Articles | Volume 8, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3729-2015
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3729-2015
Research article
 | 
16 Sep 2015
Research article |  | 16 Sep 2015

Accuracy and precision of 14C-based source apportionment of organic and elemental carbon in aerosols using the Swiss_4S protocol

G. O. Mouteva, S. M. Fahrni, G. M. Santos, J. T. Randerson, Y.-L. Zhang, S. Szidat, and C. I. Czimczik

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Short summary
We describe a stepwise uncertainty analysis of 14C measurements of organic (OC) and elemental (EC) carbon fractions of aerosols. Using the Swiss_4S thermal-optical protocol with a newly established trapping setup, we show that we can efficiently isolate and trap each carbon fraction and perform 14C analysis of ultra-small OC and EC samples with high accuracy and low 14C blanks. Our study presents a first step towards the development of a common protocol for OC and EC 14C measurements.