scholarly journals A new feedback mechanism linking forests, aerosols, and climate

2004 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 557-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kulmala ◽  
T. Suni ◽  
K. E. J. Lehtinen ◽  
M. Dal Maso ◽  
M. Boy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Aerosols ◽  
Forest Biomass ◽  
Feedback Mechanism ◽  
Forest Growth ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Climate Effect ◽  
Aerosol Dynamics ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Climate Interactions ◽  
Scots Pine Forest

Abstract. The possible connections between the carbon balance of ecosystems and aerosol-cloud-climate interactions play a significant role in climate change studies. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, whereas the net effect of atmospheric aerosols is to cool the climate. Here, we investigated the connection between forest-atmosphere carbon exchange and aerosol dynamics in the continental boundary layer by means of multiannual data sets of particle formation and growth rates, of CO2 fluxes, and of monoterpene concentrations in a Scots pine forest in southern Finland. We suggest a new, interesting link and a potentially important feedback among forest ecosystem functioning, aerosols, and climate: Considering that globally increasing temperatures and CO2 fertilization are likely to lead to increased photosynthesis and forest growth, an increase in forest biomass would increase emissions of non-methane biogenic volatile organic compounds and thereby enhance organic aerosol production. This feedback mechanism couples the climate effect of CO2 with that of aerosols in a novel way.

scholarly journals A new feedback mechanism linking forests, aerosols, and climate

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 6093-6107 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kulmala ◽  
T. Suni ◽  
K. E. J. Lehtinen ◽  
M. Dal Maso ◽  
M. Boy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Aerosols ◽  
Forest Biomass ◽  
Feedback Mechanism ◽  
Forest Growth ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Climate Effect ◽  
Aerosol Dynamics ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Climate Interactions ◽  
Scots Pine Forest

Abstract. Among significant issues in climate change studies are the possible connections between the carbon balance of ecosystems and aerosol-cloud-climate interactions. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, whereas the net effect of atmospheric aerosols is to cool the climate. Here, we investigated the connection between forest-atmosphere carbon exchange and aerosol dynamics in the continental boundary layer by means of multiannual data sets of particle formation and growth rates, of CO2 fluxes, and of monoterpene concentrations in a Scots pine forest in southern Finland. We suggest a new, interesting link and a potentially important feedback among forest ecosystem functioning, aerosols, and climate: Considering that globally increasing temperatures and CO2 fertilization are likely to lead to increased photosynthesis and forest growth, an increase in forest biomass would increase emissions of non-methane biogenic volatile organic compounds and thereby enhance organic aerosol production. This feedback mechanism couples the climate effect of CO2 with that of aerosols in a novel way.

scholarly journals Future vegetation–climate interactions in Eastern Siberia: an assessment of the competing effects of CO<sub>2</sub> and secondary organic aerosols

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. 5243-5262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Almut Arneth ◽  
Risto Makkonen ◽  
Stefan Olin ◽  
Pauli Paasonen ◽  
Thomas Holst ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Response ◽  
Eastern Siberia ◽  
Climate Feedbacks ◽  
Arctic Ecosystems ◽  
Climate Effect ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Climate Interactions ◽  
Co2 Balance ◽  
Positive Climate ◽  
Net Release

Abstract. Disproportional warming in the northern high latitudes and large carbon stocks in boreal and (sub)arctic ecosystems have raised concerns as to whether substantial positive climate feedbacks from biogeochemical process responses should be expected. Such feedbacks occur when increasing temperatures lead, for example, to a net release of CO2 or CH4. However, temperature-enhanced emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) have been shown to contribute to the growth of secondary organic aerosol (SOA), which is known to have a negative radiative climate effect. Combining measurements in Eastern Siberia with model-based estimates of vegetation and permafrost dynamics, BVOC emissions, and aerosol growth, we assess here possible future changes in ecosystem CO2 balance and BVOC–SOA interactions and discuss these changes in terms of possible climate effects. Globally, the effects of changes in Siberian ecosystem CO2 balance and SOA formation are small, but when concentrating on Siberia and the Northern Hemisphere the negative forcing from changed aerosol direct and indirect effects become notable – even though the associated temperature response would not necessarily follow a similar spatial pattern. While our analysis does not include other important processes that are of relevance for the climate system, the CO2 and BVOC–SOA interplay serves as an example for the complexity of the interactions between emissions and vegetation dynamics that underlie individual terrestrial processes and highlights the importance of addressing ecosystem–climate feedbacks in consistent, process-based model frameworks.

