Strong acid content, atmospheric aerosol particles

Methods used to determine the strong acid content of aerosol particles in the ambient atmosphere are reviewed. These methods include those for generic determination of strong acid content and those in which the concentrations of individual strong acid species are determined. Difficulties in sampling these species due to their reactivity and occurrence under non-steady-state atmospheric conditions are discussed, and the methods currently used for resolving these difficulties are critically evaluated. 

Al fundamental question about the interpretation of acidic aerosol data is whether researchers can characterize past and current atmospheric concentrations and distributions (spatial and temporal) with sufficient accuracy for studies of their effects on ecosystems and human health. Part of the answer to this question can be provided by a review of the methods that have been used to measure the strong acid content of aerosol particles collected from the atmosphere. This chapter serves as such a review, and, in evaluating analytical procedures, it specifically assesses the ability of each procedure to overcome sampling artifacts, to distinguish between strong and weak acids, to properly partition strong acidity between gas-phase and aero-sol-phase species, and to quantitate strong acidity at the levels at which it is found in the ambient atmosphere. 

Measuring the Strong Acid Content of Atmospheric Aerosol Particles... 

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