Enhanced light absorption for solid-state brown carbon from wildfires due to organic and water coatings

Zezhen Cheng, Manish Shrivastava, Amna Ijaz, Daniel Veghte, Gregory W. Vandergrift, Kuo-Pin Tseng, Nurun Nahar Lata, Will Kew, Kaitlyn Suski, Johannes Weis, Gourihar Kulkarni, Larry K. Berg, Jerome D. Fast, Libor Kovarik, Lynn R. Mazzoleni, Alla Zelenyuk and Swarup China ()
Additional contact information
Zezhen Cheng: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Manish Shrivastava: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Amna Ijaz: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Daniel Veghte: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Gregory W. Vandergrift: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Kuo-Pin Tseng: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Nurun Nahar Lata: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Will Kew: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Kaitlyn Suski: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Johannes Weis: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Gourihar Kulkarni: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Larry K. Berg: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Jerome D. Fast: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Libor Kovarik: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Lynn R. Mazzoleni: Michigan Technological University
Alla Zelenyuk: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Swarup China: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Wildfires emit solid-state strongly absorptive brown carbon (solid S-BrC, commonly known as tar ball), critical to Earth’s radiation budget and climate, but their highly variable light absorption properties are typically not accounted for in climate models. Here, we show that from a Pacific Northwest wildfire, over 90% of particles are solid S-BrC with a mean refractive index of 1.49 + 0.056i at 550 nm. Model sensitivity studies show refractive index variation can cause a ~200% difference in regional absorption aerosol optical depth. We show that ~50% of solid S-BrC particles from this sample uptake water above 97% relative humidity. We hypothesize these results from a hygroscopic organic coating, potentially facilitating solid S-BrC as nuclei for cloud droplets. This water uptake doubles absorption at 550 nm and the organic coating on solid S-BrC can lead to even higher absorption enhancements than water. Incorporating solid S-BrC and water interactions should improve Earth’s radiation budget predictions.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-54506-5

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