scholarly journals Future vegetation–climate interactions in Eastern Siberia: an assessment of the competing effects of CO<sub>2</sub> and secondary organic aerosols

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (19) ◽  
pp. 27137-27175
Author(s):  
A. Arneth ◽  
R. Makkonen ◽  
S. Olin ◽  
P. Paasonen ◽  
T. Holst ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Response ◽  
Eastern Siberia ◽  
Climate Feedbacks ◽  
Arctic Ecosystems ◽  
Climate Effect ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Climate Interactions ◽  
Co2 Balance ◽  
Positive Climate ◽  
Net Release

Abstract. Disproportional warming in the northern high latitudes, and large carbon stocks in boreal and (sub)arctic ecosystems have raised concerns as to whether substantial positive climate feedbacks from biogeochemical process responses should be expected. Such feedbacks occur if increasing temperatures lead to e.g. a net release of CO2 or CH4. However, temperature-enhanced emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC) have been shown to contribute to the growth of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) which is known to have a negative radiative climate effect. Combining measurements in Eastern Siberia with model-based estimates of vegetation and permafrost dynamics, BVOC emissions and aerosol growth, we assess here possible future changes in ecosystem CO2 balance and BVOC-SOA interactions, and discuss these changes in terms of possible climate effects. On global level, both are very small but when concentrating on Siberia and the northern hemisphere the negative forcing from changed aerosol direct and indirect effects become notable – even though the associated temperature response would not necessarily follow a similar spatial pattern. While our analysis does not include other important processes that are of relevance for the climate system, the CO2 and BVOC-SOA interplay used serves as an example of the complexity of the interactions between emissions and vegetation dynamics that underlie individual terrestrial feedbacks and highlights the importance of addressing ecosystem-climate feedbacks in consistent, process-based model frameworks.

scholarly journals Aging of atmospheric aerosols and the role of iron in catalyzing brown carbon formation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hind A. A. Al-Abadleh
Keyword(s):  
Volatile Organic Compounds ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Atmospheric Aerosols ◽  
Secondary Organic Aerosol ◽  
Organic Aerosol ◽  
Atmospheric Oxidation ◽  
Carbon Formation ◽  
Brown Carbon ◽  
Volatile Organic

Extensive research has been done on the processes that lead to the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) including atmospheric oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from biogenic and anthropogenic...

scholarly journals Anthropogenic enhancements to production of highly oxygenated molecules from autoxidation

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (14) ◽  
pp. 6641-6646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Havala O. T. Pye ◽  
Emma L. D’Ambro ◽  
Ben H. Lee ◽  
Siegfried Schobesberger ◽  
Masayuki Takeuchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fine Particulate Matter ◽  
Peroxy Radicals ◽  
Dominant Component ◽  
Fine Particulate ◽  
Biogenic Voc ◽  
Aircraft Observations ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Climate Interactions ◽  
Urban Plume

Atmospheric oxidation of natural and anthropogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) leads to secondary organic aerosol (SOA), which constitutes a major and often dominant component of atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Recent work demonstrates that rapid autoxidation of organic peroxy radicals (RO2) formed during VOC oxidation results in highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOM) that efficiently form SOA. As NOxemissions decrease, the chemical regime of the atmosphere changes to one in which RO2autoxidation becomes increasingly important, potentially increasing PM2.5, while oxidant availability driving RO2formation rates simultaneously declines, possibly slowing regional PM2.5formation. Using a suite of in situ aircraft observations and laboratory studies of HOM, together with a detailed molecular mechanism, we show that although autoxidation in an archetypal biogenic VOC system becomes more competitive as NOxdecreases, absolute HOM production rates decrease due to oxidant reductions, leading to an overall positive coupling between anthropogenic NOxand localized biogenic SOA from autoxidation. This effect is observed in the Atlanta, Georgia, urban plume where HOM is enhanced in the presence of elevated NO, and predictions for Guangzhou, China, where increasing HOM-RO2production coincides with increases in NO from 1990 to 2010. These results suggest added benefits to PM2.5abatement strategies come with NOxemission reductions and have implications for aerosol–climate interactions due to changes in global SOA resulting from NOxinteractions since the preindustrial era.

scholarly journals Regional effects of atmospheric aerosols on temperature: an evaluation of an ensemble of online coupled models

