Filter light attenuation as a surrogate for elemental carbon

Abstract

Light attenuation (b(att)) measured from filter light transmission is compared with elemental carbon (EC) measurements for more than 180,000 collocated PM2.5 (particulate matter [PM] < or = 2.5 microm in aerodynamic diameter) and PM10 (PM < or = 10 microm in aerodynamic diameter) samples from nearly 200 U.S. locations during the past 2 decades. Although there are theoretical reasons for expecting highly variable relationships between b(att) and EC (such as the effects of "brown carbon" and iron oxides in PM2.5), reasonable correlations are found. These correlations are not a strong function of season or location (e.g., rural vs. urban). Median EC concentrations can be predicted from filter transmittance measurements to within +/- 15-30%. Although EC predicted from b(att) shows larger uncertainties (30-60%), especially at concentrations less than 0.3 microg/m3, the consistent mass absorption efficiency (sigm(att)) derived from the regression analysis demonstrates the feasibility of using b(att) as a surrogate for EC. This study demonstrates that a constant factor of 0.1 g/m2 (equivalent to the 10 m2/g sigma(att) used in the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments chemical extinction formula) can be used to estimate EC concentrations from b(att) through a Teflon-membrane filter sample. Greater accuracy is achieved with site-specific sigma(att) derived from a period with collocated EC measurements.