An overview of optical and thermal methods for the characterization of carbonaceous aerosol

Carbon is present in the atmosphere not only as CO2 and other gaseous compounds: it is also one of the major components of the atmospheric aerosols. Carbonaceous Aerosols, CA, have a high but still not fully understood impact on climate and human health, furthermore, their composition is part of the “fingerprint” characteristic of different “sources” of airborne Particulate Matter (PM). The set of methodologies to quantify the concentration of specific carbonaceous species in the atmospheric aerosols is extremely ample, however a completely assessed standard has not been defined yet. In this review article we summarize the state of the art in such wide and multi-disciplinary field, with a focus on optical and thermo-optical methodologies and insights on the more relevant open problems.