Radiative absorption enhancements due to the mixing state of atmospheric black carbon

Christopher D. Cappa; Timothy B. Onasch; Paola Massoli; Douglas R. Worsnop; Timothy S. Bates; Eben S. Cross; Paul Davidovits; Jani Hakala; Katherine L. Hayden; B. Tom Jobson; Katheryn R. Kolesar; Daniel A. Lack; Brian M. Lerner; Shao Meng Li; Daniel Mellon; Ibraheem Nuaaman; Jason S. Olfert; Tuukka Petäjä; Patricia K. Quinn; Chen Song; R. Subramanian; Eric J. Williams; Rahul A. Zaveri

doi:10.1126/science.1223447

Radiative absorption enhancements due to the mixing state of atmospheric black carbon

Christopher D. Cappa^*
, Timothy B. Onasch
, Paola Massoli
, Douglas R. Worsnop
, Timothy S. Bates
, Eben S. Cross
, Paul Davidovits
, Jani Hakala
, Katherine L. Hayden
, B. Tom Jobson
, Katheryn R. Kolesar
, Daniel A. Lack
, Brian M. Lerner
, Shao Meng Li
, Daniel Mellon
, Ibraheem Nuaaman
, Jason S. Olfert
, Tuukka Petäjä
, Patricia K. Quinn
, Chen Song

R. Subramanian, Eric J. Williams, Rahul A. Zaveri

^*Corresponding author for this work

Not published at VTT

University of California, Davis
Aerodyne Research Inc
Boston College
University of Helsinki
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Environment and Climate Change Canada
Washington State University
University of Colorado Denver
York University Toronto
University of Alberta
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
Research Triangle Institute International (RTI)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

631 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Atmospheric black carbon (BC) warms Earth's climate, and its reduction has been targeted for near-term climate change mitigation. Models that include forcing by BC assume internal mixing with non-BC aerosol components that enhance BC absorption, often by a factor of ∼2; such model estimates have yet to be clearly validated through atmospheric observations. Here, direct in situ measurements of BC absorption enhancements (E_abs) and mixing state are reported for two California regions. The observed E_abs is small - 6% on average at 532 nm - and increases weakly with photochemical aging. The E_abs is less than predicted from observationally constrained theoretical calculations, suggesting that many climate models may overestimate warming by BC. These ambient observations stand in contrast to laboratory measurements that show substantial E_abs for BC are possible.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1078-1081
Journal	Science
Volume	337
Issue number	6098
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1223447
Publication status	Published - 31 Aug 2012
MoE publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 13 Climate Action

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10.1126/science.1223447

Cite this

Cappa, C. D., Onasch, T. B., Massoli, P., Worsnop, D. R., Bates, T. S., Cross, E. S., Davidovits, P., Hakala, J., Hayden, K. L., Jobson, B. T., Kolesar, K. R., Lack, D. A., Lerner, B. M., Li, S. M., Mellon, D., Nuaaman, I., Olfert, J. S., Petäjä, T., Quinn, P. K., ... Zaveri, R. A. (2012). Radiative absorption enhancements due to the mixing state of atmospheric black carbon. Science, 337(6098), 1078-1081. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1223447

@article{3b3e33bf3ba14bc38a67ae47a1d8448f,

title = "Radiative absorption enhancements due to the mixing state of atmospheric black carbon",

abstract = "Atmospheric black carbon (BC) warms Earth's climate, and its reduction has been targeted for near-term climate change mitigation. Models that include forcing by BC assume internal mixing with non-BC aerosol components that enhance BC absorption, often by a factor of ∼2; such model estimates have yet to be clearly validated through atmospheric observations. Here, direct in situ measurements of BC absorption enhancements (Eabs) and mixing state are reported for two California regions. The observed Eabs is small - 6\% on average at 532 nm - and increases weakly with photochemical aging. The Eabs is less than predicted from observationally constrained theoretical calculations, suggesting that many climate models may overestimate warming by BC. These ambient observations stand in contrast to laboratory measurements that show substantial Eabs for BC are possible.",

