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Black Carbon and Secondary Brown Carbon, the Dominant Light Absorption and Direct Radiative Forcing Contributors of the Atmospheric Aerosols Over the Tibetan Plateau
Author(s) -
Zhu ChongShu,
Qu Yao,
Huang Hong,
Chen Ji,
Dai WenTing,
Huang RuJin,
Cao JunJi
Publication year - 2021
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 - 10.1029/2021gl092524
Subject(s) - radiative forcing , plateau (mathematics) , carbon black , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , radiative transfer , aerosol , carbon fibers , forcing (mathematics) , absorption (acoustics) , climatology , chemistry , geology , physics , meteorology , materials science , mathematical analysis , natural rubber , mathematics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , composite number , acoustics , composite material
Black carbon (BC), primary brown carbon (BrC pri ), and secondary brown carbon (BrC sec ) are important light‐absorbing aerosol. BC and BrC from the surrounding area can reach the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and influence climate change and glacial melting. Here, we presented a study of the light absorption, radiative forcing, and potential source areas of BC and BrC over the northeastern, central, and southwestern TP. The higher light absorption was observed in the northeastern and southwestern sites compared to the central TP site. The major carbonaceous light‐absorbing was attributed to BC with the percentages of 65%, 56%, and 82% in Ngari, Qinghai Lake, and Beiluhe, respectively. The heighten contribution of BrC sec to total light absorption indicated the importance of BrC sec in the TP, especially in the northeastern and southwestern areas. The BrC sec radiative forcings relative to BC were much higher than those of BrC pri . The potential BC and BrC pri source distributions were obtained.