An analysis instrument that provides real-time measurements of mass concentrations of the main chemical species present in ambient fine particles.
ACSMs are analysis instruments that provide real-time measurements of mass concentrations of the main chemical species in ambient fine particles, particularly ammonium sulfate and nitrate and organic aerosols. As such, they can be used to assess the chemical composition of pollution clouds, and to identify their origins (1). Data obtained using this instrument can also be used in studies of the specific sources of organic aerosols, with the help of statistical tools. Given the robustness of these measurements and the wealth of information provided by this instrument, its implementation has gradually become widespread within the international scientific community, particularly in the context of the construction of ACTRIS, the European Research Infrastructure for the Observation of Aerosol, Clouds, and Trace Gases.
At the same time, and as part of its role to support the Ministry of Ecology via the Central Laboratory for Monitoring Air Quality (LCSQA), Ineris coordinates the implementation of ACSMs at national air monitoring stations (there are currently seven dedicated measuring stations within AASQAs) and at the SIRTA observation station in Ile de France, and has the particular role of carrying our quality control procedures for the measurements made by these instruments.
This inter-comparison campaign took place in November 2018 at the ACMCC, located in the LSCE premises at the CEA Saclay Orme des Merisiers site. Seventeen European research groups (that is, 17 ACSMs) from 13 different countries participated directly in this campaign that brought together two manufacturers of analysis instruments (United States, Slovenia) and one French distributor.
The ACMCC came into being as the result of work carried out as part of two European research programmes: ACTRIS-1 (2011-2015) and ACTRIS-2 (2016-2019). This consortium has already carried out the two main international ACSM inter-comparison campaigns (end 2013 and spring 2016), and serves as a European technical reference body for the entire quality assurance and quality control chain for ACSM measurements. It is also responsible for coordinating a COST (European COoperation in Science and Technology) COLOSSAL (Chemical On-Line cOmpoSition and Source Apportionment of fine aerosoL - www.costcolossal.eu/wg1) working group, whose aim is, in particular, to disseminate best practices for the use of automated instruments to analyse the chemical composition of fine particles across all European research teams.
In October 2018, this centre, which now brings together Ineris, LSCE and LaMP (Laboratory of Physical Meteorology, CNRS-UBP), was officially named the reference centre of expertise within the ACTRIS infrastructure, which is currently being galvanized for the long term.
