1
|
Coe H. Particle resupply in the lower atmosphere. Science 2024; 385:144. [PMID: 38991088 DOI: 10.1126/science.adq4711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/13/2024]
Abstract
New atmospheric particles form when the stratosphere intrudes into the troposphere.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hugh Coe
- Manchester Environmental Research Institute, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
- National Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Xavier C, de jonge RW, Jokinen T, Beck L, Sipilä M, Olenius T, Roldin P. Role of Iodine-Assisted Aerosol Particle Formation in Antarctica. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:7314-7324. [PMID: 38626432 PMCID: PMC11064213 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c09103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Revised: 04/03/2024] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/18/2024]
Abstract
New particle formation via the ion-mediated sulfuric acid and ammonia molecular clustering mechanism remains the most widely observed and experimentally verified pathway. Recent laboratory and molecular level observations indicate iodine-driven nucleation as a potentially important source of new particles, especially in coastal areas. In this study, we assess the role of iodine species in particle formation using the best available molecular thermochemistry data and coupled to a detailed 1-d column model which is run along air mass trajectories over the Southern Ocean and the coast of Antarctica. In the air masses traversing the open ocean, ion-mediated SA-NH3 clustering appears insufficient to explain the observed particle size distribution, wherein the simulated Aitken mode is lacking. Including the iodine-assisted particle formation improves the modeled Aitken mode representation with an increase in the number of freshly formed particles. This implies that more particles survive and grow to Aitken mode sizes via condensation of gaseous precursors and heterogeneous reactions. Under certain meteorological conditions, iodine-assisted particle formation can increase cloud condensation nuclei concentrations by 20%-100%.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carlton Xavier
- Department
of Physics, Lund University, Professorsgatan 1, Lund SE-22363, Sweden
- Swedish
Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), Norrköping SE-60176, Sweden
| | | | - Tuija Jokinen
- Institute
for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR)/Physics, Faculty
of Science, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 64, Helsinki 00014, Finland
- Climate
& Atmosphere Research Centre (CARE-C), The Cyprus Institute, P.O. Box 27456, Nicosia 1645, Cyprus
| | - Lisa Beck
- Institute
for Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt
am Main 60438, Germany
| | - Mikko Sipilä
- Institute
for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR)/Physics, Faculty
of Science, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 64, Helsinki 00014, Finland
| | - Tinja Olenius
- Swedish
Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), Norrköping SE-60176, Sweden
| | - Pontus Roldin
- Department
of Physics, Lund University, Professorsgatan 1, Lund SE-22363, Sweden
- Swedish
Environmental Research Institute IVL, Malmö SE-21119, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Robert A. Building references for nature conservation. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2024; 38:e14202. [PMID: 37811723 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Conservation references have long been used in conservation biology to compare current biodiversity processes and states with past conditions. However, beyond the paucity of data for the construction of ancient, even prehuman, references, the relevance of these ancient references for studying ecosystems radically modified by human activities is questionable, particularly when the notions of conservation references and conservation objectives are confused and when several conservation ethics coexist that require distinct references. Because of this implicit heterogeneity in the nature of the references and their temporal baseline, conservation references not only have different meanings, but also deliver different messages. I propose establishing a common framework for conservation references to approach past biological systems and build comparable references between studies and projects. The selection of these references (distinct from conservation objectives) should be an early, explicit, standardized, and transparent milestone in any conservation process and these references should be based on state, pressure, or process dynamics, rather than fixed states. Finally, the importance of the diversity of temporal baselines used to build conservation references and to measure anthropogenic impacts should be recognized to understand the biodiversity crisis in its entirety.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Robert
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Richardson K, Steffen W, Lucht W, Bendtsen J, Cornell SE, Donges JF, Drüke M, Fetzer I, Bala G, von Bloh W, Feulner G, Fiedler S, Gerten D, Gleeson T, Hofmann M, Huiskamp W, Kummu M, Mohan C, Nogués-Bravo D, Petri S, Porkka M, Rahmstorf S, Schaphoff S, Thonicke K, Tobian A, Virkki V, Wang-Erlandsson L, Weber L, Rockström J. Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadh2458. [PMID: 37703365 PMCID: PMC10499318 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh2458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 73.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023]
Abstract
This planetary boundaries framework update finds that six of the nine boundaries are transgressed, suggesting that Earth is now well outside of the safe operating space for humanity. Ocean acidification is close to being breached, while aerosol loading regionally exceeds the boundary. Stratospheric ozone levels have slightly recovered. The transgression level has increased for all boundaries earlier identified as overstepped. As primary production drives Earth system biosphere functions, human appropriation of net primary production is proposed as a control variable for functional biosphere integrity. This boundary is also transgressed. Earth system modeling of different levels of the transgression of the climate and land system change boundaries illustrates that these anthropogenic impacts on Earth system must be considered in a systemic context.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Richardson
- Globe Institute, Faculty of Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Will Steffen
- Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Wolfgang Lucht
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, Potsdam, Germany
- Department of Geography, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jørgen Bendtsen
- Globe Institute, Faculty of Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sarah E. Cornell
