The sources of atmospheric black carbon at a European gateway to the Arctic

Columnar optical-radiative properties and components of aerosols in the Arctic summer from long-term AERONET measurements

Aerosols as an external factor have an important role in the amplification of Arctic warming, yet the geography of this harsh region has led to a paucity of observations, which has limited our understanding of the Arctic climate. We synthesized the latest decade (2010-2021) of data on the microphysical-optical-radiative properties of aerosols and their multi-component evolution during the Arctic summer, taking into consideration the important role of wildfire burning. Our results are based on continuous observations from eight AERONET sites across the Arctic region, together with a meteorological reanalysis dataset and satellite observations of fires, and utilize a back-trajectory model to track the source of the aerosols. The summer climatological characteristics within the Arctic Circle showed that the aerosols are mainly fine-mode aerosols (fraction >0.95) with a radius of 0.15-0.20 μm, a slight extinction ability (aerosol optical depth ∼ 0.11) with strong scattering (single scattering albedo ∼0.95) and dominant forward scattering (asymmetry factor ∼ 0.68). These optical properties result in significant cooling at the Earth's surface (∼-13 W m-2) and a weak cooling effect at the top of the atmosphere (∼-5 W m-2). Further, we found that Arctic region is severely impacted by wildfire burning events in July and August, which primarily occur in central and eastern Siberia and followed in subpolar North America. The plumes from wildfire transport aerosols to the Arctic atmosphere with the westerly circulation, leading to an increase in fine-mode aerosols containing large amounts of organic carbon, with fraction as high as 97-98 %. Absorptive carbonaceous aerosols also increase synergistically, which could convert the instantaneous direct aerosol radiative effect into a heating effect on the Earth-atmosphere system. This study provides insights into the complex sources of aerosol loading in the Arctic atmosphere in summer and emphasizes the important impacts of the increasingly frequent occurrence of wildfire burning events in recent years.

Electrostatic removal of ultrafine carbon black with square-grooved collecting plates: Insights for capturing black carbon emitted from ships

Ships and other mobile pollution sources emitted massive ultrafine and low-resistivity particles containing black carbon (BC), which were harmful to human health and were difficult to capture by conventional electrostatic precipitators (ESPs). In this study, nanoscale carbon black was adopted as simulated particles (SP) with similar physicochemical properties for black carbon emitted from ships (SP-BC) to investigate the feasibility of using an ESP with square-grooved collecting plates for the removal of SP-BC at low backpressures. The increased applied voltage significantly improved the total collection of SP-BC whereas may also promote the conversion of relatively larger particle size SP-BC into nano-size below 20 nm. The outlet number concentration of SP-BC under 27 kV at 130°C was three times that of the inlet. While the reduction of the flow rate could strengthen the capture of SP-BC below 20 nm, and under the combined action of low flow rate and maximum applied voltage, the collection efficiency of 20-100 nm SP-BC could exceed 90%. In addition, the escape and capture characteristics of SP-BC under long-term rapping were revealed. The square-grooved collecting plate could effectively restrain the re-entrainment of collected SP-BC generated by rapping, and the nanoscale SP-BC was trapped in the grooves after rapping. The results could provide insights into the profound removal of massive nanoscale black carbon emissions from mobile sources.

Dynamics of particulate black carbon in the South China Sea: Magnitude, resident timescale, sinking speed, and flux

