LIDAR MONITORING AND IN SITU SAMPLING OF PARTICULATE MATTER IN LOWEST ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS OVER URBAN AREA

The present study is related to elucidating the remote sensing monitoring and capabilities for profiling to particulate matter (PM) mass concentration control in the lowest atmospheric layers. The PM was studied at a distance of 5.5 km from the LIDAR station. The experiments were conducted in May and October 2020 in the South-Eastern part of the Bulgarian capital Sofia during a COVID-19 lockdown. The LIDAR measurement data was compared during the experiments with in situ sampling by mobile devices located just below the spot of the LIDAR beam: (i) Absorber collects particles higher then 3 mu m; (ii) PM Microcollector type SDS 011; and (iii) Andersen Cascade Impactor for exploring PM size distribution and microbiota. The results obtained show that remote sensing can be very effective when quantitative evaluation has been combined with in situ sampling for PM qualitative assessment.