Multiple-scattering correction factor of quartz filters and the effect of filtering particles mixed in water: implications for analyses of light absorption in snow samples

Abstract

The deposition of light-absorbing aerosol (LAA) onto snow initiates processes that lead to increased snowmelt. Measurements of LAA, such as black carbon (BC) and mineral dust, have been observed globally to darken snow. Several measurement techniques of LAA in snow collect the particulates on filters for analysis. Here we investigate micro-quartz filters' optical response to BC experiments in which the particles are initially suspended in air or in a liquid. With particle soot absorption photometers (PSAPs) we observed a 20 % scattering enhancement for quartz filters compared to the standard PSAP Pallflex filters. The multiple-scattering correction factor (Cref) of the quartz filters for airborne soot aerosol is estimated to be ∼3.4. In the next stage correction factors were determined for BC particles mixed in water and also for BC particles both mixed in water and further treated in an ultrasonic bath. Comparison of BC collected from airborne particles with BC mixed in water filters indicated a higher mass absorption cross section by approximately a factor of 2 for the liquid-based filters, which is probably due to the BC particles penetrating deeper in the filter matrix. The ultrasonic bath increased absorption still further, roughly by a factor of 1.5, compared to only mixing in water. Application of the correction functions to earlier published field data from the Himalaya and Finnish Lapland yielded mass absorption coefficient (MAC) values of ∼7–10 m2 g−1 at λ=550 nm, which is in the range of the published MAC of airborne BC aerosol.