AAAR 31st Annual Conference
October 8-12, 2012
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Black Carbon Trends over Several Decades at Multiple Locations
CHELSEA PREBLE, Odelle Hadley, Liang Liu, Tami Bond, Thomas Kirchstetter, University of California, Berkeley
Abstract Number: 480 Working Group: Carbonaceous Aerosols in the Atmosphere
Abstract Archived air quality data in the U.S. and Europe can be used to reconstruct past trends in black carbon (BC), an indicator of fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning. Here, we consider coefficient of haze (COH) data that was extensively measured in California, New Jersey, and other North American locations from the mid-1960s to the turn of the century. We reinstated COH monitors alongside aethalometers in Vallejo and San Jose, California, and after two years of air monitoring determined that COH is proportional to and, thus, can be used to infer past concentrations of BC. Analyzing COH data sets, we found that BC concentrations markedly decreased from 1965 to 2000 in both California and New Jersey. The opposing trend of increasing energy consumption over the same period indicates successful regulatory control of sources and a shift from dirtier to cleaner fuels. As air quality improved over four decades, a seasonal trend of maximum BC concentrations in winter persisted in California but, somewhat surprisingly, disappeared in New Jersey. A strong weekly cycle of lowest BC concentrations on weekends was evident in California and New Jersey, suggesting that diesel traffic, which exhibits a similar weekly cycle, has been a major source of BC in both states. Our extended analysis will include BC trends in other regions of North America and Europe and will be applied to understand BC radiative forcing in California and deposition of pollutants in the Arctic.