skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Aethalometer™ Instrument Handbook

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1251391· OSTI ID:1251391
 [1]
  1. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

The Aethalometer is an instrument that provides a real-time readout of the concentration of “Black” or “Elemental” carbon aerosol particles (BC or E) in an air stream (see Figure 1 and Figure 2). It is a self-contained instrument that measures the rate of change of optical transmission through a spot on a filter where aerosol is being continuously collected and uses the information to calculate the concentration of optically absorbing material in the sampled air stream. The instrument measures the transmitted light intensities through the “sensing” portion of the filter, on which the aerosol spot is being collected, and a “reference” portion of the filter as a check on the stability of the optical source. A mass flowmeter monitors the sample air flow rate. The data from these three measurements is used to determine the mean BC content of the air stream.

Research Organization:
DOE Office of Science Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-7601830
OSTI ID:
1251391
Report Number(s):
DOE/SC-ARM-TR-156
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English