Continuous bioaerosol monitoring in a tropical environment using a UV fluorescence particle spectrometer

An instrument designed to continuously monitor ambient bioaerosol concentrations is presented. The instrument is a compact, relatively low-cost, UV aerosol spectrometer that monitors and classifies individual airborne particles by simultaneously recording both fluorescence excitation-emission data and multi-angle spatial elastic scattering data from each particle. The former can indicate the possible presence of specific biological fluorophores within the particle while the latter provides an assessment of particle size and shape. These parameters can facilitate discrimination between biological and nonbiological particles and potentially allow classification of biological particle types. Example measurements are given, illustrating data from the Borneo rain forest. Copyright 2011 Royal Meteorological Society