Review article
22 Aug 2013
Review article | 22 Aug 2013
Recommendations for reporting "black carbon" measurements
A. Petzold1 , J. A. Ogren2 , M. Fiebig3 , P. Laj4 , S.-M. Li5 , U. Baltensperger6 , T. Holzer-Popp7 , S. Kinne8 , G. Pappalardo9 , N. Sugimoto10 , C. Wehrli11 , A. Wiedensohler12 , and X.-Y. Zhang13
A. Petzold et al.
A. Petzold1 , J. A. Ogren2 , M. Fiebig3 , P. Laj4 , S.-M. Li5 , U. Baltensperger6 , T. Holzer-Popp7 , S. Kinne8 , G. Pappalardo9 , N. Sugimoto10 , C. Wehrli11 , A. Wiedensohler12 , and X.-Y. Zhang13
1 Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institut für Energie- und Klimaforschung IEK-8, 52425 Jülich, Germany 2 NOAA/ESRL Global Monitoring Division, Boulder, CO 80305, USA 3 Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), 2027 Kjeller, Norway 4 Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l'Environnement, Université de Grenoble I – CNRS, 38402 Saint Martin d'Hères cedex, France 5 Environment Canada, Processes Research Section, Toronto, ON M3H 5T4, Canada 6 Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland 7 Deutsches Fernerkundungsdatenzentrum, DLR, 82234 Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany 8 Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Bundesstrasse 53, 20146 Hamburg, Germany 9 Istituto di Metodologie per l'Analisi Ambientale (CNR-IMAA), Potenza, 85050, Italy 10 National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan 11 Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos (PMOD/WRC), 7260 Davos, Switzerland 12 Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany 13 Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, 46 Zhong-Guan-Cun S. Av., Beijing 100081, China
1 Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institut für Energie- und Klimaforschung IEK-8, 52425 Jülich, Germany 2 NOAA/ESRL Global Monitoring Division, Boulder, CO 80305, USA 3 Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), 2027 Kjeller, Norway 4 Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l'Environnement, Université de Grenoble I – CNRS, 38402 Saint Martin d'Hères cedex, France 5 Environment Canada, Processes Research Section, Toronto, ON M3H 5T4, Canada 6 Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland 7 Deutsches Fernerkundungsdatenzentrum, DLR, 82234 Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany 8 Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Bundesstrasse 53, 20146 Hamburg, Germany 9 Istituto di Metodologie per l'Analisi Ambientale (CNR-IMAA), Potenza, 85050, Italy 10 National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan 11 Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos (PMOD/WRC), 7260 Davos, Switzerland 12 Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany 13 Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, 46 Zhong-Guan-Cun S. Av., Beijing 100081, China
Hide author details
Received: 03 Mar 2013 – Discussion started: 11 Apr 2013 – Revised: 30 Jun 2013 – Accepted: 05 Jul 2013 – Published: 22 Aug 2013
Although black carbon (BC) is one of the key atmospheric particulate components driving climate change and air quality, there is no agreement on the terminology that considers all aspects of specific properties, definitions, measurement methods, and related uncertainties. As a result, there is much ambiguity in the scientific literature of measurements and numerical models that refer to BC with different names and based on different properties of the particles, with no clear definition of the terms. The authors present here a recommended terminology to clarify the terms used for BC in atmospheric research, with the goal of establishing unambiguous links between terms, targeted material properties and associated measurement techniques.