Global-scale black carbon profiles observed in the remote atmosphere and compared to models

Refractory black carbon (rBC) aerosol loadings and mass size distributions have been quantified during the HIPPO campaign above the remote Pacific from 80N to 67S. Over 100 vertical profiles of rBC loadings, extending from ~0.3 to ~14 km were obtained with a Single-Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) dur...

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Main Authors: Schwarz, J, Spackman, J, Gao, R, Watts, L, Stier, P, Schulz, M, Davis, S, Wofsy, S, Fahey, D
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: American Geophysical Union 2010
Subjects:
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author Schwarz, J
Spackman, J
Gao, R
Watts, L
Stier, P
Schulz, M
Davis, S
Wofsy, S
Fahey, D
author_facet Schwarz, J
Spackman, J
Gao, R
Watts, L
Stier, P
Schulz, M
Davis, S
Wofsy, S
Fahey, D
author_sort Schwarz, J
collection OXFORD
description Refractory black carbon (rBC) aerosol loadings and mass size distributions have been quantified during the HIPPO campaign above the remote Pacific from 80N to 67S. Over 100 vertical profiles of rBC loadings, extending from ~0.3 to ~14 km were obtained with a Single-Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) during a two-week period in January 2009. The dataset provides a striking, and previously unobtainable, pole-to-pole snapshot of rBC mass loadings. rBC vertical concentration profiles reveal significant dependences on latitude, while associated rBC mass size distributions were highly uniform. The vertical profiles averaged in five latitude zones were compared to an ensemble of AEROCOM model fields. The model ensemble spread in each zone was over an order of magnitude, while the model average over-predicted rBC concentrations overall by a factor five. The comparisons suggest that rBC removal in global models may need to be evaluated separately in different latitude regions and perhaps enhanced.
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spelling oxford-uuid:a5450daa-4b45-44fe-b930-2585ed5347b92022-03-27T02:39:20ZGlobal-scale black carbon profiles observed in the remote atmosphere and compared to modelsJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:a5450daa-4b45-44fe-b930-2585ed5347b9Atmospheric,Oceanic,and Planetary physicsPhysicsEnglishOxford University Research Archive - ValetAmerican Geophysical Union2010Schwarz, JSpackman, JGao, RWatts, LStier, PSchulz, MDavis, SWofsy, SFahey, DRefractory black carbon (rBC) aerosol loadings and mass size distributions have been quantified during the HIPPO campaign above the remote Pacific from 80N to 67S. Over 100 vertical profiles of rBC loadings, extending from ~0.3 to ~14 km were obtained with a Single-Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) during a two-week period in January 2009. The dataset provides a striking, and previously unobtainable, pole-to-pole snapshot of rBC mass loadings. rBC vertical concentration profiles reveal significant dependences on latitude, while associated rBC mass size distributions were highly uniform. The vertical profiles averaged in five latitude zones were compared to an ensemble of AEROCOM model fields. The model ensemble spread in each zone was over an order of magnitude, while the model average over-predicted rBC concentrations overall by a factor five. The comparisons suggest that rBC removal in global models may need to be evaluated separately in different latitude regions and perhaps enhanced.
spellingShingle Atmospheric,Oceanic,and Planetary physics
Physics
Schwarz, J
Spackman, J
Gao, R
Watts, L
Stier, P
Schulz, M
Davis, S
Wofsy, S
Fahey, D
Global-scale black carbon profiles observed in the remote atmosphere and compared to models
title Global-scale black carbon profiles observed in the remote atmosphere and compared to models
title_full Global-scale black carbon profiles observed in the remote atmosphere and compared to models
title_fullStr Global-scale black carbon profiles observed in the remote atmosphere and compared to models
title_full_unstemmed Global-scale black carbon profiles observed in the remote atmosphere and compared to models
title_short Global-scale black carbon profiles observed in the remote atmosphere and compared to models
title_sort global scale black carbon profiles observed in the remote atmosphere and compared to models
topic Atmospheric,Oceanic,and Planetary physics
Physics
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