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jonathan F. Donges
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, Potsdam, Germany
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Markus Drüke
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Ingo Fetzer
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Govindasamy Bala
- Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka – 560012, India
| | - Werner von Bloh
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Georg Feulner
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Stephanie Fiedler
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and Faculty for Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Dieter Gerten
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, Potsdam, Germany
- Department of Geography, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Tom Gleeson
- Department of Civil Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
- School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Matthias Hofmann
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Willem Huiskamp
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Matti Kummu
- Water and Development Research Group, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
| | - Chinchu Mohan
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and Faculty for Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Kiel, Germany
- Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
- Waterplan (YC S21), San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - David Nogués-Bravo
- Globe Institute, Faculty of Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Stefan Petri
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Miina Porkka
- Water and Development Research Group, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
| | - Stefan Rahmstorf
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, Potsdam, Germany
- Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Sibyll Schaphoff
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Kirsten Thonicke
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Arne Tobian
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, Potsdam, Germany
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Vili Virkki
- Water and Development Research Group, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
| | - Lan Wang-Erlandsson
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, Potsdam, Germany
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Lisa Weber
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and Faculty for Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Johan Rockström
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, Potsdam, Germany
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Institute for Environmental Science and Geography, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Burney J, Persad G, Proctor J, Bendavid E, Burke M, Heft-Neal S. Geographically resolved social cost of anthropogenic emissions accounting for both direct and climate-mediated effects. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabn7307. [PMID: 36149961 PMCID: PMC9506714 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abn7307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The magnitude and distribution of physical and societal impacts from long-lived greenhouse gases are insensitive to the emission source location; the same is not true for major coemitted short-lived pollutants such as aerosols. Here, we combine novel global climate model simulations with established response functions to show that a given aerosol emission from different regions produces divergent air quality and climate changes and associated human system impacts, both locally and globally. The marginal global damages to infant mortality, crop productivity, and economic growth from aerosol emissions and their climate effects differ by more than an order of magnitude depending on source region, with certain regions creating global external climate changes and impacts much larger than those felt locally. The complex distributions of aerosol-driven societal impacts emerge from geographically distinct and region-specific aerosol-climate interactions, estimation of which is enabled by the full Earth System Modeling Framework used here.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Burney
- School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Geeta Persad
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Jonathan Proctor
- Center for the Environment and Data Science Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Eran Bendavid
- Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Marshall Burke
- Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Sam Heft-Neal
- Center on Food Security and the Environment, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
McConnell JR, Chellman NJ, Mulvaney R, Eckhardt S, Stohl A, Plunkett G, Kipfstuhl S, Freitag J, Isaksson E, Gleason KE, Brugger SO, McWethy DB, Abram NJ, Liu P, Aristarain AJ. Hemispheric black carbon increase after the 13th-century Māori arrival in New Zealand. Nature 2021; 598:82-85. [PMID: 34616056 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03858-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
New Zealand was among the last habitable places on earth to be colonized by humans1. Charcoal records indicate that wildfires were rare prior to colonization and widespread following the 13th- to 14th-century Māori settlement2, but the precise timing and magnitude of associated biomass-burning emissions are unknown1,3, as are effects on light-absorbing black carbon aerosol concentrations over the pristine Southern Ocean and Antarctica4. Here we used an array of well-dated Antarctic ice-core records to show that while black carbon deposition rates were stable over continental Antarctica during the past two millennia, they were approximately threefold higher over the northern Antarctic Peninsula during the past 700 years. Aerosol modelling5 demonstrates that the observed deposition could result only from increased emissions poleward of 40° S-implicating fires in Tasmania, New Zealand and Patagonia-but only New Zealand palaeofire records indicate coincident increases. Rapid deposition increases started in 1297 (±30 s.d.) in the northern Antarctic Peninsula, consistent with the late 13th-century Māori settlement and New Zealand black carbon emissions of 36 (±21 2 s.d.) Gg y-1 during peak deposition in the 16th century. While charcoal and pollen records suggest earlier, climate-modulated burning in Tasmania and southern Patagonia6,7, deposition in Antarctica shows that black carbon emissions from burning in New Zealand dwarfed other preindustrial emissions in these regions during the past 2,000 years, providing clear evidence of large-scale environmental effects associated with early human activities across the remote Southern Hemisphere.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph R McConnell
- Division of Hydrologic Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV, USA.
