greece
- Krista Luoma
- Atmospheric Composition Research, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
- Stefano Listrani
- ARPA Lazio, Regional Environmental Protection Agency, Rome, Italy
- Nikos Mihalopoulos
- Institute for Environmental Research & Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, Athens, Greece
- Nicolas Marchand
- Aix Marseille Univ., CNRS, LCE, Marseille, France
- Griša Močnik
- Center for Atmospheric Research, University of Nova Gorica, Nova Gorica, 5270, Slovenia; Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, 1000, Slovenia
- Jarkko V. Niemi
- Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority (HSY), Helsinki, Finland
- Jakub Ondráček
- Laboratory of Aerosols Chemistry and Physics, Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Rozvojova, Prague, Czech Republic
- Jean-Eudes Petit
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, CEA/Orme des Merisiers, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Oliver V. Rattigan
- Division of Air Resources, New York State Dept of Environmental Conservation, NY, USA
- Cristina Reche
- Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
- Hilkka Timonen
- Atmospheric Composition Research, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
- Gloria Titos
- Andalusian Institute for Earth System Research (IISTA-CEAMA), University of Granada, Granada, Spain
- Anja H. Tremper
- MRC Centre for Environment and Health, Environmental Research Group, Imperial College London, UK
- Stergios Vratolis
- Environmental Radioactivity & Aerosol Technology for Atmospheric & Climate Impact Lab, INRaSTES, NCSR “Demokritos”, Athens, Greece
- Petr Vodička
- Laboratory of Aerosols Chemistry and Physics, Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Rozvojova, Prague, Czech Republic
- Eduardo Yubero Funes
- Atmospheric Pollution Laboratory (LCA), Department of Applied Physics, Miguel Hernández University, Avenida de la Universidad S/N, 03202, Elche, Spain
- Naděžda Zíková
- Laboratory of Aerosols Chemistry and Physics, Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Rozvojova, Prague, Czech Republic
- Roy M. Harrison
- Division of Environmental Health & Risk Management, School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom; Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Meteorology, Environment and Arid Land Agriculture, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Tuukka Petäjä
- Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain; Department of Natural Resources & Environment, Industrial & TIC Engineering (EMIT-UPC), Manresa, Spain; Institut National de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques (INERIS), Verneuil-en-Halatte, France; European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy; Environmental Radioactivity & Aerosol Technology for Atmospheric & Climate Impact Lab, INRaSTES, NCSR “Demokritos”, Athens, Greece; Dept. Atmospheric and Climate Research, NILU-Norwegian Institute for Air Research, Kjeller, Norway; Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA; Institute for a Sustainable Environment, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY, USA; Univ. Grenoble, CNRS, IRD, IGE, 38000 Grenoble, France; Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), Leipzig, Germany; Andalusian Institute for Earth System Research (IISTA-CEAMA), University of Granada, Granada, Spain; Saxon State Office for Environment, Agriculture and Geology/Saxon State Department for Agricultural and Environmental Operations, Dresden, Germany; Aix Marseille Univ., CNRS, LCE, Marseille, France; Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland; Atmospheric Pollution Laboratory (LCA), Department of Applied Physics, Miguel Hernández University, Avenida de la Universidad S/N, 03202, Elche, Spain; Arpa Lombardia, Settore Monitoraggi Ambientali, Unità Operativa Qualità dell’Aria, Milano, Italy; Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate-National Research Council, Rome, Italy; MRC Centre for Environment and Health, Environmental Research Group, Imperial College London, UK; HPRU in Environmental Exposures and Health, Imperial College London, UK; Laboratory for Air Pollution and Environmental Technology, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), Duebendorf, Switzerland; Institute for Environmental Research & Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, Athens, Greece; Atmospheric Composition Research, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland; ARPA Lazio, Regional Environmental Protection Agency, Rome, Italy; Center for Atmospheric Research, University of Nova Gorica, Nova Gorica, 5270, Slovenia; Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, 1000, Slovenia; Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority (HSY), Helsinki, Finland; Laboratory of Aerosols Chemistry and Physics, Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Rozvojova, Prague, Czech Republic; Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, CEA/Orme des Merisiers, Gif-sur-Yvette, France; Division of Air Resources, New York State Dept of Environmental Conservation, NY, USA; Division of Environmental Health & Risk Management, School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom; Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Meteorology, Environment and Arid Land Agriculture, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics (INAR), Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Andrés Alastuey
- Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
- Xavier Querol
- Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 185
p. 108553
Abstract
A reliable determination of equivalent black carbon (eBC) mass concentrations derived from filter absorption photometers (FAPs) measurements depends on the appropriate quantification of the mass absorption cross-section (MAC) for converting the absorption coefficient (babs) to eBC. This study investigates the spatial–temporal variability of the MAC obtained from simultaneous elemental carbon (EC) and babs measurements performed at 22 sites. We compared different methodologies for retrieving eBC integrating different options for calculating MAC including: locally derived, median value calculated from 22 sites, and site-specific rolling MAC. The eBC concentrations that underwent correction using these methods were identified as LeBC (local MAC), MeBC (median MAC), and ReBC (Rolling MAC) respectively. Pronounced differences (up to more than 50 %) were observed between eBC as directly provided by FAPs (NeBC; Nominal instrumental MAC) and ReBC due to the differences observed between the experimental and nominal MAC values. The median MAC was 7.8 ± 3.4 m2 g-1 from 12 aethalometers at 880 nm, and 10.6 ± 4.7 m2 g-1 from 10 MAAPs at 637 nm. The experimental MAC showed significant site and seasonal dependencies, with heterogeneous patterns between summer and winter in different regions. In addition, long-term trend analysis revealed statistically significant (s.s.) decreasing trends in EC. Interestingly, we showed that the corresponding corrected eBC trends are not independent of the way eBC is calculated due to the variability of MAC. NeBC and EC decreasing trends were consistent at sites with no significant trend in experimental MAC. Conversely, where MAC showed s.s. trend, the NeBC and EC trends were not consistent while ReBC concentration followed the same pattern as EC. These results underscore the importance of accounting for MAC variations when deriving eBC measurements from FAPs and emphasize the necessity of incorporating EC observations to constrain the uncertainty associated with eBC.