The dynamics of particulate black carbon (PBC) in marine environments are poorly understood. Here, radioactive ²³⁴Th was used to constrain the resident timescale, settling speed, and sinking flux of PBC (soot) in the coastal Northeastern South China Sea (NSCS). The PBC concentration varied from 0.013 μg-C L^-1 to 4.340 μg-C L^-1. Spatially, PBC showed an exponential decrease offshore, with a coefficient of 0.030 ± 0.004. Compiling available data, an empirical formula of PBC = a e^-0.032x (x is the distance offshore) was proposed for predicting the descent of PBC offshore in coastal seas. Residence times of 0.8-13 d indicate that PBC is retained for days, implying its limited dispersal to the open sea. For the first time, the settling speed of PBC was evaluated in seawater, which averaged 8.8 ± 7.1 m d^-1. These results highlight that bottle-sampled PBC falls mainly into the slow-sinking particle continuum in marine environments, due to its fine size. The sinking flux of PBC averaged 4.57 mg-C m^-2 d^-1 in the coastal NSCS. Using the sinking speed, the preliminarily estimated sinking rate of PBC was 23.8-1800 Tg-C yr^-1 on global shelves. The crucial dynamic parameters of PBC provide insights into its internal cycling in coastal seas and can be used as model parameters for assessing global PBC.

Direct measurement of the deposition of submicron soot particles on leaves of Platanus acerifolia tree

Submicron soot particles (<1.0 μm in aerodynamic diameter) are responsible for global warming and health burdens worldwide. However, studies on bio-monitoring of submicron soot particles and their associated sources by using tree leaves are not comprehensively illustrated. Here, we determined the seasonal trends of submicron soot particles on the leaves of the Platanus acerifolia collected from two cities (Lu'an, Anhui Province, and Nanjing, Jiangsu Province) in the Yangtze River Delta region, China. The source apportionment of submicron soot particles was performed using stable carbon isotopic analyses. Significant seasonal trends of submicron soot particles were observed in two cities with averaged levels of 0.41-1.36 mg m^-2 in cold seasons and averaged levels of 0.13-0.24 mg m^-2 in warm seasons. The levels of δ¹³C for submicron soot at the suburban site of Lu'an city were observed to be in the range of -25.6‰ to -18.2‰ with fossil fuels dominated (∼58%) in summer and -23.0‰ to -15.6‰ with biomass burning dominated in winter (∼67%). In comparison, the ranges in the levels of δ¹³C in submicron soot were found to be from -26.5‰ to -20.4‰ in winter, and -24.2‰ to -17.9‰ in summer at the urban site of Nanjing. Fossil fuels accounted for a large fraction of submicron soot with average contributions of 53% in winter and 73% in summer, respectively. These findings demonstrate that Platanus acerifolia trees could be used as an effective and low-cost bio-monitoring tool for monitoring the pollution status of submicron soot and associated source contribution.

Atmospheric Black Carbon Loadings and Sources over Eastern Sub-Saharan Africa Are Governed by the Regional Savanna Fires

Vast black carbon (BC) emissions from sub-Saharan Africa are perceived to warm the regional climate, impact rainfall patterns, and impair human respiratory health. However, the magnitudes of these perturbations are ill-constrained, largely due to limited ground-based observations and uncertainties in emissions from different sources. This paper reports multiyear concentrations of BC and other key PM2.5 aerosol constituents from the Rwanda Climate Observatory, serving as a regional receptor site. We find a strong seasonal cycle for all investigated chemical species, where the maxima coincide with large-scale upwind savanna fires. BC concentrations show notable interannual variability, with no clear long-term trend. The Δ14C and δ13C signatures of BC unambiguously show highly elevated biomass burning contributions, up to 93 ± 3%, with a clear and strong savanna burning imprint. We further observe a near-equal contribution from C3 and C4 plants, irrespective of air mass source region or season. In addition, the study provides improved relative emission factors of key aerosol components, organic carbon (OC), K+, and NO3-, in savanna-fires-influenced background atmosphere. Altogether, we report quantitative source constraints on Eastern Africa BC emissions, with implications for parameterization of satellite fire and bottom-up emission inventories as well as regional climate and chemical transport modeling.

