Partner: MeteoSwiss
PI: Maria Lbadaoui-Darvas (MeteoSwiss/EPFL, [email protected])
Operator: Romanos Foskinis (EPFL, [email protected])
The Swisens Poleno Jupiter (Swisens A.G., Emmen, Switzerland) is an automatic multi-sensor airflow cytometer that measures particles with a >5 μm detection limit at concentrations down to few particles per m3. It combines digital in-line holography from two orthogonal cameras with spectrally resolved fluorescence intensity measurements. Fluorescence is excited using LEDs (280 nm and 365 nm) and a laser diode (405 nm), with emissions detected in 5 wavebands (333-381, 411-459, 465-501, 539-585, 658-694 nm), yielding 13 measurement channels. It also measures light scattering. For each particle, it provides two holographic images and a JSON file with fluorescent and light scattering intensities, particle properties, and metadata. An online database (Swisens Data Explorer) provides visualization and statistics. The Swisens Poleno is used to monitor airborne pollen concentrations at many sites across Europe, for instance Cordoba (Spain), Vilnius (Lithuania), Helsinki (Finland). Furthermore, it is also used in the national pollen monitoring and forecasting network in Switzerland. The instrument’s capacity to operate under extreme conditions weather conditions relevant to high altitudes has been tested at the Jungfraujoch High Altitude Research Station where it demonstrated stable operation down to temperatures below -25 C and wind gusts exceeding 250 km/h. Using custom trained algorithms, species-level identification of pollen is possible with the Swisens Poleno, and it has the demonstrated capability to detect other types of particles with low abundance, such as microplastics.
References: Sauvageat, E., Zeder, Y., Auderset, K., Calpini, B., Clot, B., Crouzy, B., Konzelmann, T., Lieberherr, G., Tummon, F., and Vasilatou, K.: Real-time pollen monitoring using digital holography, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1539–1550, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1539-2020, 2020.