SOCAAR is pleased to announce our next seminar in our 2013-2014 seminar 
series.

Characterization of atmospheric black carbon in Toronto and the oil sands 
region
    
Alex Lee,
Post Doctoral Fellow
Dept. of Chemistry, University of Toronto
 
Ambient black carbon can play a critical role influencing regional air quality, 
human health, and radiative forcing. Processes such as fossil fuel combustion 
and biomass burning are the primary sources of ambient black carbon. Coating 
can be formed on particles containing black carbon and thus modify their 
physical and chemical properties, such as light absorption and cloud activation 
abilities. Understanding the mixing state of ambient particles containing black 
carbon and the characteristics of any associated coating is therefore 
particularly important to evaluating their fate and environmental impacts. In 
recent studies, we have demonstrated the use of an Aerodyne soot particle 
aerosol mass spectrometer equipped with a light scattering module to examine 
the mixing state of particles containing black carbon and other aerosol 
components including nitrate, sulfate and organics, using downtown Toronto as 
a representative urban environment. This yielded the first reported single 
particle mass spectra of black carbon-containing particles measured by this 
instrument. We found that in downtown Toronto, ~60-70% of particles rich in 
black carbon are thinly coated with organics originating from vehicle exhausts. 
Furthermore, the high time resolution measurements allowed by the instrument 
also provided additional insight into the characteristics of vehicle emission 
plumes. Lastly, the instrument was deployed to identify the mixing states and 
potential sources of black carbon in Alberta’s oil sands in summer 2013. and 
these preliminary results will be discussed.
 
February 5, 2014,  3 - 4 pm
Wallberg Building, 200 College Street, Room 407 

The seminar will be recorded and posted on the SOCAAR website:  
www.socaar.utoronto.ca