Optical properties and radiative forcing of fractal-like tar ball aggregates from biomass burning

Bhandari, J; China, Swarup; Girotto, Giulia; Scarnato, Barbara; Gorkowski, K; Aiken, Allison; Dubey, Manvendra K.; Mazzoleni, Claudio

doi:10.1016/j.jqsrt.2019.01.032

Optical properties and radiative forcing of fractal-like tar ball aggregates from biomass burning

Journal Article · Mon Jun 24 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jqsrt.2019.01.032· OSTI ID:1543294

Bhandari, J ^[1]; ^[2]; Girotto, Giulia ^[1]; Scarnato, Barbara ^[3]; Gorkowski, K ^[4]; Aiken, Allison ^[5]; Dubey, Manvendra K. ^[5]; Mazzoleni, Claudio ^[5]

Michigan Technological University
BATTELLE (PACIFIC NW LAB)
DNV GL
Michigan Technological Univers
Los Alamos National Laboratory

Tar balls are frequently found in slightly aged biomass burning plumes. They are spherical in shape, have diameters between ~100 and 300 nm, are amorphous and composed mostly of oxygen and carbon. Tar balls are light absorbing and considered to be a component of brown carbon. Tar balls have been typically reported and analyzed as individual spheres; however, in a recent study, we reported the presence of significant fractions of fractal-like tar ball aggregates in fire plumes from different geographical locations. Aggregation affects the optical properties of particles; therefore, we use T-Matrix and Lorenz-Mie simulations to explore the effects of aggregation on the tar balls’ optical properties in the 350 – 1150 nm wavelength range. We also evaluate the effects of different index of refraction values available from the literature, different monomer numbers, and monomer sizes, as these are key factors determining the aggregates optical properties. Furthermore, we estimate the direct radiative forcing for low and high surface albedos. The single scattering albedo of aggregates exceed by up to 77% that of individual tar balls. The hemispherical upscatter fraction of tar ball aggregates are more than 100% larger than for individual tar balls in many cases. The top of the atmosphere simple forcing efficiency over dark surfaces shows large variabilities with differences up to ~53% between the tar ball aggregates and individual tar balls. These results demonstrate that aggregation of tar balls can have a significant impact on their optical properties and radiative forcing.

Research Organization:: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

DOE Contract Number:: AC05-76RL01830

OSTI ID:: 1543294

Report Number(s):: PNNL-SA-138061

Journal Information:: Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer, Journal Name: Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer Vol. 230

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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