Continuous Carbonaceous Aerosol Measurements

On this page:

• Background
• Technical Assistance Document
• Standard Operating Procedures
• Continuous Carbon Dashboard

Background 

Continuous carbonaceous aerosol measurements include high-time resolution data from Aethalometers® and related instrumentation operated by select State, local and tribal (SLT) air monitoring agencies. These measurements are not formally coordinated as a national network; however, the consistency and use of the data is of value to the agencies that produce the data as well as EPA and other data users.  Although, use of these instruments is not required by federal regulation, continuous carbonaceous aerosol measurements can provide air monitoring agencies with insightful particulate matter (PM) speciation information relevant to air quality management and in support of federal regulatory requirements. For example, insights into carbonaceous aerosol trends and episodes can be leveraged in targeting specific emissions reductions for PM National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) attainment and providing evidence of exceptional events, such as wildfire smoke. The files and links available on this page are provided as a convenience to SLT monitoring agencies in support of their operation of continuous carbonaceous aerosol measurements.

Technical Assistance Document

EPA is making a Technical Assistance Document for Continuous Carbon Aerosol Monitoring in the Ambient Air available for use and comment as a Draft Final. EPA intends to finalize this document in 2025.  Comments on the Draft Final TAD may be sent to: hanley.tim@epa.gov by February 14th, 2025.  Please use “Continuous Carbon TAD” in the subject line.

• TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE DOCUMENT FOR CONTINUOUS CARBONACEOUS AEROSOL MONITORING IN AMBIENT AIR, Draft Final, November 2024. (pdf) (2.67 MB)
• Slides summarizing the TAD (pdf) (279.67 KB)

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

EPA is preparing instrument SOPs and will make those files available below as they become available. 

Continuous Carbon Dashboard

This application provides a data analysis and quality assurance (QA) dashboard for continuous carbon measurements that are submitted to the EPA’s AQS database from sites across the country. For this purpose, the term continuous carbon references hourly concentrations of UV Carbon and Black Carbon measured by Aethalometers and other available instrumentation.

• Continuous Carbon Dashboard

• Presentations - Continuous Carbon Dashboard. This Presentation was given at the National Ambient Air Monitoring Conference in New Orleans - August 2024