David Garton

Multielemental analysis and characterization of fine aerosols at several key ACE‐Asia sites

loadings of 29, 16, and 9.1 mg/m 3 and coarse mass loadings of 33, 14, and 11 mg/m 3 were measured at Hong Kong, Cheju, and Sado Island sites, respectively, during the study period. The corresponding maximum PM2.5 and coarse mass values for the three sites were 109, 81, and 78 mg/m 3 and 101, 162, and 253 mg/m 3 , respectively. Accelerator-based ion beam analysis (IBA) techniques were used to quantify major components as well as significant trace elements. These included total hydrogen, black carbon, F, Na, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Br, and Pb, with detection limits close to or below 1 ng/m 3 . The average PM2.5 percentage composition by weight across the three sites was estimated to be around (8.4 ± 4)% black carbon, (7.7 ± 7)% soil, (43 ± 14)% ammonium sulfate, (11 ± 16)% organic matter, (10 ± 12)% salinity, and (0.6 ± 0.3)% trace elements. Soil fingerprints for the east Asian region were generated using oxides of measured Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, and Fe concentrations. The coarse fraction was dominated by wind blown soil (23%) and sea salts (48%). [PM10/PM2.5] mass ratios were typically (2.1 ± 0.4) averaged across all sites for the whole year. [PM10/PM2.5] mass ratios for the 21 IBA elements analyzed were also provided. This quantitative data providing both masses and dates over an 18-month period provide useful input for aerosol transport modeling for the east Asia region. INDEX TERMS: 0305 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Aerosols and particles (0345, 4801); 0345 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Pollution—urban and regional (0305); 0399 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: General or miscellaneous; 1610 Global Change: Atmosphere (0315, 0325); 1620 Global Change: Climate dynamics (3309); KEYWORDS: PM2.5, PM10, aerosols, fine particle characterization, Asian region, ACE-Asia, IBA techniques

Materials characterisation using heavy ion elastic recoil time of flight spectrometry

Abstract Materials characterisation by heavy ion elastic recoil time of flight spectrometry (HIERTOFS) at a forward recoil angle of 45° has been investigated using 40–110 MeV chlorine and iodine ions. Measurements are compared with a computer simulation code that evaluates the resolution components such as those due to straggling, multiple scattering, roughness and detector resolution both at the surface and at depth within the sample. The code also simulates elastic recoil time of flight spectra, which compare favourably with RBS analysis techniques. The ToF detector has a timing resolution of the order 300 ps, a mass resolution, for 30 MeV gallium recoils, of 4–5 amu and a depth resolution of 150 A at the surface. The spectrometer to date has been used to characterise such materials as YBCO thin films, GaAs structures and implanted silicon samples.

Fine particle characterisation, source apportionment and long-range dust transport into the Sydney Basin: a long term study between 1998 and 2009

Ion beam analysis techniques have been used to characterise fine particle (PM2.5) pollution in the Sydney Basin between 1 July 1998 and 31 December 2009. Nearly 1 200 filters were obtained and analysed for more than 21 different chemical species from hydrogen to lead. Positive matrix factorisation was then applied to this significant database to determine 7 different source fingerprints and their contributions to the total PM2.5 mass. Most of these sources originated in the Sydney Basin, however there were significant windblown soil sources that originated not just from desert regions in central Australia but also from large agricultural regions around 500 km south west of the Basin. This long range transport of fine dust was tracked using hourly back trajectories for every sampling day during the study period and showed that 33% of extreme dust events were probably originating from agricultural regions and not the central desert regions of Australia as first thought.

Ion beam methods to determine trace heavy metals concentrations and sources in urban airsheds

Unique data for Australia on the concentration of selected metals in fine particle ambient air pollution is presented for urban, industrial and rural sites along 300 km section of the eastern coast line of Australia around Sydney. IBA techniques were used to determine over 25 different chemical species in the air including, H, C, N, O, F, Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Br, Se and Pb. This included many trace metals at concentrations around 1 ng/m3 of air sampled.

Multi-elemental methods for fine particle source apportionment at the global baseline station at Cape Grim, Tasmania

Abstract Four standard IBA methods have been used to quantify and characterise fine particles (PM2.5) collected at the global baseline station at Cape Grim in north western Tasmania over the period 1992–1998. The methods are multi-elemental, sensitive and very fast enabling hundreds of filter papers to be analysed in a short time, with high sensitivity and source apportionment to be determined.

The complementarity of PIXE and synchrotron induced X-ray methods for the characterisation of combustion sources contributing to urban air pollution

Abstract Current knowledge of fine-particle airborne pollution concentrations and constituents with diameters below 2.5 μm (PM2.5) is limited. Sources are both natural and man-made. Here we describe two types of experiments performed using the advanced photon source facility at Chicago, and compare the results with PIXE analysis on the same fine particle filters. These are firstly broad beam (2 mm) studies with tuned synchrotron beam energies to help resolve over-lapping X-rays, and secondly highly focused X-ray beam studies (0.2 μm) of individual fine particles from airborne pollution combustion sources.

Advancements in the Management Measurements & Visualisation of NEC Beam Profile Monitors

In DC ion beam tandem accelerator facilities commonly Helix Rotating wire Beam Profile Monitors/scanners (BPM) are used to monitor the shape and location of the ion beam. These BPMs are used in combination with a BPM Selection station which activates and conditions signals visualisation on an Oscilloscope. At ANSTO we have been developing an alternative system to allow firstly the management and operation of concurrent National Electrostatics Corp (NEC) BPMs, secondly to construct a 2D approximation of the particle beam parameters based on programmable hardware and software, and thirdly to give advanced functionality to control systems. This paper will review the current status of the development, and the potential features which can be gained with this technological approach.

In situ ERD analysis of sol–gel films during thermal processing

Abstract Titania sol–gel films have been deposited at low temperatures. The chemical transformation from the as-deposited sol–gel film to the final oxide–ceramic product during thermal processing is being studied using 18 O gas. Oxygen is flowed onto the sample surface at various temperatures up to 500 °C, with in situ measurements made of the induced modifications using heavy ion time-of-flight recoil spectrometry. The changes in oxygen uptake and retention observed during oxidation at elevated temperatures are correlated with different sol–gel deposition conditions. Differences in film diffusivity appear to be the dominating effect.