A new instrument prototype for aerosol light absorption measurements

The prototype for an innovative instrument has been built and validated at the Department of Physics, University of Genoa. The purpose of the instrument is to measure the light absorption properties of atmospheric aerosol sampled on a filtering support, over a wide spectral range with a high wavelength resolution. The preliminary tests of the prototype have been carried out on aerosol produced in an atmospheric simulation chamber. The performance of the prototype has been validated against the previously assessed Multi Wavelength Absorbance Analyzer (MWAA), with a scatter plot slope of A = 0.95 ± 0.03, and a coefficient of determination of R2 = 0.97. Preliminary results show the data analysis possibilities that an instrument with a high spectral resolution can offer.