Particulate nitrate artifacts

Common Pathways for Loss of Nitric Acid (Without Artifact Particulate Nitrate Formation). Introduction. Loss of HN03 can result from sorption on the surfaces of sampler inlets and inlet lines this situation is common to all collection procedures for atmospheric HN03. Such inlet losses are rarely determined, so it is difficult to assess the accuracy of atmospheric HN03 measurements or to pinpoint the source of bias between methods in intermethod comparisons (e.g., see reference 26). In addition to sampler-associated losses, N03 can be lost from samples during storage. 

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