Dust aerosols are an important component of the atmospheric system that not only has a direct impact on human health, but also amplifies chemical reactions in the atmosphere. Measuring dust levels is the first step in solving dust problems, and accurate monitoring equipment is an excellent tool. As part of the European FRAGMENT project conducted by the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), the BSC selected the Palas® Fidas® 200 aerosol spectrometer from aerosol monitoring experts to measure mass concentration and particle number concentration at different altitudes. The monitoring project was carried out in the Moroccan desert. The Fidas® fine dust monitoring system introduced by Palas® can operate stably and efficiently under extreme environmental conditions and provides an accurate database for this research.
For the service of society
The Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) is the national supercomputing centre in Spain. The BSC specialises in high-performance computing. Its main mission is to provide supercomputing infrastructure and services to Spanish and European scientists and to put the relevant knowledge and technology at the service of society. The data centre has been selected as one of three facilities that will host a network of large capacity supercomputers (exascale supercomputers). The European FRAGMENT project, in which the BSC is involved, is designed to measure the size fractions of dust particles in areas with high dust pollution (deserts and similar regions) and to understand and simulate transport processes in the atmosphere and the sedimentation of dust. The Fidas® instrument is able to measure the particle concentration of different particle sizes in detail and provide scientists with very reliable detection data, which has played a major role in subsequent research.
Creating a model for the emitted PSD of minerals and the relationship to topsoil
Dust aerosols are in fact a mixture of different minerals whose relative abundance, particle size distribution (PSD), shape, surface topography and mixing state influence their impact on climate. However, in Earth system models, dust aerosols are usually assumed to have a globally uniform composition, neglecting the known local and regional differences in the mineralogical composition of the sources. Monitoring dust transport is therefore important to understand the deposition of minerals as fertiliser. The Palas® instruments help the Barcelona Supercomputing Center to understand the emitted PSD of minerals and the relationship with topsoil, to extend the theoretical framework and to build a global model. Click for more details about the FRAGMENT project
The Fidas® 200 is highly reliable and ensures stable measurement performance even in extreme environments. This fine dust monitor offers a data availability of over 99%. It can be used just as successfully in public measurement networks and conurbations as it can on coasts, in the mountains, in the Arctic and in desert regions. With its drying system, Fidas® 200 prevents falsification of measurement results due to condensation effects in high humidity and can thus work reliably even in fog and low temperatures, e.g. for environmental monitoring in networks, emission measurements, long-term studies, allocation of emission sources and dispersion studies. Fidas® fine dust monitors detect pollution before it occurs, while other technologies sometimes provide results only after a delay of several days. In networked systems, rapid warning of environmental hazards therefore becomes possible, contributing to a quick solution of pollution problems.
Fidas® Series Single Particle Aerosol Distribution Spectrometers
Advantages
·  Certified according to TÜV Rheinland Germany and MCERTS UK
·  Continuous and simultaneous real-time measurement of multiple PM values
·  Additional information on the basis of particle number concentration
·  Adjustable time resolution from over 1s to 24h
·  Cloud zone via Palas® server for worldwide data retrieval
·  Low maintenance, low consumables
Applications
·  Regulatory pollution control in monitoring networks
·  Long-term studies of particles
·  Mobile navigation monitoring
·  Emission dispersion studiesÂ
Palas® China will arrange a series of online webinars both in English and Chinese for Ambient air quality continuous monitoring system, Palas® SMPS scanning mobility particle sizer, Palas® Promo® & Aerosol Generator & Dilution system, ISO 16890 filter media tester, Palas® MFP 3000 G, ISO 29463-3 filter media tester, Palas® MFP Nano plus 4000, ISO 17536 Fractional filtration efficiency tester of Oil Mist Separator, Palas® HMT 1000, as well as Particle Distribution Measurement Devices Introduction – Optical Scattering Method and many other solutions. If interested in the webinars for our products, you are more than welcome to register on our official website and get the latest webinar plan!