Particulate air pollutants: A comparison of British “Smoke” with optical absorption coefficient and elemental carbon concentration

Abstract

Atmospheric aerosol samples collected simultaneously on four different filter media support the hypothesis that reflectance, as measured by the British “Smoke” method, is controlled by the optical absorption coefficient of the aerosol. An additional comparison shows that the British “Smoke” measure may be used to estimate concentrations of sub-μm, particulate, elemental carbon. Poorer correlations are suggested for the mass concentration of the particles suspended in air.