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Title: Quantification of black carbon mixing state from traffic: Implications for aerosol optical properties

Journal Article · · Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online)
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [1];  [1];  [4];  [1];  [5];  [1]
  1. Univ. of Toronto, Toronto, ON (Canada)
  2. Univ. of Toronto, Toronto, ON (Canada); Univ. College Cork, Cork (Ireland)
  3. Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL (United States)
  4. Univ. College Cork, Cork (Ireland)
  5. University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, (Canada). Department of Chemistry
+ Show Author Affiliations

The climatic impacts of black carbon (BC) aerosol, an important absorber of solar radiation in the atmosphere, remain poorly constrained and are intimately related to its particle-scale physical and chemical properties. Using particle-resolved modelling informed by quantitative measurements from a soot-particle aerosol mass spectrometer, we confirm that the mixing state (the distribution of co-emitted aerosol amongst fresh BC-containing particles) at the time of emission significantly affects BC-aerosol optical properties even after a day of atmospheric processing. Both single particle and ensemble aerosol mass spectrometry observations indicate that BC near the point of emission co-exists with hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol (HOA) in two distinct particle types: HOA-rich and BC-rich particles. The average mass fraction of black carbon in HOA-rich and BC-rich particle classes was < 0.1 and 0.8, respectively. Notably, approximately 90 % of BC mass resides in BC-rich particles. This new measurement capability provides quantitative insight into the physical and chemical nature of BC-containing particles and is used to drive a particle-resolved aerosol box model. Lastly, significant differences in calculated single scattering albedo (an increase of 0.1) arise from accurate treatment of initial particle mixing state as compared to the assumption of uniform aerosol composition at the point of BC injection into the atmosphere.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0011771
OSTI ID:
1258010
Journal Information:
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online), Vol. 16, Issue 7; ISSN 1680-7324
Publisher:
European Geosciences UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 28 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (9)

Influence of Emissions and Aqueous Processing on Particles Containing Black Carbon in a Polluted Urban Environment: Insights From a Soot Particle-Aerosol Mass Spectrometer journal June 2018
Microphysics-based black carbon aging in a global CTM: constraints from HIPPO observations and implications for global black carbon budget journal January 2016
Size distribution and mixing state of black carbon particles during a heavy air pollution episode in Shanghai journal January 2016
Formation of secondary organic aerosol coating on black carbon particles near vehicular emissions journal January 2017
Characterizing the evolution of physical properties and mixing state of black carbon particles: from near a major highway to the broader urban plume in Los Angeles journal January 2018
Downwind evolution of the volatility and mixing state of near-road aerosols near a US interstate highway journal January 2018
Characterization of black carbon-containing fine particles in Beijing during wintertime journal January 2019
Modeling the aging process of black carbon during atmospheric transport using a new approach: a case study in Beijing journal January 2019
Microphysics-based black carbon aging in a global CTM: constraints from HIPPO observations and implications for global black carbon budget posted_content November 2015

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