| | - Nathan J Chellman
- Division of Hydrologic Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Robert Mulvaney
- British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge, UK
| | - Sabine Eckhardt
- Department of Atmospheric and Climate Research, Norwegian Institute for Air Research, Kjeller, Norway
| | - Andreas Stohl
- Department of Meteorology and Geophysics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Gill Plunkett
- School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Sepp Kipfstuhl
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany
| | - Johannes Freitag
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany
| | | | - Kelly E Gleason
- Department of Environmental Science and Management, Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Sandra O Brugger
- Division of Hydrologic Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV, USA
| | - David B McWethy
- Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA
| | - Nerilie J Abram
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.,Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Pengfei Liu
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.,School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Alberto J Aristarain
- Instituto Antártico Argentino, Centro Regional de Investigaciones Cientifícas y Teconológicas, Mendoza, Argentina
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Zhang Y, Wang K, Tong H, Huang RJ, Hoffmann T. The maximum carbonyl ratio (MCR) as a new index for the structural classification of secondary organic aerosol components. RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY : RCM 2021; 35:e9113. [PMID: 33908097 DOI: 10.1002/rcm.9113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Revised: 04/18/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Organic aerosols (OA) account for a large fraction of atmospheric fine particulate matter and thus are affecting climate and public health. Elucidation of the chemical composition of OA is the key for addressing the role of ambient fine particles at the atmosphere-biosphere interface and mass spectrometry is the main method to achieve this goal. METHODS High-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) is on its way to becoming one of the most prominent analytical techniques, also for the analysis of atmospheric aerosols. The combination of high mass resolution and accurate mass determination allows the elemental compositions of numerous compounds to be easily elucidated. Here a new parameter for the improved classification of OA is introduced - the maximum carbonyl ratio (MCR) - which is directly derived from the molecular composition and is particularly suitable for the identification and characterization of secondary organic aerosols (SOA). RESULTS The concept is exemplified by the analysis of ambient OA samples from two measurement sites (Hyytiälä, Finland; Beijing, China) and of laboratory-generated SOA based on ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled to Orbitrap MS. To interpret the results, MCR-Van Krevelen (VK) diagrams are generated for the different OA samples and the individual compounds are categorized into specific areas in the diagrams. The results show that the MCR index is a valuable parameter for representing atmospheric SOA components in composition and structure-dependent visualization tools such as VK diagrams. CONCLUSIONS The MCR index is suggested as a tool for a better characterization of the sources and the processing of atmospheric OA components based on HRMS data. Since the MCR contains information on the concentration of highly electrophilic organic compounds in particulate matter (PM) as well as on the concentration of organic (hydro)peroxides, the MCR could be a promising metric for identifying health-related particulate matter parameters by HRMS.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yun Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, 55128, Germany
| | - Kai Wang
- Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions of MOE, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, National Academy of Agriculture Green Development, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Haijie Tong
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ru-Jin Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, 710061, China
| | - Thorsten Hoffmann
- Department of Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, 55128, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Aldhaif AM, Lopez DH, Dadashazar H, Painemal D, Peters AJ, Sorooshian A. An Aerosol Climatology and Implications for Clouds at a Remote Marine Site: Case Study Over Bermuda. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. ATMOSPHERES : JGR 2021; 126:e2020JD034038. [PMID: 34159044 PMCID: PMC8216143 DOI: 10.1029/2020jd034038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Aerosol characteristics and aerosol-cloud interactions remain uncertain in remote marine regions. We use over a decade of data (2000-2012) from the NASA AErosol RObotic NETwork, aerosol and wet deposition samples, satellite remote sensors, and models to examine aerosol and cloud droplet number characteristics at a representative open ocean site (Bermuda) over the Western North Atlantic Ocean (WNAO). Annual mean values were as follows: aerosol optical depth (AOD) = 0.12, Ångström Exponent (440/870 nm) = 0.95, fine mode fraction = 0.51, asymmetry factor = 0.72 (440 nm) and 0.68 (1020 nm), and Aqua-MODIS cloud droplet number concentrations = 51.3 cm-3. The winter season (December-February) was characterized by high sea salt optical thickness and the highest aerosol extinction in the lowest 2 km. Extensive precipitation over the WNAO in winter helps contribute to the low FMFs in winter (~0.40-0.50) even though air trajectories often originate over North America. Spring and summer had more pronounced influence from sulfate, dust, organic carbon, and black carbon. Volume size distributions were bimodal with a dominant coarse mode (effective radii: 1.85-2.09 μm) and less pronounced fine mode (0.14-0.16 μm), with variability in the coarse mode likely due to different characteristic sizes for transported dust (smaller) versus regional sea salt (larger). Extreme pollution events highlight the sensitivity of this site to long-range transport of urban emissions, dust, and smoke. Differing annual cycles are identified between AOD and cloud droplet number concentrations, motivating a deeper look into aerosol-cloud interactions at this site.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Abdulmonam M Aldhaif