Coal combustion facilitating faster burial of char than soot in a plateau lake of southwest China

Black carbon (BC) is a retarder in carbon cycle, and the proportion of char and soot in BC restricts the significance of BC as a sink in carbon cycle. Tracing the sources of char and soot is helpful for in-depth understanding the anthropogenic-driven burial and pattern of BC, and is crucial for regulating emissions of BC and impact of BC on carbon cycle/climate change. This study investigated source-driven BC via the concentration and δ¹³C of BC (char and soot) in a Plateau lake sediment. The burial rate of BC (mean: 6.42 ± 5.09 g m^-2 yr^-1) showed an increasing trend (3.7 times after 1977 compared with before), and the growth rate of char (4.1 times) was faster than soot (2.5 times). The source trace results, showing faster growth of coal combustion ratio in char (increased 21% after 1980 compared with before) than soot (13%), proved that coal combustion promoted faster growth of char in BC. Redundancy analysis confirmed that more low-temperature utilization of coal urged a stronger driving force for char than soot, which caused BC to have lower aromatic content and higher reactivity in organic carbon pool from the past to present, further impact the effects of BC on carbon cycle.

An automated method for thermal-optical separation of aerosol organic/elemental carbon for 13C analysis at the sub-μgC level: A comprehensive assessment

We describe and thoroughly evaluate a method for ¹³C analysis in different fractions of carbonaceous aerosols, especially elemental carbon (EC). This method combines a Sunset thermal-optical analyzer and an isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) via a custom-built automated separation, purification, and injection system. Organic carbon (OC), EC, and other specific fractions from aerosol filter samples can be separated and analyzed automatically for ¹³C based on thermal-optical protocols (EUSAAR_2 in this study) at sub-μgC levels. The main challenges in isolating EC for ¹³C analysis are the possible artifacts during OC/EC separation, including the premature loss of EC and the formation of pyrolyzed OC (pOC) that is difficult to separate from EC. Since those artifacts can be accompanied with isotope fractionation, their influence on the stable isotopic composition of EC was comprehensively investigated with various test compounds. The results show that the thermal-optical method is relatively successful in OC/EC separation for ¹³C analysis. The method was further tested on real aerosols samples. For biomass-burning source samples, (partial) inclusion of pOC into EC has negligible influence on the ¹³C signature of EC. However, for ambient samples, the influence of pOC on the ¹³C signature of EC can be significant, if it is not well separated from EC, which is true for many current methods for measuring ¹³C on EC. A case study in Xi'an, China, where pOC is enriched in ¹³C compared to EC, shows that this can lead to an overestimate of coal and an underestimate of traffic emissions in isotope-based source apportionment.

Predicting Within-City Spatial Variations in Outdoor Ultrafine Particle and Black Carbon Concentrations in Bucaramanga, Colombia: A Hybrid Approach Using Open-Source Geographic Data and Digital Images

Outdoor ultrafine particles (UFP, <0.1 μm) and black carbon (BC) vary greatly within cities and may have adverse impacts on human health. In this study, we used a hybrid approach to develop new models to estimate within-city spatial variations in outdoor UFP and BC concentrations across Bucaramanga, Colombia. We conducted a mobile monitoring campaign over 20 days in 2019. Regression models were trained on land use data and combined with predictions from convolutional neural networks (CNN) trained to predict UFP and BC concentrations using satellite and street-level images. The combined UFP model (R² = 0.54) outperformed the CNN (R² = 0.47) and land use regression (LUR) models (R² = 0.47) on their own. Similarly, the combined BC model also outperformed the CNN and LUR BC models (R² = 0.51 vs 0.43 and 0.45, respectively). Spatial variations in model performance were more stable for the CNN and combined models compared to the LUR models, suggesting that the combined approach may be less likely to contribute to differential exposure measurement error in epidemiological studies. In general, our findings demonstrated that satellite and street-level images can be combined with a traditional LUR modeling approach to improve predictions of within-city spatial variations in outdoor UFP and BC concentrations.

