Technical Note: Measuring condensation sink and ion sink of atmospheric aerosols with the electrical low pressure impactor (ELPI)

摘要

We investigate the suitability of ELPI for condensation sink and ion sinkmeasurements. The aim is to find the simple calibration factors by which themeasured ELPI current can be converted to condensation or ion sinks. Thecalibration is based on DMPS and ELPI measurements within the period 15–25 May 2005at a boreal forest site in Southern Finland. The valuesof condensation sink and ion sink were calculated from the DMPS sizedistributions using their theoretical definitions. After that the values werecompared to theoretical and measured ELPI current, and calibration factorswere specified. For condensation sink the calibration factor was found to be7.27E-06 s fA and for ion sink 8.55E-06s fA. Simply by multiplying the total current of theoutdoor ELPI by these factors, the values of condensation sink and ion sinkcan be measured.