AAAR 34th Annual Conference
October 12 - October 16, 2015
Hyatt Regency
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Detection of Fluorescent Particles with a Wideband Integrated Bioaerosol Sensor (WIBS-4A) at CEA Atmospheric Super Site in the Region of Paris
DOMINIQUE BAISNEE, Roland Sarda-Esteve, Michel Thibaudon, Gavin McMeeking, Ian Crawford, Martin Gallagher, J. Alex Huffman, David O'Connor, John Sodeau, Virginia E. Foot, Jean-Maxime Roux, Christophe Bossuet, CEA
Abstract Number: 25 Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract In the frame of the Bio Chemical Collectors (BCC) research project from the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) a Wideband Integrated Bioaerosol Sensor model 4A has been deployed during the summer and winter period at the CEA Atmospheric Super Site. The first objective of this study was to investigate the ability of this type of instrument to detect bioaerosols in a complex environment often impacted by pollution events. The second was to refine the relationship between meteorological parameters and the observed fluorescence. A spore trap has been used to identify the presence of aerosols and their concentration. Optical counting and identification of pollens and fungal spores has been done by the National Network of Survey for Airborne Contaminants (RNSA). During these two periods of the year the type and the nature of the particles are different. In the summer period, the abundance of microorganisms including fungal spore ranges from 1000 to 5000 nb#/m3 while during the winter the concentrations were less than 200 Nb#/m3. In the winter period the major sources were due to local combustion processes or pollution from long range transport. These sources comprised aerosols mostly from wood burning, fossil fuel combustion or inorganic and Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA) during severe pollution events. The concentration of Particulate Matter less than 10 µm (PM10) varied from 1 to 150 µg/m3. The signal observed on the WIBS4A was mostly correlated with the presence of Black Carbon and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH). During the summer period, high concentrations of Biogenic Volatile Organic Carbon (BVOC) were also observed. The Particulate Organic Matter (POM) measured was more functionalized and originated from atmospheric processing leading to the formation of fine particulate HUmic Like Substances (HULIS). More work is needed to understand the fluorescence associated with these fine particles.
This work is supported by the CBRN-E R&D research program from CEA/DAM.