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Light absorption enhancement of black carbon in a pyrocumulonimbus cloud

Author

Listed:
  • Payton Beeler

    (Washington University in St. Louis
    Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

  • Joshin Kumar

    (Washington University in St. Louis)

  • Joshua P. Schwarz

    (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL))

  • Kouji Adachi

    (Meteorological Research Institute)

  • Laura Fierce

    (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

  • Anne E. Perring

    (Colgate University
    University of Colorado)

  • J. M. Katich

    (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL)
    University of Colorado
    BAE Systems, Inc)

  • Rajan K. Chakrabarty

    (Washington University in St. Louis)

Abstract

Pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) firestorm systems have been shown to inject significant amounts of black carbon (BC) to the stratosphere with a residence time of several months. Injected BC warms the local stratospheric air, consequently perturbing transport and hence spatial distributions of ozone and water vapor. A distinguishing feature of BC-containing particles residing within pyroCb smoke is their thick surface coatings made of condensed organic matter. When coated with non-refractory materials, BC’s absorption is enhanced, yet the absorption enhancement factor (Eabs) for pyroCb BC is not well constrained. Here, we perform particle-scale measurements of BC mass, morphology, and coating thickness from inside a pyroCb cloud and quantify Eabs using an established particle-resolved BC optics model. We find that the population-averaged Eabs for BC asymptotes to 2.0 with increasing coating thickness. This value denotes the upper limit of Eabs for thickly coated BC in the atmosphere. Our results provide observationally constrained parameterizations of BC absorption for improved radiative transfer calculations of pyroCb events.

Suggested Citation

  • Payton Beeler & Joshin Kumar & Joshua P. Schwarz & Kouji Adachi & Laura Fierce & Anne E. Perring & J. M. Katich & Rajan K. Chakrabarty, 2024. "Light absorption enhancement of black carbon in a pyrocumulonimbus cloud," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-7, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-50070-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50070-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Swarup China & Claudio Mazzoleni & Kyle Gorkowski & Allison C. Aiken & Manvendra K. Dubey, 2013. "Morphology and mixing state of individual freshly emitted wildfire carbonaceous particles," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 4(1), pages 1-7, October.
    2. Laura Fierce & Tami C. Bond & Susanne E. Bauer & Francisco Mena & Nicole Riemer, 2016. "Black carbon absorption at the global scale is affected by particle-scale diversity in composition," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-8, November.
    3. Hunter Brown & Xiaohong Liu & Rudra Pokhrel & Shane Murphy & Zheng Lu & Rawad Saleh & Tero Mielonen & Harri Kokkola & Tommi Bergman & Gunnar Myhre & Ragnhild B. Skeie & Duncan Watson-Paris & Philip St, 2021. "Biomass burning aerosols in most climate models are too absorbing," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, December.
    4. Shang Liu & Allison C. Aiken & Kyle Gorkowski & Manvendra K. Dubey & Christopher D. Cappa & Leah R. Williams & Scott C. Herndon & Paola Massoli & Edward C. Fortner & Puneet S. Chhabra & William A. Bro, 2015. "Enhanced light absorption by mixed source black and brown carbon particles in UK winter," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 6(1), pages 1-10, December.
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