Observation of black carbon aerosol in Beijing, 2003

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the black carbon concentration in Beijing in 2003. The aerosol properties were measured using an Aethalometer and a tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM) on the roof of the Physics Building of Peking University (39.99º N, 116.31º E) from July to August 2003 and from November 2003 to January 2004. The average black carbon (BC) concentrations in the summer and winter were 8.80 and 11.4 μg/m³, respectively. During winter, two different cyclone cut offs were installed at the inlet of an aethalometer. The BC mass concentration in TSP, PM₁₀, and PM_2.5 were obtained. The results indicated that in winter aerosol, 90% of BC exited in PM₁₀ and 82.6% of BC exited in PM_2.5. The BC in PM₁₀ accounted for 5.11% of the PM₁₀ mass.