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - David H Lopez
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Hossein Dadashazar
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - David Painemal
- Science Systems and Applications, Inc., Hampton, VA, USA
- NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
| | | | - Armin Sorooshian
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Zhao B, Fast JD, Donahue NM, Shrivastava M, Schervish M, Shilling JE, Gordon H, Wang J, Gao Y, Zaveri RA, Liu Y, Gaudet B. Impact of Urban Pollution on Organic-Mediated New-Particle Formation and Particle Number Concentration in the Amazon Rainforest. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2021; 55:4357-4367. [PMID: 33705653 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c07465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
A major challenge in assessing the impact of aerosols on climate change is to understand how human activities change aerosol loading and properties relative to the pristine/preindustrial baseline. Here, we combine chemical transport simulations and field measurements to investigate the effect of anthropogenic pollution from an isolated metropolis on the particle number concentration over the preindustrial-like Amazon rainforest through various new-particle formation (NPF) mechanisms and primary particle emissions. To represent organic-mediated NPF, we employ a state-of-the-art model that systematically simulates the formation chemistry and thermodynamics of extremely low volatility organic compounds, as well as their roles in NPF processes, and further update the model to improve organic NPF simulations under human-influenced conditions. Results show that urban pollution from the metropolis increases the particle number concentration by a factor of 5-25 over the downwind region (within 200 km from the city center) compared to background conditions. Our model indicates that NPF contributes over 70% of the total particle number in the downwind region except immediately adjacent to the sources. Among different NPF mechanisms, the ternary NPF involving organics and sulfuric acid overwhelmingly dominates. The improved understanding of particle formation mechanisms will help better quantify anthropogenic aerosol forcing from preindustrial times to the present day.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bin Zhao
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99354, United States
| | - Jerome D Fast
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99354, United States
| | - Neil M Donahue
- Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States
- Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States
| | - Manish Shrivastava
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99354, United States
| | - Meredith Schervish
- Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States
| | - John E Shilling
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99354, United States
| | - Hamish Gordon
- Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States
| | - Jian Wang
- Center for Aerosol Science and Engineering, Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Yang Gao
- Key Laboratory of Marine Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education/Institute for Advanced Ocean Study, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
| | - Rahul A Zaveri
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99354, United States
| | - Ying Liu
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99354, United States
| | - Brian Gaudet
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99354, United States
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
High concentration of ultrafine particles in the Amazon free troposphere produced by organic new particle formation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:25344-25351. [PMID: 32989149 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2006716117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The large concentrations of ultrafine particles consistently observed at high altitudes over the tropics represent one of the world's largest aerosol reservoirs, which may be providing a globally important source of cloud condensation nuclei. However, the sources and chemical processes contributing to the formation of these particles remain unclear. Here we investigate new particle formation (NPF) mechanisms in the Amazon free troposphere by integrating insights from laboratory measurements, chemical transport modeling, and field measurements. To account for organic NPF, we develop a comprehensive model representation of the temperature-dependent formation chemistry and thermodynamics of extremely low volatility organic compounds as well as their roles in NPF processes. We find that pure-organic NPF driven by natural biogenic emissions dominates in the uppermost troposphere above 13 km and accounts for 65 to 83% of the column total NPF rate under relatively pristine conditions, while ternary NPF involving organics and sulfuric acid dominates between 8 and 13 km. The large organic NPF rates at high altitudes mainly result from decreased volatility of organics and increased NPF efficiency at low temperatures, somewhat counterbalanced by a reduced chemical formation rate of extremely low volatility organic compounds. These findings imply a key role of naturally occurring organic NPF in high-altitude preindustrial environments and will help better quantify anthropogenic aerosol forcing from preindustrial times to the present day.
