%0 Journal Article
%A Jorge Jimenez
%A Candis S Claiborn
%A Timothy Larson
%A Timothy Gould
%A Thomas W Kirchstetter
%A Lara A Gundel
%B Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association
%D 2007
%N 7
%P 868–873
%R 10.3155/1047-3289.57.7.868
%T Loading Effect Correction for Real-Time Aethalometer Measurements of Fresh Diesel Soot
%V 57
%X <p>In this study, a correction was developed for the aethalometer to measure real-time black carbon (BC) concentrations in an environment dominated by fresh diesel soot. The relationship between the actual mass-specific absorption co-efficient for BC and the BC-dependent attenuation coefficients was determined from experiments conducted in a diesel exposure chamber that provided constant concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM; PM<sub>2.5</sub>; PM &lt;2.5 μm aerodynamic diameter) from diesel exhaust. The aethalometer reported BC concentrations decreasing with time from 48.1 to 31.5 μg m<sup>-3</sup> when exposed to constant PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentrations of 55 ± 1 μg m<sup>-3</sup> and b<sub>scat</sub> 95 ± 3Mm<sup>-1</sup> from diesel exhaust. This apparent decrease in reported light-absorbing PM concentration was used to derive a correction K (ATN) for loading of strong light-absorbing particles onto or into the aethalometer filter tape, which was a function of attenuation of light at 880 nm by the embedded particles.</p>