Wintertime Air Quality in Megacity Dhaka, Bangladesh Strongly Affected by Influx of Black Carbon Aerosols from Regional Biomass Burning

Clean air is a key parameter for a sustainable society, and currently, megacity Dhaka has among the worst air qualities in the world. This results from poorly constrained contributions of a variety of sources from both local emissions and regional influx from the highly polluted Indo-Gangetic Plain, impacting the respiratory health of the 21 million inhabitants in the Greater Dhaka region. An important component of the fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) is black carbon (BC) aerosols. In this study, we investigated the combustion sources of BC using a dual carbon isotope (δ¹³C and Δ¹⁴C) in Dhaka during the high-loading winter period of 2013/14 (regular and lockdown/hartal period) in order to guide mitigation policies. On average, BC (13 ± 6 μg m^-3) contributed about 9% of the PM_2.5 (145 ± 79 μg m^-3) loadings. The relative contribution from biomass combustion under regular conditions was 44 ± 1% (with the rest from fossil combustion), while during periods of politically motivated large-scale lockdown of business and traffic, the biomass burning contribution increased to 63 ± 1%. To reduce the severe health impact of BC and other aerosol pollution in Dhaka, mitigation should therefore target regional-scale biomass/agricultural burning in addition to local traffic.

Observed and Modeled Black Carbon Deposition and Sources in the Western Russian Arctic 1800-2014

Black carbon (BC) particles contribute to climate warming by heating the atmosphere and reducing the albedo of snow/ice surfaces. The available Arctic BC deposition records are restricted to the Atlantic and North American sectors, for which previous studies suggest considerable spatial differences in trends. Here, we present first long-term BC deposition and radiocarbon-based source apportionment data from Russia using four lake sediment records from western Arctic Russia, a region influenced by BC emissions from oil and gas production. The records consistently indicate increasing BC fluxes between 1800 and 2014. The radiocarbon analyses suggest mainly (∼70%) biomass sources for BC with fossil fuel contributions peaking around 1960-1990. Backward calculations with the atmospheric transport model FLEXPART show emission source areas and indicate that modeled BC deposition between 1900 and 1999 is largely driven by emission trends. Comparison of observed and modeled data suggests the need to update anthropogenic BC emission inventories for Russia, as these seem to underestimate Russian BC emissions and since 1980s potentially inaccurately portray their trend. Additionally, the observations may indicate underestimation of wildfire emissions in inventories. Reliable information on BC deposition trends and sources is essential for design of efficient and effective policies to limit climate warming.

Carbonaceous Aerosol in Polar Areas: First Results and Improvements of the Sampling Strategies

While more and more studies are being conducted on carbonaceous fractions—organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC)—in urban areas, there are still too few studies about these species and their effects in polar areas due to their very low concentrations; further, studies in the literature report only data from intensive campaigns, limited in time. We present here for the first time EC–OC concentration long-time data records from the sea-level sampling site of Ny-Ålesund, in the High Arctic (5 years), and from Dome C, in the East Antarctic Plateau (1 year). Regarding the Arctic, the median (and the interquartile range (IQR)) mass concentrations for the years 2011–2015 are 352 (IQR: 283–475) ng/m3 for OC and 4.8 (IQR: 4.6–17.4) ng/m3 for EC, which is responsible for only 3% of total carbon (TC). From both the concentration data sets and the variation of the average monthly concentrations, the influence of the Arctic haze on EC and OC concentrations is evident. Summer may be interested by high concentration episodes mainly due to long-range transport (e.g., from wide wildfires in the Northern Hemisphere, as happened in 2015). The average ratio of EC/OC for the summer period is 0.05, ranging from 0.02 to 0.10, and indicates a clean environment with prevailing biogenic (or biomass burning) sources, as well as aged, highly oxidized aerosol from long-range transport. Contribution from ship emission is not evident, but this result may be due to the sampling time resolution. In Antarctica, a 1 year-around data set from December 2016 to February 2018 is shown, which does not present a clear seasonal trend. The OC median (and IQR) value is 78 (64–106) ng/m3; for EC, it is 0.9 (0.6–2.4) ng/m3, weighing for 3% on TC values. The EC/OC ratio mean value is 0.20, with a range of 0.06–0.35. Due to the low EC and OC concentrations in polar areas, correction for the blank is far more important than in campaigns carried out in other regions, largely affecting uncertainties in measured concentrations. Through the years, we have thus developed a new sampling strategy that is presented here for the first time: samplers were modified in order to collect a larger amount of particulates on a small surface, enhancing the capability of the analytical method since the thermo-optical analyzer is sensitive to carbonaceous aerosol areal density. Further, we have recently coupled such modified samplers with a sampling strategy that makes a more reliable blank correction of every single sample possible.

