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Environmental Technology Verification Program Advanced Monitoring Systems Center Quality Assurance Project Plan for Verification of Black Carbon Monitors
Citation:
Grosse, D., J. Enriquez, J. McKernan, S. Bessler, AND A. Dindal. Environmental Technology Verification Program Advanced Monitoring Systems Center Quality Assurance Project Plan for Verification of Black Carbon Monitors. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-16/032, 2016.
Impact/Purpose:
The ETV Program’s AMS Center conducts third-party performance testing of commercially available technologies that detect or monitor natural species or contaminants in air, water, and soil. Stakeholder committees of buyers and users of such technologies recommend technology categories, and technologies within those categories, as priorities for testing. Among the technology categories recommended for testing are “black carbon” monitors. Because of the nature of “black carbon”, this technology category includes monitors for both BC and elemental carbon (EC). Although BC and EC are operationally defined based on different properties, for convenience the term “black carbon” will be used in this QAPP to refer to both BC and EC.
Description:
Black carbon is a term that is commonly used to describe strongly light absorbing carbon (LAC), which is thought to play a significant role in global climate change through direct absorption of light, interaction with clouds, and by reducing the reflectivity of snow and ice. BC is formed from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuels, and biomass and can be emitted from both anthropogenic and natural sources. It is a primary component of soot and has been linked to adverse health effects and visibility reduction. Consequently, there is a great deal of interest in monitoring BC in the atmosphere. However, differences in measurement techniques result in measurements that are operationally defined and characterize the particulate matter based on either its light absorbing properties (leading to determination of BC) or its refractory properties (leading to determination of EC).