Enhanced light absorption by mixed source black and brown carbon particles in UK winter

Shang Liu (), Allison C. Aiken, Kyle Gorkowski, Manvendra K. Dubey (), Christopher D. Cappa, Leah R. Williams, Scott C. Herndon, Paola Massoli, Edward C. Fortner, Puneet S. Chhabra, William A. Brooks, Timothy B. Onasch, John T. Jayne, Douglas R. Worsnop, Swarup China, Noopur Sharma, Claudio Mazzoleni, Lu Xu, Nga L. Ng, Dantong Liu, James D. Allan, James D. Lee, Zoë L. Fleming, Claudia Mohr, Peter Zotter, Sönke Szidat and André S. H. Prévôt
Additional contact information
Shang Liu: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Allison C. Aiken: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Kyle Gorkowski: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Manvendra K. Dubey: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Christopher D. Cappa: University of California
Leah R. Williams: Aerodyne Research, Inc.
Scott C. Herndon: Aerodyne Research, Inc.
Paola Massoli: Aerodyne Research, Inc.
Edward C. Fortner: Aerodyne Research, Inc.
Puneet S. Chhabra: Aerodyne Research, Inc.
William A. Brooks: Aerodyne Research, Inc.
Timothy B. Onasch: Aerodyne Research, Inc.
John T. Jayne: Aerodyne Research, Inc.
Douglas R. Worsnop: Aerodyne Research, Inc.
Swarup China: Michigan Technological University
Noopur Sharma: Michigan Technological University
Claudio Mazzoleni: Michigan Technological University
Lu Xu: School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Nga L. Ng: School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Dantong Liu: School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Science, University of Manchester
James D. Allan: School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Science, University of Manchester
James D. Lee: Wolfson Atmospheric Chemistry Laboratory and National Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of York
Zoë L. Fleming: National Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of Leicester
Claudia Mohr: University of Washington
Peter Zotter: Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute
Sönke Szidat: University of Bern
André S. H. Prévôt: Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Black carbon (BC) and light-absorbing organic carbon (brown carbon, BrC) play key roles in warming the atmosphere, but the magnitude of their effects remains highly uncertain. Theoretical modelling and laboratory experiments demonstrate that coatings on BC can enhance BC’s light absorption, therefore many climate models simply assume enhanced BC absorption by a factor of ∼1.5. However, recent field observations show negligible absorption enhancement, implying models may overestimate BC’s warming. Here we report direct evidence of substantial field-measured BC absorption enhancement, with the magnitude strongly depending on BC coating amount. Increases in BC coating result from a combination of changing sources and photochemical aging processes. When the influence of BrC is accounted for, observationally constrained model calculations of the BC absorption enhancement can be reconciled with the observations. We conclude that the influence of coatings on BC absorption should be treated as a source and regionally specific parameter in climate models.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9435

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