Estimation of Surface Concentrations of Black Carbon from Long-Term Measurements at Aeronet Sites over Korea

We estimated fine-mode black carbon (BC) concentrations at the surface using AERONET data from five AERONET sites in Korea, representing urban, rural, and background. We first obtained the columnar BC concentrations by separating the refractive index (RI) for fine-mode aerosols from AERONET data and minimizing the difference between separated RIs and calculated RIs using a mixing rule that can represent a real aerosol mixture (Maxwell Garnett for water-insoluble components and volume average for water-soluble components). Next, we acquired the surface BC concentrations by establishing a multiple linear regression (MLR) between in-situ BC concentrations from co-located or adjacent measurement sites, and columnar BC concentrations, by linearly adding meteorological parameters, month, and land-use type as the independent variables. The columnar BC concentrations estimated from AERONET data using a mixing rule well reproduced site-specific monthly variations of the in-situ measurement data, such as increases due to heating and/or biomass burning and long-range transport associated with prevailing westerlies in the spring and winter, and decreases due to wet scavenging in the summer. The MLR model exhibited a better correlation between measured and predicted BC concentrations than those based on columnar concentrations only, with a correlation coefficient of 0.64. The performance of our MLR model for BC was comparable to that reported in previous studies on the relationship between aerosol optical depth and particulate matter concentration in Korea. This study suggests that the MLR model with properly selected parameters is useful for estimating the surface BC concentration from AERONET data during the daytime, at sites where BC monitoring is not available.

Source Quantification of South Asian Black Carbon Aerosols with Isotopes and Modeling

Black carbon (BC) aerosols perturb climate and impoverish air quality/human health-affecting ∼1.5 billion people in South Asia. However, the lack of source-diagnostic observations of BC is hindering the evaluation of uncertain bottom-up emission inventories (EIs) and thereby also models/policies. Here, we present dual-isotope-based (Δ¹⁴C/δ¹³C) fingerprinting of wintertime BC at two receptor sites of the continental outflow. Our results show a remarkable similarity in contributions of biomass and fossil combustion, both from the site capturing the highly populated highly polluted Indo-Gangetic Plain footprint (IGP; Δ¹⁴C-f_biomass = 50 ± 3%) and the second site in the N. Indian Ocean representing a wider South Asian footprint (52 ± 6%). Yet, both sites reflect distinct δ¹³C-fingerprints, indicating a distinguishable contribution of C₄-biomass burning from peninsular India (PI). Tailored-model-predicted season-averaged BC concentrations (700 ± 440 ng m^-3) match observations (740 ± 250 ng m^-3), however, unveiling a systematically increasing model-observation bias (+19% to -53%) through winter. Inclusion of BC from open burning alone does not reconcile predictions (f_biomass = 44 ± 8%) with observations. Direct source-segregated comparison reveals regional offsets in anthropogenic emission fluxes in EIs, overestimated fossil-BC in the IGP, and underestimated biomass-BC in PI, which contributes to the model-observation bias. This ground-truthing pinpoints uncertainties in BC emission sources, which benefit both climate/air-quality modeling and mitigation policies in South Asia.

