Relationship between Land Use and Spatial Variability of Atmospheric Brown Carbon and Black Carbon Aerosols in Amazonia
The aerosol radiative effect is an important source of uncertainty in estimating the anthropogenic impact of global climate change. One of the main open questions is the role of radiation absorption by aerosols and its relation to land use worldwide, particularly in the Amazon Rainforest. Using AERO...
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/8/1328 |
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| author | Fernando G. Morais Marco A. Franco Rafael Palácios Luiz A. T. Machado Luciana V. Rizzo Henrique M. J. Barbosa Fabio Jorge Joel S. Schafer Brent N. Holben Eduardo Landulfo Paulo Artaxo |
| author_facet | Fernando G. Morais Marco A. Franco Rafael Palácios Luiz A. T. Machado Luciana V. Rizzo Henrique M. J. Barbosa Fabio Jorge Joel S. Schafer Brent N. Holben Eduardo Landulfo Paulo Artaxo |
| author_sort | Fernando G. Morais |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The aerosol radiative effect is an important source of uncertainty in estimating the anthropogenic impact of global climate change. One of the main open questions is the role of radiation absorption by aerosols and its relation to land use worldwide, particularly in the Amazon Rainforest. Using AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network) long-term measurements of aerosol optical depth (AOD) at a wavelength of 500 nm and absorption AOD (AAOD) at wavelengths of 440, 675, and 870 nm, we estimated the fraction and seasonality of the black carbon (BC) and brown carbon (BrC) contributions to absorption at 440 nm. This was conducted at six Amazonian sites, from central Amazon (Manaus and the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory—ATTO) to the deforestation arc (Rio Branco, Cuiabá, Ji-Paraná, and Alta Floresta). In addition, land use and cover data from the MapBiomas collection 6.0 was used to access the land transformation from forest to agricultural areas on each site. The results showed, for the first time, important geographical and seasonal variability in the aerosol optical properties, particularly the BC and BrC contributions. We observed a clear separation between dry and wet seasons, with BrC consistently accounting for an average of approximately 12% of the aerosol AAOD at 440 nm in the deforestation arc. In central Amazon, the contribution of BrC was approximately 25%. A direct relationship between the reduction in forests and the increase in the area dedicated to agriculture was detected. Moreover, places with lower fractions of forest had a smaller fraction of BrC, and regions with higher fractions of agricultural areas presented higher fractions of BC. Therefore, significant changes in AOD and AAOD are likely related to land-use transformations and biomass burning emissions, mainly during the dry season. The effects of land use change could introduce differences in the radiative balance in the different Amazonian regions. The analyses presented in this study allow a better understanding of the role of aerosol emissions from the Amazon Rainforest that could have global impacts. |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:01:22Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-4bd01a5b23d6466aad2b027882cbfc212023-12-01T23:24:16ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332022-08-01138132810.3390/atmos13081328Relationship between Land Use and Spatial Variability of Atmospheric Brown Carbon and Black Carbon Aerosols in AmazoniaFernando G. Morais0Marco A. Franco1Rafael Palácios2Luiz A. T. Machado3Luciana V. Rizzo4Henrique M. J. Barbosa5Fabio Jorge6Joel S. Schafer7Brent N. Holben8Eduardo Landulfo9Paulo Artaxo10Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, Rua do Matão, São Paulo 05508-090, BrazilInstitute of Physics, University of São Paulo, Rua do Matão, São Paulo 05508-090, BrazilFaculdade de Meteorologia, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-110, BrazilInstitute of Physics, University of São Paulo, Rua do Matão, São Paulo 05508-090, BrazilInstitute of Physics, University of São Paulo, Rua do Matão, São Paulo 05508-090, BrazilInstitute of Physics, University of São Paulo, Rua do Matão, São Paulo 05508-090, BrazilInstitute of Physics, University of São Paulo, Rua do Matão, São Paulo 05508-090, BrazilNASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD 20771, USANASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD 20771, USACentro de Lasers e Aplicações (CELAP), Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares (IPEN), Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes 2242, São Paulo 05508-000, BrazilInstitute of Physics, University of São Paulo, Rua do Matão, São Paulo 05508-090, BrazilThe aerosol radiative effect is an important source of uncertainty in estimating the anthropogenic impact of global climate change. One of the main open questions is the role of radiation absorption by aerosols and its relation to land use worldwide, particularly in the Amazon Rainforest. Using AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network) long-term measurements of aerosol optical depth (AOD) at a wavelength of 500 nm and absorption AOD (AAOD) at wavelengths of 440, 675, and 870 nm, we estimated the fraction and seasonality of the black carbon (BC) and brown carbon (BrC) contributions to absorption at 440 nm. This was conducted at six Amazonian sites, from central Amazon (Manaus and the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory—ATTO) to the deforestation arc (Rio Branco, Cuiabá, Ji-Paraná, and Alta Floresta). In addition, land use and cover data from the MapBiomas collection 6.0 was used to access the land transformation from forest to agricultural areas on each site. The results showed, for the first time, important geographical and seasonal variability in the aerosol optical properties, particularly the BC and BrC contributions. We observed a clear separation between dry and wet seasons, with BrC consistently accounting for an average of approximately 12% of the aerosol AAOD at 440 nm in the deforestation arc. In central Amazon, the contribution of BrC was approximately 25%. A direct relationship between the reduction in forests and the increase in the area dedicated to agriculture was detected. Moreover, places with lower fractions of forest had a smaller fraction of BrC, and regions with higher fractions of agricultural areas presented higher fractions of BC. Therefore, significant changes in AOD and AAOD are likely related to land-use transformations and biomass burning emissions, mainly during the dry season. The effects of land use change could introduce differences in the radiative balance in the different Amazonian regions. The analyses presented in this study allow a better understanding of the role of aerosol emissions from the Amazon Rainforest that could have global impacts.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/8/1328AERONETAmazonbrown carbonblack carbonland useremote sensing |
| spellingShingle | Fernando G. Morais Marco A. Franco Rafael Palácios Luiz A. T. Machado Luciana V. Rizzo Henrique M. J. Barbosa Fabio Jorge Joel S. Schafer Brent N. Holben Eduardo Landulfo Paulo Artaxo Relationship between Land Use and Spatial Variability of Atmospheric Brown Carbon and Black Carbon Aerosols in Amazonia Atmosphere AERONET Amazon brown carbon black carbon land use remote sensing |
| title | Relationship between Land Use and Spatial Variability of Atmospheric Brown Carbon and Black Carbon Aerosols in Amazonia |
| title_full | Relationship between Land Use and Spatial Variability of Atmospheric Brown Carbon and Black Carbon Aerosols in Amazonia |
| title_fullStr | Relationship between Land Use and Spatial Variability of Atmospheric Brown Carbon and Black Carbon Aerosols in Amazonia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Relationship between Land Use and Spatial Variability of Atmospheric Brown Carbon and Black Carbon Aerosols in Amazonia |
| title_short | Relationship between Land Use and Spatial Variability of Atmospheric Brown Carbon and Black Carbon Aerosols in Amazonia |
| title_sort | relationship between land use and spatial variability of atmospheric brown carbon and black carbon aerosols in amazonia |
| topic | AERONET Amazon brown carbon black carbon land use remote sensing |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/8/1328 |
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