Collapse
|
11
|
McCoy IL, McCoy DT, Wood R, Regayre L, Watson-Parris D, Grosvenor DP, Mulcahy JP, Hu Y, Bender FAM, Field PR, Carslaw KS, Gordon H. The hemispheric contrast in cloud microphysical properties constrains aerosol forcing. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:18998-19006. [PMID: 32719114 PMCID: PMC7431023 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1922502117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The change in planetary albedo due to aerosol-cloud interactions during the industrial era is the leading source of uncertainty in inferring Earth's climate sensitivity to increased greenhouse gases from the historical record. The variable that controls aerosol-cloud interactions in warm clouds is droplet number concentration. Global climate models demonstrate that the present-day hemispheric contrast in cloud droplet number concentration between the pristine Southern Hemisphere and the polluted Northern Hemisphere oceans can be used as a proxy for anthropogenically driven change in cloud droplet number concentration. Remotely sensed estimates constrain this change in droplet number concentration to be between 8 cm-3 and 24 cm-3 By extension, the radiative forcing since 1850 from aerosol-cloud interactions is constrained to be -1.2 W⋅m-2 to -0.6 W⋅m-2 The robustness of this constraint depends upon the assumption that pristine Southern Ocean droplet number concentration is a suitable proxy for preindustrial concentrations. Droplet number concentrations calculated from satellite data over the Southern Ocean are high in austral summer. Near Antarctica, they reach values typical of Northern Hemisphere polluted outflows. These concentrations are found to agree with several in situ datasets. In contrast, climate models show systematic underpredictions of cloud droplet number concentration across the Southern Ocean. Near Antarctica, where precipitation sinks of aerosol are small, the underestimation by climate models is particularly large. This motivates the need for detailed process studies of aerosol production and aerosol-cloud interactions in pristine environments. The hemispheric difference in satellite estimated cloud droplet number concentration implies preindustrial aerosol concentrations were higher than estimated by most models.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Isabel L McCoy
- Atmospheric Sciences Department, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105;
| | - Daniel T McCoy
- Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Robert Wood
- Atmospheric Sciences Department, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105
| | - Leighton Regayre
- Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT Leeds, United Kingdom
| | | | - Daniel P Grosvenor
- Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT Leeds, United Kingdom
- National Center for Atmospheric Science, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT Leeds, United Kingdom
| | | | - Yongxiang Hu
- Atmospheric Composition Branch, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681
| | - Frida A-M Bender
- Department of Meteorology, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Paul R Field
- Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT Leeds, United Kingdom
- Met Office, Exeter EX1 3PB, United Kingdom
| | - Kenneth S Carslaw
- Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Hamish Gordon
- Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT Leeds, United Kingdom
- College of Engineering, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Bellouin N, Quaas J, Gryspeerdt E, Kinne S, Stier P, Watson‐Parris D, Boucher O, Carslaw KS, Christensen M, Daniau A, Dufresne J, Feingold G, Fiedler S, Forster P, Gettelman A, Haywood JM, Lohmann U, Malavelle F, Mauritsen T, McCoy DT, Myhre G, Mülmenstädt J, Neubauer D, Possner A, Rugenstein M, Sato Y, Schulz M, Schwartz SE, Sourdeval O, Storelvmo T, Toll V, Winker D, Stevens B. Bounding Global Aerosol Radiative Forcing of Climate Change. REVIEWS OF GEOPHYSICS (WASHINGTON, D.C. : 1985) 2020; 58:e2019RG000660. [PMID: 32734279 PMCID: PMC7384191 DOI: 10.1029/2019rg000660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2019] [Revised: 09/30/2019] [Accepted: 10/03/2019] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Aerosols interact with radiation and clouds. Substantial progress made over the past 40 years in observing, understanding, and modeling these processes helped quantify the imbalance in the Earth's radiation budget caused by anthropogenic aerosols, called aerosol radiative forcing, but uncertainties remain large. This review provides a new range of aerosol radiative forcing over the industrial era based on multiple, traceable, and arguable lines of evidence, including modeling approaches, theoretical considerations, and observations. Improved understanding of aerosol absorption and the causes of trends in surface radiative fluxes constrain the forcing from aerosol-radiation interactions. A robust theoretical foundation and convincing evidence constrain the forcing caused by aerosol-driven increases in liquid cloud droplet number concentration. However, the influence of anthropogenic aerosols on cloud liquid water content and cloud fraction is less clear, and the influence on mixed-phase and ice clouds remains poorly constrained. Observed changes in surface temperature and radiative fluxes provide additional constraints. These multiple lines of evidence lead to a 68% confidence interval for the total aerosol effective radiative forcing of -1.6 to -0.6 W m-2, or -2.0 to -0.4 W m-2 with a 90% likelihood. Those intervals are of similar width to the last Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment but shifted toward more negative values. The uncertainty will narrow in the future by continuing to critically combine multiple lines of evidence, especially those addressing industrial-era changes in aerosol sources and aerosol effects on liquid cloud amount and on ice clouds.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- N. Bellouin