Sources of black carbon in the atmosphere and in snow in the Arctic

We systematically identify sources of black carbon (BC) in the Arctic, including BC in the troposphere, at surface and in snow, using tagged tracer technique implemented in a 3D global chemical transport model GEOS-Chem. We validate modeled BC sources (fossil fuel combustion versus biomass burning) against carbon isotope measurements at Barrow (Alaska), Zeppelin (Norway), Abisko (Sweden), Alert (Canada) and Tiksi (Russia) in the Arctic. The model reproduces the observed annual mean fraction of biomass burning (f_bb, %) at the five sites within 20% and the observed and modeled monthly f_bb values agree within a factor of two. Model results suggest that fossil fuel combustion is the major source of BC in the troposphere (50-94%, vary with sub-regions), at surface (55-68%) and in snow (58-69%) in the Arctic as annual mean, but biomass burning dominates at certain altitudes (600-800 hPa) and during periods of time between April to September. The model shows that BC in the troposphere, in deposition and in snow in different Arctic sub-regions have distinctively different sources and source regions. We find that long-range transport of Asian emissions has a stronger influence on BC in the atmosphere than on BC deposition. In contrast, contributions from Russian and European emissions are larger for BC deposition than for BC in the atmosphere. Specifically, Asian fossil fuel combustion emissions dominate BC loading in all Arctic sub-regions in both winter (Oct.-Mar., 35-54%) and summer (Apr.-Sep., 34-56%). For BC deposition, Siberian fossil fuel emissions are the largest contributors in Russia both in winter (62%) and summer (44%), and European fossil fuel emissions dominate in Ny-Ålesund (44% in winter) and Tromsø (71% in winter and 46% in summer). For BC deposition in the North American sector, Asian fossil fuel emissions are the largest contributors in winter (25-38%) and North American biomass burning emissions (38-72%) dominate in summer.

Source apportionment of circum-Arctic atmospheric black carbon from isotopes and modeling

Black carbon (BC) contributes to Arctic climate warming, yet source attributions are inaccurate due to lacking observational constraints and uncertainties in emission inventories. Year-round, isotope-constrained observations reveal strong seasonal variations in BC sources with a consistent and synchronous pattern at all Arctic sites. These sources were dominated by emissions from fossil fuel combustion in the winter and by biomass burning in the summer. The annual mean source of BC to the circum-Arctic was 39 ± 10% from biomass burning. Comparison of transport-model predictions with the observations showed good agreement for BC concentrations, with larger discrepancies for (fossil/biomass burning) sources. The accuracy of simulated BC concentration, but not of origin, points to misallocations of emissions in the emission inventories. The consistency in seasonal source contributions of BC throughout the Arctic provides strong justification for targeted emission reductions to limit the impact of BC on climate warming in the Arctic and beyond.

Dual carbon isotopes (14C and 13C) and optical properties of WSOC and HULIS-C during winter in Guangzhou, China

Water-soluble brown carbon (ws-BrC) exerts an important influence on climate change, but its emission sources and optical properties remain poorly understood. In this study, we isolated two ws-BrC proxies, water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) and humic-like substance carbon (HULIS-C), from particulate matter collected in Guangzhou, China, during December 2012 for the measurement of dual carbon isotopes (¹⁴C and ¹³C) and light absorption. The mass absorption efficiencies of WSOC and HULIS-C at 365nm were 0.81±0.16 and 1.33±0.21m²g^-1C, respectively. The ¹⁴C results showed that two-thirds of WSOC and HULIS-C were derived from non-fossil sources (e.g., biomass burning and biogenic emission), and the remaining third was derived from fossil sources. The δ¹³C values of WSOC and HULIS-C were -23.7±1.2‰ and -24.2±0.9‰, respectively, underlining the limited influences of C4 plants and natural gas on ws-BrC. Fitting the data to a multiple linear regression, we further concluded that approximately 80% and 10% of the light absorption at 365nm was due to non-fossil and fossil carbon, respectively. Non-fossil sources of ws-BrC, such as the burning of agricultural residue, were responsible for the light absorption recorded in Guangzhou.

