Characterization of brown carbon absorption in different European environments through source contribution analysis

Abstract. Brown carbon (BrC) is a fraction of organic aerosol (OA) that absorbs radiation in the ultraviolet and short visible wavelengths. Its contribution to radiative forcing is uncertain due to limited knowledge of its imaginary refractive index (k). This study investigates the variability of k for OA from wildfires, residential, shipping, and traffic emission sources over Europe. The Multiscale Online Nonhydrostatic Atmosphere Chemistry (MONARCH) model simulated OA concentrations and source contributions, feeding an offline optical tool to constrain k values at 370 nm. The model was evaluated against OA mass concentrations from aerosol chemical speciation monitors (ACSMs) and filter sample measurements, as well as aerosol light absorption measurements at 370 nm derived from an Aethalometer™ from 12 sites across Europe. Results show that MONARCH captures the OA temporal variability across environments (regional, suburban, and urban background). Residential emissions are a major OA source in colder months, while secondary organic aerosol (SOA) dominates in warmer periods. Traffic is a minor primary OA contributor. Biomass and coal combustion significantly influence OA absorption, with shipping emissions also notable near harbors. Optimizing k values at 370 nm revealed significant variability in OA light absorption, influenced by emission sources and environmental conditions. Derived k values for biomass burning (0.03 to 0.13), residential (0.008 to 0.13), shipping (0.005 to 0.08), and traffic (0.005 to 0.07) sources improved model representation of OA absorption compared to a constant k. Introducing such emission source-specific constraints is an innovative approach to enhance OA absorption in atmospheric models.

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Publication Details

Journal
Atmospheric chemistry and physics
Published
2025-02-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2667-2025
Citations
7
Primary Topic
Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
9.11

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Characterization of brown carbon absorption in different European environments through source contribution analysis

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Characterization of brown carbon absorption in different European environments through source contribution analysis

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article en
7 citations

Abstract

Abstract. Brown carbon (BrC) is a fraction of organic aerosol (OA) that absorbs radiation in the ultraviolet and short visible wavelengths. Its contribution to radiative forcing is uncertain due to limited knowledge of its imaginary refractive index (k). This study investigates the variability of k for OA from wildfires, residential, shipping, and traffic emission sources over Europe. The Multiscale Online Nonhydrostatic Atmosphere Chemistry (MONARCH) model simulated OA concentrations and source contributions, feeding an offline optical tool to constrain k values at 370 nm. The model was evaluated against OA mass concentrations from aerosol chemical speciation monitors (ACSMs) and filter sample measurements, as well as aerosol light absorption measurements at 370 nm derived from an Aethalometer™ from 12 sites across Europe. Results show that MONARCH captures the OA temporal variability across environments (regional, suburban, and urban background). Residential emissions are a major OA source in colder months, while secondary organic aerosol (SOA) dominates in warmer periods. Traffic is a minor primary OA contributor. Biomass and coal combustion significantly influence OA absorption, with shipping emissions also notable near harbors. Optimizing k values at 370 nm revealed significant variability in OA light absorption, influenced by emission sources and environmental conditions. Derived k values for biomass burning (0.03 to 0.13), residential (0.008 to 0.13), shipping (0.005 to 0.08), and traffic (0.005 to 0.07) sources improved model representation of OA absorption compared to a constant k. Introducing such emission source-specific constraints is an innovative approach to enhance OA absorption in atmospheric models.

Atmospheric chemistry and physicsVol. 25(4)
Finnish Meteorological Institute (FI), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), University of Helsinki (FI), Cyprus Institute (CY), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (FR), National Centre of Scientific Research "Demokritos" (GR), Université de Lille (FR), Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR), Barcelona Supercomputing Center (ES), Paul Scherrer Institute (CH), Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (DE), Joint Research Centre (IT), Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (FR), Institut national de l'environnement industriel et des risques (FR), CEA Paris-Saclay (FR), Jolly Aero (Slovenia) (SI), Agence Nationale pour la Gestion des Déchets Radioactifs (FR), Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (ES), AGH University of Krakow (PL), Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (CH), ENVIRON (United States) (US), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (ES)
Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Ministerio de Asuntos Económicos y Transformación Digital, Gobierno de España, Horizon 2020, HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols
9.11
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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