Darmstadt 2008 – scientific programme

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SYER: Symposium Trace species in environmental research

SYER 3: Session III

SYER 3.2: Invited Talk

Wednesday, March 12, 2008, 17:00–17:30, 3C

Real-time, in-situ chemical composition measurements of aerosols and clouds: Application of particle mass spectrometry — •Stephan Borrmann — Johannes Gutenberg Universität, Mainz, Germany — Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie, Mainz, Germany

Detailed knowledge of the chemical composition of aerosol particles is essential -among many other fields- for atmospheric physics and chemistry, cloud related research, assessement of pollution sources and atmospheric pollutant dispersal, as well as health related issues. This especially holds for the fine and ultrafine particle fractions with sizes down to 20 nanometers in diameter. For these reasons size resolved, real-time, in-situ aerosol chemical composition measurement techniques with non destructive sampling are key to many different types of experimental studies. In this presentation methods adopting particle mass spectrometry are reviewed including (1.) brief descriptions of the operational principles, (2.) a discussion of capabilities, limitations, and error sources of current modern instrumentation, (3.) and selected examples of applications. Particular emphasis is placed upon recently developed electron impact ionization thermal desorption time of flight mass spectrometers and laser ablation instruments. The measurement examples cover aerosols from emissions of individual cars, of large industrial factories, as well as smog situations. A more complex example involving pecialized particle sampling strategies is used to demonstrate the potential inherent in mass spectrometric particle measurement techniques for cloud research.