Temperature effect on phase state and reactivity controls atmospheric multiphase chemistry and transport of PAHs

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons like benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) in atmospheric particulate matter pose a threat to human health because of their high carcinogenicity. In the atmosphere, BaP is mainly degraded through a multiphase reaction with ozone, but the fate and atmospheric transport of BaP are poorly characterized. Earlier modeling studies used reaction rate coefficients determined in laboratory experiments at room temperature, which may overestimate/underestimate degradation rates when applied under atmospheric conditions. Moreover, the effects of diffusion on the particle bulk are not well constrained, leading to large discrepancies between model results and observations. We show how regional and global distributions and transport of BaP can be explained by a new kinetic scheme that provides a realistic description of the temperature and humidity dependence of phase state, diffusivity, and reactivity of BaP-containing particles. Low temperature and humidity can substantially increase the lifetime of BaP and enhance its atmospheric dispersion through both the planetary boundary layer and the free troposphere. The new scheme greatly improves the performance of multiscale models, leading to better agreement with observed BaP concentrations in both source regions and remote regions (Arctic), which cannot be achieved by less-elaborate degradation schemes (deviations by multiple orders of magnitude). Our results highlight the importance of considering temperature and humidity effects on both the phase state of aerosol particles and the chemical reactivity of particulate air pollutants.

Divergent Evolution of Carbonaceous Aerosols during Dispersal of East Asian Haze

Wintertime East Asia is plagued by severe haze episodes, characterized by large contributions of carbonaceous aerosols. However, the sources and atmospheric transformations of these major components are poorly constrained, hindering development of efficient mitigation strategies and detailed modelling of effects. Here we present dual carbon isotope (δ13C and Δ14C) signatures for black carbon (BC), organic carbon (OC) and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) aerosols collected in urban (Beijing and BC for Shanghai) and regional receptors (e.g., Korea Climate Observatory at Gosan) during January 2014. Fossil sources (>50%) dominate BC at all sites with most stemming from coal combustion, except for Shanghai, where liquid fossil source is largest. During source-to-receptor transport, the δ13C fingerprint becomes enriched for WSOC but depleted for water-insoluble OC (WIOC). This reveals that the atmospheric processing of these two major pools are fundamentally different. The photochemical aging (e.g., photodissociation, photooxidation) during formation and transport can release CO2/CO or short-chain VOCs with lighter carbon, whereas the remaining WSOC becomes increasingly enriched in δ13C. On the other hand, several processes, e.g., secondary formation, rearrangement reaction in the particle phase, and photooxidation can influence WIOC. Taken together, this study highlights high fossil contributions for all carbonaceous aerosol sub-compartments in East Asia, and suggests different transformation pathways for different classes of carbonaceous aerosols.

Siberian Arctic black carbon sources constrained by model and observation

Black carbon (BC) in haze and deposited on snow and ice can have strong effects on the radiative balance of the Arctic. There is a geographic bias in Arctic BC studies toward the Atlantic sector, with lack of observational constraints for the extensive Russian Siberian Arctic, spanning nearly half of the circum-Arctic. Here, 2 y of observations at Tiksi (East Siberian Arctic) establish a strong seasonality in both BC concentrations (8 ng⋅m-3 to 302 ng⋅m-3) and dual-isotope-constrained sources (19 to 73% contribution from biomass burning). Comparisons between observations and a dispersion model, coupled to an anthropogenic emissions inventory and a fire emissions inventory, give mixed results. In the European Arctic, this model has proven to simulate BC concentrations and source contributions well. However, the model is less successful in reproducing BC concentrations and sources for the Russian Arctic. Using a Bayesian approach, we show that, in contrast to earlier studies, contributions from gas flaring (6%), power plants (9%), and open fires (12%) are relatively small, with the major sources instead being domestic (35%) and transport (38%). The observation-based evaluation of reported emissions identifies errors in spatial allocation of BC sources in the inventory and highlights the importance of improving emission distribution and source attribution, to develop reliable mitigation strategies for efficient reduction of BC impact on the Russian Arctic, one of the fastest-warming regions on Earth.