Correcting Black Carbon Absorption Measurements with Micro-aethalometer Model 200: Insights from Comparative Analysis

Black carbon(BC)is the strongest visible-light-absorbing aerosol component in the atmosphere,with a sig-nificant impact on Earth’s radiative budget.Accurate measurement of BC light absorption is crucial for estimating its radiative effect.The micro-aethalometer model 200(MA200)by AethLabs,USA,offers high-time-resolution measurement of the multi-wavelength absorption coefficient(σ_(ab))within 1 s,making it widely used in aerial measurement due to its compact size and light weight.However,the reliability of the measuredσ_(ab) has not been extensively studied in previous research.In this study,we evaluate the performance of MA200 by comparingσ_(ab) measurements obtained from MA200 with those from the aethalometer model 33(AE33)by Magee,USA.Our results revealed a significant variation in the determinant coefficient(R 2)betweenσ_(ab) measurements from MA200 and AE33,depending on the time resolution.The R 2 increases from 0.1 to 0.5 and further to 0.97 as the time resolution of σ_(ab) increases from 1 s to 30 s and 60 s,respectively.We recommend a minimum time resolution of 30 s for stableσ_(ab) measurements using MA200.Moreover,we determineσ_(ab) from attenuation coefficient(σ_(ATN))measured by MA200 asσ_(ab)=(σ_(ATN)-σ_(0))/C_( MA),whereσ_(0 )ranges from-15.3 Mm-1 to-6.4 Mm-1 and C MA ranges from 2.65 to 3.21.Correcting the measuredσ_(ab) based on the findings of this study can provide reliable results for estimating the radiative effects of BC.