Samples from Hong Kong, China, were analyzed for organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), and total carbon (TC) by three thermal protocols (low-temperature IMPROVE and high-temperature STN and NIOSH) and two optical monitoring methods: reflectance and transmittance. Good agreement (+/-10%) for TC among the three protocols was observed for sample loadings of 1-55 microg m(-3). The two protoco...

A summer field campaign was conducted at the forested background site of K-puszta in Hungary. The main aim was to assess the contribution of terpene-derived particulate organic compounds to the PM2.5 organic carbon (OC) and of the secondary organic carbon (SOC) from α-pinene to the OC. The study lasted from 24 May to 29 June 2006; the first half the weather was cold, while the second half was w...

A protocol was developed to extract, fractionate, and quantitatively analyze periphyton extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), which obtains both information on the molecular weight (M r) distribution and protein and polysaccharide content. The EPS were extracted from freshwater periphyton between July and December 2011. Organic carbon (OC) compounds from different EPS extracts were analyzed...

[1] In this paper the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) MSC-W model is used to assess our understanding of the sources of carbonaceous aerosol in Europe (organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), or their sum, total carbon (TC)). The modeling work makes use of new data from two extensive measurement campaigns in Europe, those of the CARBOSOL project and of the EMEP EC/OC cam...

A Particle-Into-Liquid Sampler (PILS) was modified and coupled with a Total Organic Carbon (TOC) Analyzer (Sievers 800T, GE Water Systems, Boulder, CO), in an attempt to measure particulate organic carbon (OC) online. The PILS droplet collection system was changed from an inertial impactor to a miniature cyclone to increase the efficiency of transferring insoluble carbonaceous aerosol to the li...

A thermal/optical carbon analyzer equipped with seven-wavelength light source/detector (405–980 nm) for monitoring spectral reflectance (R) and transmittance (T) of filter samples allowed “thermal spectral analysis (TSA)” and wavelength (λ)-dependent organic-carbon (OC)–elementalcarbon (EC) measurements. Optical sensing was calibrated with transfer standards traceable to absolute R and T measur...

In this study, mass concentrations and chemical compositions of fine particles, mass concentrations of coarse particles, light extinction, and meteorological parameters in the atmosphere of Xiamen were presented and analyzed to study the chemical and optical characteristics of a typical haze episode from Dec 25, 2010 to Jan 1, 2011. The major chemical compositions of PM2.5, such as water solubl...

[1] The global distribution of carbonaceous aerosols is simulated online in the Goddard Institute for Space Studies General Circulation Model II-prime (GISS GCM II-prime). Prognostic tracers include black carbon (BC), primary organic aerosol (POA), five groups of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), and 14 semivolatile products of BVOC oxidation by O3, OH, and NO3, which condense to for...

The vast amount of organic carbon (OC) stored in soils of the northern circumpolar permafrost region is a potentially vulnerable component of the global carbon cycle. However, estimates of the quantity, decomposability, and combustibility of OC contained in permafrost-region soils remain highly uncertain, thereby limiting our ability to predict the release of greenhouse gases due to permafrost ...

Fine particulate matter (PM) is capable of scattering and absorbing light and is the main culprit of visibility degradation. Major PM chemical components have been characterized for their light absorption and scattering efficiency, but separating the organic components has yet to be fully parameterized with light extinction coefficients. In this study, light extinction data and PM2.5 chemical c...