Atmospheric Brown Carbon on the Tibetan Plateau: Regional Differences in Chemical Composition and Light Absorption Properties

Xu, Jianzhong; Hettiyadura, Anusha Priyadarshani Silva; Liu, Yanmei; Zhang, Xinghua; Kang, Shichang; Laskin, Alexander

doi:10.1021/acs.estlett.2c00016

Title: Atmospheric Brown Carbon on the Tibetan Plateau: Regional Differences in Chemical Composition and Light Absorption Properties

Journal Article · 08 February 2022 · Environmental Science & Technology Letters (Online)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.2c00016 · OSTI ID:1867340

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^[2]; Liu, Yanmei ^[3];

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Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Lanzhou (China); Purdue University
Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Lanzhou (China)

In this work, fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) filter samples were collected from two high-altitude remote sites located in the southern (QOMS) and northern (WLG) regions of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) to explore the regional differences in brown carbon (BrC) properties. Chemical differences in BrC composition representative of these two areas were inferred from molecular-level analysis of the PM_2.5 samples using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array and high-resolution mass spectrometry detectors. The results show that more polar BrC chromophores were abundant in QOMS samples, while contributions from polar and less polar chromophores were comparable in WLG samples. A higher mass absorption coefficient of BrC was observed at QOMS than at WLG. Strong BrC chromophores in QOMS samples were identified as oxygenated aromatics and nitrophenol compounds, while organosulfate compounds were found in the WLG sample. The results of this study indicate regional differences in BrC chromophores and provide insights into their sources and chemical processes, which should be considered for predictive understanding and modeling of the radiative forcing of aerosol in the TP area.

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Research Organization:: Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences Scientific Research Foundation

Contributing Organization:: Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources; Chinese Academy of Sciences

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0021977

OSTI ID:: 1867340

Journal Information:: Environmental Science & Technology Letters (Online), Journal Name: Environmental Science & Technology Letters (Online) Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 9; ISSN 2328-8930

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
58 GEOSCIENCES
aerosol
brown carbon
climate forcing
high-performance liquid chromatography
high-resolution mass spectrometry
light absorption
molecular composition
photochemistry

Title: Atmospheric Brown Carbon on the Tibetan Plateau: Regional Differences in Chemical Composition and Light Absorption Properties

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