Abstract View
Optical Properties of Absorbing Aerosol Emitted from Biomass Burning
YINGJIE SHEN, Rudra Pokhrel, Shane Murphy, Ezra Levin, Amy P. Sullivan, University of Wyoming
Abstract Number: 10
Working Group: Wildfire Aerosols
Abstract
Black carbon (BC) and Brown carbon (BrC) emissions from wildfires absorb visible sunlight and have a significant impact on the global energy budget. Wildfires are one of the largest sources of both BC and BrC globally, but the optical properties and magnitude of these emissions remain uncertain. With the increasing number of wildfires in the United States and globally, the absorption, scattering and extinction caused by BC and BrC are of growing importance. In this presentation we will present results from ground campaigns in the Mountain West using a mobile lab and results from airborne measurements during the WE-CAN (Western Wildfire Experiment: Cloud Chemistry, Aerosol Absorption, and Nitrogen) field campaign. The impact of organic coatings of BC and brown carbon will be presented. We will also present results on the impact of photochemical aging, dilution, and physical aging on the contribution of both BC and BrC to total aerosol absorption. Finally, we will present summary results on the average overall optical properties of Western U.S. wildfires and discuss their relationship to global biomass burning emissions.