Articles | Volume 3, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-3-293-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-3-293-2025
Research article
 | 
03 Jun 2025
Research article |  | 03 Jun 2025

The applicability and challenges of black carbon sensors in monitoring networks

J. Tapio Elomaa, Krista Luoma, Sami D. Harni, Aki Virkkula, Hilkka Timonen, and Tuukka Petäjä

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Cited articles

Alas, H. D. C., Weinhold, K., Costabile, F., Di Ianni, A., Müller, T., Pfeifer, S., Di Liberto, L., Turner, J. R., and Wiedensohler, A.: Methodology for high-quality mobile measurement with focus on black carbon and particle mass concentrations, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 4697–4712, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4697-2019, 2019. 
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Backman, J., Rizzo, L. V., Hakala, J., Nieminen, T., Manninen, H. E., Morais, F., Aalto, P. P., Siivola, E., Carbone, S., Hillamo, R., Artaxo, P., Virkkula, A., Petäjä, T., and Kulmala, M.: On the diurnal cycle of urban aerosols, black carbon and the occurrence of new particle formation events in springtime São Paulo, Brazil, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 11733–11751, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-11733-2012, 2012. 
Backman, J., Schmeisser, L., Virkkula, A., Ogren, J. A., Asmi, E., Starkweather, S., Sharma, S., Eleftheriadis, K., Uttal, T., Jefferson, A., Bergin, M., Makshtas, A., Tunved, P., and Fiebig, M.: On Aethalometer measurement uncertainties and an instrument correction factor for the Arctic, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 5039–5062, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-5039-2017, 2017. 
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Short summary
Black carbon (BC) is a pollutant from combustion that affects the climate and is harmful to health. We tested four different small BC sensors with a reference in Helsinki. The sensors compared well with the reference. As a sensor network they were able to capture differences in BC. Changes in temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH) caused error in the measurements. To reduce the effects of T and RH on BC sensors, more robust boxes should be developed, or corrections should be applied.
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