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Airborne Measurements of Carbonaceous Aerosols in Southern Africa during the Dry Biomass Burning SeasonParticulate matter collected aboard the University of Washington's (UW) Convair-580 research aircrafi over southem Afiica during the dry biomass burning season was analyzed for total carbon (TC), organic carbon (OC), and black carbon (BC) contents using thermal and optical methods. Samples were collected in smoke plumes of burning savanna and in regional haze. A known artifact, produced by the adsorption of organic gases on the quartz filter substrates used to collect the particulate matter samples, comprised a significant portion of the TC collected. Consequently, conclusions derived from the data are greatly dependent on whether or not OC concentrations are corrected for this artifact. For example, the estimated aerosol coalbedo (1 - single scattering albedo (SSA)), which is a measure of aerosol absorption, of the biomass smoke samples is 60% larger using corrected OC concentrations. Thus, the corrected data imply that the biomass smoke is 60% more absorbing than do the uncorrected data. The BC to (corrected) OC mass ratio (BC/OC) of smoke plume samples (0.18 plus or minus 0.06) is lower than that of samples collected in the regional haze (0.25 plus or minus 0.08). The difference may be due to mixing of biomass smoke with background air characterized by a higher BC/OC ratio. A simple source apportionment indicates that biomass smoke contributes about three quarters of the aerosol burden in the regional haze, while other souxes (e.g., fossil fuel burning) contribute the remainder.
Document ID
20050176052
Acquisition Source
Headquarters
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Kirchstetter, Thomas W.
(California Univ., Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Berkeley, CA, United States)
Novakov, T.
(California Univ., Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Berkeley, CA, United States)
Hobbs, Peter V.
(Washington Univ. Seattle, WA, United States)
Magi, Brian
(Washington Univ. Seattle, WA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2003
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research
Publisher: American Geophysical Union
Volume: 108
Issue: D13
ISSN: 0148-0227
Subject Category
Environment Pollution
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG5-9022
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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