Laboratory Studies of Cloud Particle Formation, Mixing State, and Physiochemical and Optical Properties of Carbonaceous Aerosols
- Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA (United States)
Aerosol particles affect climate through direct and indirect interactions. In direct interactions, non-absorbing particles such as sulfate aerosols, backscatter solar radiation to space, leading to atmospheric cooling. By contrast, particles containing absorbing material such as refractory black carbon (rBC) produced during incomplete fuel combustion and to some extent also brown carbon components of biomass burning organic aerosol (BBOA) and secondary organic aerosol (SOA), absorb incoming solar radiation leading to atmospheric warming. Indirect effects include the ability of aerosol particles to alter the formation and properties of liquid water clouds (acting as cloud condensation nuclei or CCN) and ice clouds (acting as ice nuclei or IN), thereby affecting cloud albedo, coverage and lifetimes. The largest uncertainty in the modeling of climate impacts due to radiative forcing is caused by inadequate representation of aerosol-cloud interactions. The total radiative forcing on climate due to aerosol particles may be as large as that of the greenhouse gases, but predominantly opposite in sign (in the direction of cooling) and much more uncertain. All the direct and indirect radiative forcing effects may be influenced by the chemical composition of the particles.
- Research Organization:
- Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
- DOE Contract Number:
- SC0011935
- OSTI ID:
- 1529101
- Report Number(s):
- Final Report BC5100216
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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