Instrument

The AE33 aethalometer collects aerosol particles continuously by drawing the polluted air stream through a spot on the filter tape (the air flow rate is measured and is under closed-loop software control to stabilize the sample flow rate). It analyzes the aerosol by measuring the transmission of light through the filter tape containing the sample, as well as through an unloaded portion, which is acting as a reference area. Measurements are taken while it is continuously collecting an aerosol sample. The Aethalometer is working at seven different wavelengths: 370, 470, 520, 590, 660, 880, and 950 nm, simultaneously. 

In this model (AE33), two measurements are obtained simultaneously from two sample spots with different rates of accumulation of the sample, while both spots derive their samples from the same input air stream. The results are combined mathematically to eliminate nonlinearities and provide the compensated particle light absorption and Black Carbon mass concentration.

Instrument PIs: Iwona Stachlewska UW / Fatima Mirza Montoro UW