A new issue of LA RIVISTA DEL NUOVO CIMENTO della Società Italiana di Fisica reviewing the current status of the research on a critical component of the atmosphere

La Rivista del Nuovo Cimento Vol. 44 N. 3 (2021) – Available Open Access

An overview of optical and thermal methods for the characterization of carbonaceous aerosol
D. Massabò, P. Prati

Carbon is intrinsically related with life, being involved in the most complex and mysterious of chemical reactions. In the atmospheric environment, carbon plays an important and multifaceted role. It forms not only CO2 and other gaseous compounds, but is also one of the major components of the elusive atmospheric aerosols. Actually, carbonaceous aerosols have a still not fully understood impact on climate and human health. The set of strategies to quantify the concentration of specific carbonaceous species in the atmospheric aerosols and to single out the impact of their different sources, is extremely ample. However, crucial problems still wait for a satisfactory answer. In this review, we summarize the state of the art in the field, with a focus on the very widespread optical and thermo-optical methodologies and with insights on the most relevant open problems and emerging approaches.