ǂA ǂsingle-beam photothermal interferometer for in situ measurements of aerosol light absorption
Abstract
We have developed a novel single-beam photothermal interferometer and present here its application for the measurement of aerosol light absorption. The use of only a single laser beam allows for a compact optical set-up and significantly easier alignment compared to standard dual-beam photothermal interferometers, making it ideal for field measurements. Due to a unique configuration of the reference interferometer arm, light absorption by aerosols can be determined directly – even in the presence of light-absorbing gases. The instrument can be calibrated directly with light-absorbing gases, such as NO2, and can be used to calibrate other light absorption instruments. The detection limits (1σ) for absorption for 10 and 60 s averaging times were determined to be 14.6 and 7.4 Mm−1, respectively, which for a mass absorption cross section of 10 m2 g−1 leads to equivalent black carbon concentration detection limits of 1460 and 740 ng m−3, respectively. The detection limit could be reduced further by improvements to the isolation of the instrument and the signal detection and processing schemes employed.
Keywords
aerosol;aerosol absorption;black carbon;photo-thermal interferometer;climate change;
Data
| Language: | English |
|---|---|
| Year of publishing: | 2020 |
| Typology: | 1.01 - Original Scientific Article |
| Organization: | UNG - University of Nova Gorica |
| UDC: | 53 |
| COBISS: |
44630531
|
| ISSN: | 1867-1381 |
| Views: | 1913 |
| Downloads: | 61 |
| Average score: | 0 (0 votes) |
| Metadata: |
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Other data
| URN: | URN:SI:UNG |
|---|---|
| Type (COBISS): | Not categorized |
| Pages: | str. 7097-7111 |
| Volume: | ǂVol. ǂ13 |
| Issue: | ǂiss. ǂ12 |
| Chronology: | 2020 |
| DOI: | 10.5194/amt-13-7097-2020 |
| ID: | 12323458 |
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