Collocated comparisons of continuous and filter-based PM2.5 measurements at Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada

Abstract

Collocated comparisons for three PM2.5 monitors were conducted from June 2011 to May 2013 at an air monitoring station in the residential area of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, a city located in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region. Extremely cold winters (down to approximately −40°C) coupled with low PM2.5 concentrations present a challenge for continuous measurements. Both the tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM), operated at 40°C (i.e., TEOM40), and Synchronized Hybrid Ambient Real-time Particulate (SHARP, a Federal Equivalent Method [FEM]), were compared with a Partisol PM2.5 U.S. Federal Reference Method (FRM) sampler. While hourly TEOM40 PM2.5 were consistently ~20–50% lower than that of SHARP, no statistically significant differences were found between the 24-hr averages for FRM and SHARP. Orthogonal regression (OR) equations derived from FRM and TEOM40 were used to adjust the TEOM40 (i.e., TEOMadj) and improve its agreement with FRM, particularly for the cold season. The 12-year-long hourly TEOMadj measurements from 1999 to 2011 based on the OR equations between SHARP and TEOM40 were derived from the 2-year (2011–2013) collocated measurements. The trend analysis combining both TEOMadj and SHARP measurements showed a statistically significant decrease in PM2.5 concentrations with a seasonal slope of −0.15 μg m−3 yr−1 from 1999 to 2014.Implications: Consistency in PM2.5 measurements are needed for trend analysis. Collocated comparison among the three PM2.5 monitors demonstrated the difference between FRM and TEOM, as well as between SHARP and TEOM. The orthogonal regressions equations can be applied to correct historical TEOM data to examine long-term trends within the network.