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Review of Sunset OC/EC Instrument Measurements During the EPA's Sunset Carbon Evaluation Project
Steven Brown1, Hilary Minor1, Theresa O'Brien1
1Sonoma Technology, Inc., 1450 N. McDowell Blvd., Suite 200, Petaluma, CA 94954, USA.
Atmosphere
|July 25, 2020
Summary
The Sunset semicontinuous organic and elemental carbon (OC/EC) monitor showed good feasibility, with OC measurements comparable to the Chemical Speciation Network (CSN). Optical EC also correlated well with CSN EC and Aethalometer black carbon (BC).
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Atmospheric Chemistry
- Analytical Chemistry
Background:
- Particulate organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) are key atmospheric pollutants.
- Accurate measurement of OC/EC is crucial for air quality research and policy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the performance and feasibility of the Sunset semicontinuous OC/EC monitor.
- To compare Sunset monitor data with established Chemical Speciation Network (CSN) measurements.
Main Methods:
- Deployment of Sunset OC/EC monitors at multiple CSN sites.
- Collocation with quartz fiber filter collection for OC/EC analysis.
- Co-location with Aethalometer for black carbon (BC) measurements in select sites.
Main Results:
- Sunset OC measurements showed good agreement with CSN OC (r² = 0.73).
- Sunset thermal EC showed poor correlation with CSN EC (r² = 0.22), with many below detection limits.
- Sunset optical EC demonstrated strong correlation with CSN EC (r² = 0.67) and Aethalometer BC (r² = 0.77).
Conclusions:
- The Sunset semicontinuous monitor is feasible for OC and optical EC measurements.
- Optical EC provides a more reliable alternative to thermal EC when instrument is functioning well.
- Data comparability suggests the Sunset monitor can supplement existing air quality monitoring networks.
