Characterizing black carbon in rain and ice cores using coupled tangential flow filtration and transmission electron microscopy

Antarctic ice cores have been used to study the history of black carbon (BC), but little is known with regards to the physical and chemical characteristics of these particles in the remote atmosphere. Characterization remains limited by ultra-trace concentrations in ice core samples and the lack of...

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Main Authors: Ellis, A., Edwards, R., Saunders, M., Chakrabarty, R., Subramanian, R., Van Riessen, Arie, Smith, A., Lambrinidis, D., Nunes, L., Vallelonga, P., Goodwin, I., Moy, A., Curran, M., Van Ommen, T.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Copernicus GmbH 2015
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/9938
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author Ellis, A.
Edwards, R.
Saunders, M.
Chakrabarty, R.
Subramanian, R.
Van Riessen, Arie
Smith, A.
Lambrinidis, D.
Nunes, L.
Vallelonga, P.
Goodwin, I.
Moy, A.
Curran, M.
Van Ommen, T.
author_facet Ellis, A.
Edwards, R.
Saunders, M.
Chakrabarty, R.
Subramanian, R.
Van Riessen, Arie
Smith, A.
Lambrinidis, D.
Nunes, L.
Vallelonga, P.
Goodwin, I.
Moy, A.
Curran, M.
Van Ommen, T.
author_sort Ellis, A.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Antarctic ice cores have been used to study the history of black carbon (BC), but little is known with regards to the physical and chemical characteristics of these particles in the remote atmosphere. Characterization remains limited by ultra-trace concentrations in ice core samples and the lack of adequate methods to isolate the particles unaltered from the melt water. To investigate the physical and chemical characteristics of these particles, we have developed a tangential flow filtration (TFF) method combined with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Tests using ultrapure water and polystyrene latex particle standards resulted in excellent blanks and significant particle recovery. This approach has been applied to melt water from Antarctic ice cores as well as tropical rain from Darwin, Australia with successful results: TEM analysis revealed a variety of BC particle morphologies, insoluble coatings, and the attachment of BC to mineral dust particles. The TFF-based concentration of these particles has proven to give excellent results for TEM studies of BC particles in Antarctic ice cores and can be used for future studies of insoluble aerosols in rainwater and ice core samples.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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publishDate 2015
publisher Copernicus GmbH
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-99382017-09-13T14:49:26Z Characterizing black carbon in rain and ice cores using coupled tangential flow filtration and transmission electron microscopy Ellis, A. Edwards, R. Saunders, M. Chakrabarty, R. Subramanian, R. Van Riessen, Arie Smith, A. Lambrinidis, D. Nunes, L. Vallelonga, P. Goodwin, I. Moy, A. Curran, M. Van Ommen, T. Antarctic ice cores have been used to study the history of black carbon (BC), but little is known with regards to the physical and chemical characteristics of these particles in the remote atmosphere. Characterization remains limited by ultra-trace concentrations in ice core samples and the lack of adequate methods to isolate the particles unaltered from the melt water. To investigate the physical and chemical characteristics of these particles, we have developed a tangential flow filtration (TFF) method combined with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Tests using ultrapure water and polystyrene latex particle standards resulted in excellent blanks and significant particle recovery. This approach has been applied to melt water from Antarctic ice cores as well as tropical rain from Darwin, Australia with successful results: TEM analysis revealed a variety of BC particle morphologies, insoluble coatings, and the attachment of BC to mineral dust particles. The TFF-based concentration of these particles has proven to give excellent results for TEM studies of BC particles in Antarctic ice cores and can be used for future studies of insoluble aerosols in rainwater and ice core samples. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/9938 10.5194/amt-8-3959-2015 Copernicus GmbH fulltext
spellingShingle Ellis, A.
Edwards, R.
Saunders, M.
Chakrabarty, R.
Subramanian, R.
Van Riessen, Arie
Smith, A.
Lambrinidis, D.
Nunes, L.
Vallelonga, P.
Goodwin, I.
Moy, A.
Curran, M.
Van Ommen, T.
Characterizing black carbon in rain and ice cores using coupled tangential flow filtration and transmission electron microscopy
title Characterizing black carbon in rain and ice cores using coupled tangential flow filtration and transmission electron microscopy
title_full Characterizing black carbon in rain and ice cores using coupled tangential flow filtration and transmission electron microscopy
title_fullStr Characterizing black carbon in rain and ice cores using coupled tangential flow filtration and transmission electron microscopy
title_full_unstemmed Characterizing black carbon in rain and ice cores using coupled tangential flow filtration and transmission electron microscopy
title_short Characterizing black carbon in rain and ice cores using coupled tangential flow filtration and transmission electron microscopy
title_sort characterizing black carbon in rain and ice cores using coupled tangential flow filtration and transmission electron microscopy
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/9938