- Department of MeteorologyUniversity of ReadingReadingUK
| | - J. Quaas
- Institute for MeteorologyUniversität LeipzigLeipzigGermany
| | - E. Gryspeerdt
- Space and Atmospheric Physics GroupImperial College LondonLondonUK
| | - S. Kinne
- Max Planck Institute for MeteorologyHamburgGermany
| | - P. Stier
- Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, Department of PhysicsUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - D. Watson‐Parris
- Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, Department of PhysicsUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - O. Boucher
- Institut Pierre‐Simon Laplace, Sorbonne Université/CNRSParisFrance
| | - K. S. Carslaw
- School of Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of LeedsLeedsUK
| | - M. Christensen
- Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, Department of PhysicsUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - A.‐L. Daniau
- EPOC, UMR 5805, CNRS‐Université de BordeauxPessacFrance
| | - J.‐L. Dufresne
- Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique/IPSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Ecole PolytechniqueParisFrance
| | - G. Feingold
- NOAA ESRL Chemical Sciences DivisionBoulderCOUSA
| | - S. Fiedler
- Max Planck Institute for MeteorologyHamburgGermany
- Now at Institut für Geophysik und MeteorologieUniversität zu KölnKölnGermany
| | - P. Forster
- Priestley International Centre for ClimateUniversity of LeedsLeedsUK
| | - A. Gettelman
- National Center for Atmospheric ResearchBoulderCOUSA
| | - J. M. Haywood
- CEMPSUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
- UK Met Office Hadley CentreExeterUK
| | - U. Lohmann
- Institute for Atmospheric and Climate ScienceETH ZürichZürichSwitzerland
| | | | - T. Mauritsen
- Department of MeteorologyStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
| | - D. T. McCoy
- School of Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of LeedsLeedsUK
| | - G. Myhre
- Center for International Climate and Environmental Research‐Oslo (CICERO)OsloNorway
| | - J. Mülmenstädt
- Institute for MeteorologyUniversität LeipzigLeipzigGermany
| | - D. Neubauer
- Institute for Atmospheric and Climate ScienceETH ZürichZürichSwitzerland
| | - A. Possner
- Department of Global EcologyCarnegie Institution for ScienceStanfordCAUSA
- Now at Institute for Atmospheric and Environmental SciencesGoethe UniversityFrankfurtGermany
| | | | - Y. Sato
- Department of Applied Energy, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya UniversityNagoyaJapan
- Now at Faculty of Science, Department of Earth and Planetary SciencesHokkaido UniversitySapporoJapan
| | - M. Schulz
- Climate Modelling and Air Pollution Section, Research and Development DepartmentNorwegian Meteorological InstituteOsloNorway
| | - S. E. Schwartz
- Brookhaven National Laboratory Environmental and Climate Sciences DepartmentUptonNYUSA
| | - O. Sourdeval
- Institute for MeteorologyUniversität LeipzigLeipzigGermany
- Laboratoire d'Optique AtmosphériqueUniversité de LilleVilleneuve d'AscqFrance
| | - T. Storelvmo
- Department of GeosciencesUniversity of OsloOsloNorway
| | - V. Toll
- Department of MeteorologyUniversity of ReadingReadingUK
- Now at Institute of PhysicsUniversity of TartuTartuEstonia
| | - D. Winker
- NASA Langley Research CenterHamptonVAUSA
| | - B. Stevens
- Max Planck Institute for MeteorologyHamburgGermany
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Gryspeerdt E, Mülmenstädt J, Gettelman A, Malavelle FF, Morrison H, Neubauer D, Partridge DG, Stier P, Takemura T, Wang H, Wang M, Zhang K. Surprising similarities in model and observational aerosol radiative forcing estimates. ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS 2020; 20:613-623. [PMID: 33204244 PMCID: PMC7668122 DOI: 10.5194/acp-20-613-2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The radiative forcing from aerosols (particularly through their interaction with clouds) remains one of the most uncertain components of the human forcing of the climate. Observation-based studies have typically found a smaller aerosol effective radiative forcing than in model simulations and were given preferential weighting in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). With their own sources of uncertainty, it is not clear that observation-based estimates are more reliable. Understanding the source of the model and observational differences is thus vital to reduce uncertainty in the impact of aerosols on the climate. These reported discrepancies arise from the different methods of