Compensation of Aethalometer Black Carbon Data Observed at a Gwangju Site

PM2.5 black carbon (BC) concentrations were measured to investigate the filter spot loading effect in raw BC data at 5-minute time-based resolution using a single-wavelength aethalometer at a Gwangju site. Also the elemental carbon (EC) concentrations from 24-hr integrated filter-based measurements of PM2.5 particles were determined to compare with the loading compensated BC values. Close examination of the time-series BC data showed clearly the "gaps" when the filter tape advances, suggesting the correction of raw BC data. Therefore, we calculated the average BC concentration in each range of attenuation (ATN) to decide if there was (or was not) an effect on the aethalometer data according to the loading of the filter spot. A consistent decrease of average BC concentration was found with increasing ATN values for every month, suggesting there was a consistent "spot loading effect" in the raw BC data. The loading compensated BC concentration according to a simple compensation model with loading effect was 1.01 similar to 1.15 times greater than the raw BC data. The 24-hr average concentration of EC observed during summer sampling period was about 3% higher than the original 24-hr average BC value and 2% lower than the loading compensated BC concentration.