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Aerosol single scattering albedo dependence on biomass combustion efficiency: Laboratory and field studies
Author(s) -
Liu Shang,
Aiken Allison C.,
Arata Caleb,
Dubey Manvendra K.,
Stockwell Chelsea E.,
Yokelson Robert J.,
Stone Elizabeth A.,
Jayarathne Thilina,
Robinson Allen L.,
DeMott Paul J.,
Kreidenweis Sonia M.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2013gl058392
Subject(s) - single scattering albedo , environmental science , combustion , aerosol , atmospheric sciences , radiative transfer , albedo (alchemy) , radiative forcing , biomass (ecology) , forcing (mathematics) , meteorology , chemistry , physics , geology , optics , oceanography , organic chemistry , performance art , art history , art
Single scattering albedo ( ω ) of fresh biomass burning (BB) aerosols produced from 92 controlled laboratory combustion experiments of 20 different woods and grasses was analyzed to determine the factors that control the variability in ω . Results show that ω varies strongly with fire‐integrated modified combustion efficiency (MCE FI )—higher MCE FI results in lower ω values and greater spectral dependence of ω . A parameterization of ω as a function of MCE FI for fresh BB aerosols is derived from the laboratory data and is evaluated by field observations from two wildfires. The parameterization suggests that MCE FI explains 60% of the variability in ω , while the 40% unexplained variability could be accounted for by other parameters such as fuel type. Our parameterization provides a promising framework that requires further validation and is amenable for refinements to predict ω with greater confidence, which is critical for estimating the radiative forcing of BB aerosols.