separating the components of aerosol forcing used in model and observational studies. Applying the observational decomposition to global climate model (GCM) output, the two different lines of evidence are surprisingly similar, with a much better agreement on the magnitude of aerosol impacts on cloud properties. Cloud adjustments remain a significant source of uncertainty, particularly for ice clouds. However, they are consistent with the uncertainty from observation-based methods, with the liquid water path adjustment usually enhancing the Twomey effect by less than 50%. Depending on different sets of assumptions, this work suggests that model and observation-based estimates could be more equally weighted in future synthesis studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Edward Gryspeerdt
- Space and Atmospheric Physics Group, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | | | | | - Florent F. Malavelle
- College of Engineering Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- Met Office, Fitzroy Road, Exeter, UK
| | - Hugh Morrison
- National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, USA
| | - David Neubauer
- Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Daniel G. Partridge
- College of Engineering Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Philip Stier
- Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Toshihiko Takemura
- Research Institute for Applied Mathematics, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Hailong Wang
- Atmospheric Sciences and Global Change Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, USA
| | - Minghuai Wang
- Institute for Climate and Global Change Research, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
- School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Climate Change, Nanjing, China
| | - Kai Zhang
- Atmospheric Sciences and Global Change Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, USA
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Vogel AL, Lauer A, Fang L, Arturi K, Bachmeier F, Daellenbach KR, Käser T, Vlachou A, Pospisilova V, Baltensperger U, Haddad IE, Schwikowski M, Bjelić S. A Comprehensive Nontarget Analysis for the Molecular Reconstruction of Organic Aerosol Composition from Glacier Ice Cores. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2019; 53:12565-12575. [PMID: 31566955 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b03091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Ice cores are climate archives suitable for the reconstruction of past atmospheric composition changes. Ice core analysis provides valuable insight into the chemical nature of aerosols and enables constraining emission inventories of primary emissions and of gas-phase precursors. Changes in the emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can affect formation rates and mechanisms as well as chemical composition of aerosols during the preindustrial era, key information for understanding aerosol climate effects. Here, we present an analytical method for the reconstruction of organic aerosol composition preserved in glacier ice cores. A solid-phase-extraction method, optimized toward oxidation products of biogenic VOCs, provides an enrichment factor of ∼200 and quantitative recovery for compounds of interest. We applied the preconcentration method on ice core samples from the high-alpine Fiescherhorn glacier (Swiss Alps), and used high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry as a sensitive detection method. We describe a nontarget analysis that screens for organic molecules in the ice core samples. We evaluate the atmospheric origin of the detected compounds in the ice by molecular-resolved comparison with airborne particulate matter samples from the nearby high-alpine research station Jungfraujoch. The presented method is able to shed light upon the history of the evolution of organic aerosol composition in the anthropocene, a research field in paleoclimatology with considerable potential.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander L Vogel
- Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry , Paul Scherrer Institute , 5232 Villigen , Switzerland
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry , Paul Scherrer Institute , 5232 Villigen , Switzerland
- Institute for Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences , Goethe-University Frankfurt , 60438 Frankfurt am Main , Germany
| | - Anja Lauer
- Institute for Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences , Goethe-University Frankfurt , 60438 Frankfurt am Main , Germany
| | - Ling Fang
- Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry , Paul Scherrer Institute , 5232 Villigen , Switzerland
| | - Katarzyna Arturi
- Bioenergy and Catalysis Laboratory , Paul Scherrer Institute , 5232 Villigen , Switzerland
| | - Franziska Bachmeier
- Institute for Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences , Goethe-University Frankfurt , 60438 Frankfurt am Main , Germany
| | - Kaspar R Daellenbach
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry , Paul Scherrer Institute , 5232 Villigen , Switzerland
| | - Timon Käser
- Bioenergy and Catalysis Laboratory , Paul Scherrer Institute , 5232 Villigen , Switzerland
| | - Athanasia Vlachou
