TY - JOUR
T1 - Brown carbon spheres in East Asian outflow and their optical properties
AU - Alexander, Duncan T L
AU - Crozier, Peter
AU - Anderson, James R.
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2008 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2008/8/8
Y1 - 2008/8/8
N2 - Atmospheric aerosols play a substantial role in climate change through radiative forcing. Combustion-produced carbonaceous particles are the main light-absorbing aerosols; thus, quantifying their optical properties is essential for determining the magnitude of direct forcing. By using the electron energy-loss spectrum in the transmission electron microscope, we quantified the optical properties of individual, submicrometer amorphous carbon spheres that are ubiquitous in East Asian-Pacific outflow. The data indicate that these common spheres are brown, not black, with a mean refractive index of 1.67 - 0.27i (where i = √1) at a wavelength of 550 nanometers. The results suggest that brown carbon aerosols should be explicitly included in radiative forcing models.
AB - Atmospheric aerosols play a substantial role in climate change through radiative forcing. Combustion-produced carbonaceous particles are the main light-absorbing aerosols; thus, quantifying their optical properties is essential for determining the magnitude of direct forcing. By using the electron energy-loss spectrum in the transmission electron microscope, we quantified the optical properties of individual, submicrometer amorphous carbon spheres that are ubiquitous in East Asian-Pacific outflow. The data indicate that these common spheres are brown, not black, with a mean refractive index of 1.67 - 0.27i (where i = √1) at a wavelength of 550 nanometers. The results suggest that brown carbon aerosols should be explicitly included in radiative forcing models.
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U2 - 10.1126/science.1155296
DO - 10.1126/science.1155296
M3 - Article
C2 - 18687964
AN - SCOPUS:49449104923
VL - 321
SP - 833
EP - 836
JO - Science
JF - Science
SN - 0036-8075
IS - 5890
ER -