author = "Cappa, \{Christopher D.\} and Onasch, \{Timothy B.\} and Paola Massoli and Worsnop, \{Douglas R.\} and Bates, \{Timothy S.\} and Cross, \{Eben S.\} and Paul Davidovits and Jani Hakala and Hayden, \{Katherine L.\} and Jobson, \{B. Tom\} and Kolesar, \{Katheryn R.\} and Lack, \{Daniel A.\} and Lerner, \{Brian M.\} and Li, \{Shao Meng\} and Daniel Mellon and Ibraheem Nuaaman and Olfert, \{Jason S.\} and Tuukka Pet{\"a}j{\"a} and Quinn, \{Patricia K.\} and Chen Song and R. Subramanian and Williams, \{Eric J.\} and Zaveri, \{Rahul A.\}",

year = "2012",

month = aug,

day = "31",

doi = "10.1126/science.1223447",

language = "English",

volume = "337",

pages = "1078--1081",

journal = "Science",

issn = "0036-8075",

number = "6098",

}

Cappa, CD, Onasch, TB, Massoli, P, Worsnop, DR, Bates, TS, Cross, ES, Davidovits, P, Hakala, J, Hayden, KL, Jobson, BT, Kolesar, KR, Lack, DA, Lerner, BM, Li, SM, Mellon, D, Nuaaman, I, Olfert, JS, Petäjä, T, Quinn, PK, Song, C, Subramanian, R, Williams, EJ & Zaveri, RA 2012, 'Radiative absorption enhancements due to the mixing state of atmospheric black carbon', Science, vol. 337, no. 6098, pp. 1078-1081. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1223447

TY - JOUR

T1 - Radiative absorption enhancements due to the mixing state of atmospheric black carbon

AU - Cappa, Christopher D.

AU - Onasch, Timothy B.

AU - Massoli, Paola

AU - Worsnop, Douglas R.

AU - Bates, Timothy S.

AU - Cross, Eben S.

AU - Davidovits, Paul

AU - Hakala, Jani

AU - Hayden, Katherine L.

AU - Jobson, B. Tom

AU - Kolesar, Katheryn R.

AU - Lack, Daniel A.

AU - Lerner, Brian M.

AU - Li, Shao Meng

AU - Mellon, Daniel

AU - Nuaaman, Ibraheem

AU - Olfert, Jason S.

AU - Petäjä, Tuukka

AU - Quinn, Patricia K.

AU - Song, Chen

AU - Subramanian, R.

AU - Williams, Eric J.

AU - Zaveri, Rahul A.

PY - 2012/8/31

Y1 - 2012/8/31

N2 - Atmospheric black carbon (BC) warms Earth's climate, and its reduction has been targeted for near-term climate change mitigation. Models that include forcing by BC assume internal mixing with non-BC aerosol components that enhance BC absorption, often by a factor of ∼2; such model estimates have yet to be clearly validated through atmospheric observations. Here, direct in situ measurements of BC absorption enhancements (Eabs) and mixing state are reported for two California regions. The observed Eabs is small - 6% on average at 532 nm - and increases weakly with photochemical aging. The Eabs is less than predicted from observationally constrained theoretical calculations, suggesting that many climate models may overestimate warming by BC. These ambient observations stand in contrast to laboratory measurements that show substantial Eabs for BC are possible.

AB - Atmospheric black carbon (BC) warms Earth's climate, and its reduction has been targeted for near-term climate change mitigation. Models that include forcing by BC assume internal mixing with non-BC aerosol components that enhance BC absorption, often by a factor of ∼2; such model estimates have yet to be clearly validated through atmospheric observations. Here, direct in situ measurements of BC absorption enhancements (Eabs) and mixing state are reported for two California regions. The observed Eabs is small - 6% on average at 532 nm - and increases weakly with photochemical aging. The Eabs is less than predicted from observationally constrained theoretical calculations, suggesting that many climate models may overestimate warming by BC. These ambient observations stand in contrast to laboratory measurements that show substantial Eabs for BC are possible.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84865546127

U2 - 10.1126/science.1223447

DO - 10.1126/science.1223447

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84865546127

SN - 0036-8075

VL - 337

SP - 1078

EP - 1081

JO - Science

JF - Science

IS - 6098

ER -

Radiative absorption enhancements due to the mixing state of atmospheric black carbon

Abstract

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