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry , Paul Scherrer Institute , 5232 Villigen , Switzerland
| | - Veronika Pospisilova
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry , Paul Scherrer Institute , 5232 Villigen , Switzerland
| | - Urs Baltensperger
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry , Paul Scherrer Institute , 5232 Villigen , Switzerland
| | - Imad El Haddad
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry , Paul Scherrer Institute , 5232 Villigen , Switzerland
| | - Margit Schwikowski
- Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry , Paul Scherrer Institute , 5232 Villigen , Switzerland
| | - Saša Bjelić
- Bioenergy and Catalysis Laboratory , Paul Scherrer Institute , 5232 Villigen , Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Zhu J, Penner JE, Yu F, Sillman S, Andreae MO, Coe H. Decrease in radiative forcing by organic aerosol nucleation, climate, and land use change. Nat Commun 2019; 10:423. [PMID: 30679429 PMCID: PMC6345905 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-08407-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2018] [Accepted: 01/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Organic nucleation is an important source of atmospheric aerosol number concentration, especially in pristine continental regions and during the preindustrial period. Here, we improve on previous simulations that overestimate boundary layer nucleation in the tropics and add changes to climate and land use to evaluate climate forcing. Our model includes both pure organic nucleation and heteromolecular nucleation of sulfuric acid and organics and reproduces the profile of aerosol number concentration measured in the Amazon. Organic nucleation decreases the sum of the total aerosol direct and indirect radiative forcing by 12.5%. The addition of climate and land use change decreases the direct radiative forcing (-0.38 W m-2) by 6.3% and the indirect radiative forcing (-1.68 W m-2) by 3.5% due to the size distribution and number concentration change of secondary organic aerosol and sulfate. Overall, the total radiative forcing associated with anthropogenic aerosols is decreased by 16%.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jialei Zhu
- Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Joyce E Penner
- Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
| | - Fangqun Yu
- Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, NY, 12203, USA
| | - Sanford Sillman
- Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Meinrat O Andreae
- Biogeochemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hugh Coe
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Hamilton DS, Hantson S, Scott CE, Kaplan JO, Pringle KJ, Nieradzik LP, Rap A, Folberth GA, Spracklen DV, Carslaw KS. Reassessment of pre-industrial fire emissions strongly affects anthropogenic aerosol forcing. Nat Commun 2018; 9:3182. [PMID: 30093678 PMCID: PMC6085333 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05592-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2017] [Accepted: 07/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Uncertainty in pre-industrial natural aerosol emissions is a major component of the overall uncertainty in the radiative forcing of climate. Improved characterisation of natural emissions and their radiative effects can therefore increase the accuracy of global climate model projections. Here we show that revised assumptions about pre-industrial fire activity result in significantly increased aerosol concentrations in the pre-industrial atmosphere. Revised global model simulations predict a 35% reduction in the calculated global mean cloud albedo forcing over the Industrial Era (1750-2000 CE) compared to estimates using emissions data from the Sixth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. An estimated upper limit to pre-industrial fire emissions results in a much greater (91%) reduction in forcing. When compared to 26 other uncertain parameters or inputs in our model, pre-industrial fire emissions are by far the single largest source of uncertainty in pre-industrial aerosol concentrations, and hence in our understanding of the magnitude of the historical radiative forcing due to anthropogenic aerosol emissions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- D S Hamilton
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, 14853, NY, USA.
| | - S Hantson
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Meteorology and Climate research, Atmospheric Environmental Research, 82467, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
- Geospatial Data Solutions Center, University of California Irvine, California, 92697, USA
| | - C E Scott
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - J O Kaplan
- ARVE Research SARL, Pully, 1009, Switzerland
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, 07745, Germany
| | - K J Pringle
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - L P Nieradzik
- Institute for Physical Geography and Ecosystem Sciences, Lund University, Lund, S-223 62, Sweden
- CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - A Rap
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | | | - D V Spracklen
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - K S Carslaw
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| |
Collapse
|