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (15) ◽  
pp. 9677-9696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rocío Baró ◽  
Laura Palacios-Peña ◽  
Alexander Baklanov ◽  
Alessandra Balzarini ◽  
Dominik Brunner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Aerosols ◽  
Atmospheric Aerosol ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Spatiotemporal Variability ◽  
Coupled Models ◽  
Climate Effect ◽  
Wave Event ◽  
Simulation Results ◽  
Radiative Feedbacks ◽  
Aerosol Radiative

Abstract. The climate effect of atmospheric aerosols is associated with their influence on the radiative budget of the Earth due to the direct aerosol–radiation interactions (ARIs) and indirect effects, resulting from aerosol–cloud–radiation interactions (ACIs). Online coupled meteorology–chemistry models permit the description of these effects on the basis of simulated atmospheric aerosol concentrations, although there is still some uncertainty associated with the use of these models. Thus, the objective of this work is to assess whether the inclusion of atmospheric aerosol radiative feedbacks of an ensemble of online coupled models improves the simulation results for maximum, mean and minimum temperature at 2 m over Europe. The evaluated models outputs originate from EuMetChem COST Action ES1004 simulations for Europe, differing in the inclusion (or omission) of ARI and ACI in the various models. The cases studies cover two important atmospheric aerosol episodes over Europe in the year 2010: (i) a heat wave event and a forest fire episode (July–August 2010) and (ii) a more humid episode including a Saharan desert dust outbreak in October 2010. The simulation results are evaluated against observational data from the E-OBS gridded database. The results indicate that, although there is only a slight improvement in the bias of the simulation results when including the radiative feedbacks, the spatiotemporal variability and correlation coefficients are improved for the cases under study when atmospheric aerosol radiative effects are included.

scholarly journals Regional and local variations in atmospheric aerosols using ground-based sun photometry during Distributed Regional Aerosol Gridded Observation Networks (DRAGON) in 2012

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (22) ◽  
pp. 14795-14803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Itaru Sano ◽  
Sonoyo Mukai ◽  
Makiko Nakata ◽  
Brent N. Holben
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Aerosols ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Aerosol Dynamics ◽  
Aerosol Mass ◽  
Combined Use ◽  
Environmental Prediction ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Observation Networks

Abstract. Aerosol mass concentrations are affected by local emissions as well as long-range transboundary (LRT) aerosols. This work investigates regional and local variations of aerosols based on Distributed Regional Aerosol Gridded Observation Networks (DRAGON). We constructed DRAGON-Japan and DRAGON-Osaka in spring of 2012. The former network covers almost all of Japan in order to obtain aerosol information in regional scale over Japanese islands. It was determined from the DRAGON-Japan campaign that the values of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) decrease from west to east during an aerosol episode. In fact, the highest AOT was recorded at Fukue Island at the western end of the network, and the value was much higher than that of urban areas. The latter network (DRAGON-Osaka) was set as a dense instrument network in the megalopolis of Osaka, with a population of 12 million, to better understand local aerosol dynamics in urban areas. AOT was further measured with a mobile sun photometer attached to a car. This transect information showed that aerosol concentrations rapidly changed in time and space together when most of the Osaka area was covered with moderate LRT aerosols. The combined use of the dense instrument network (DRAGON-Osaka) and high-frequency measurements provides the motion of aerosol advection, which coincides with the wind vector around the layer between 700 and 850 hPa as provided by the reanalysis data of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP).

Hydroxyl radical initiated oxidation of formic acid on mineral aerosols surface: a mechanistic, kinetic and spectroscopic study

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Iuga ◽  
C. Ignacio Sainz-Díaz ◽  
Annik Vivier-Bunge
Keyword(s):  
Free Radical ◽  
Formic Acid ◽  
Gas Phase ◽  
Atmospheric Aerosols ◽  
Carbonic Acid ◽  
Radical Reactions ◽  
Acid Molecule ◽  
Formyl Radical ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Silicate Surface

Environmental context The presence of air-borne mineral dust containing silicates in atmospheric aerosols should be considered in any exploration of volatile organic compound chemistry. This work reports the mechanisms, relative energies and kinetics of free-radical reactions with formic acid adsorbed on silicate surface models. We find that silicate surfaces are more likely to act as a trap for organic radicals than to have a catalytic effect on their reactions. Abstract Heterogeneous reactions of atmospheric volatile organic compounds on aerosol particles may play an important role in atmospheric chemistry. Silicate particles are present in air-borne mineral dust in atmospheric aerosols, and radical reactions can be different in the presence of these mineral particles. In this work, we use quantum-mechanical calculations and computational kinetics to explore the reaction of a hydroxyl free radical with a formic acid molecule previously adsorbed on several models of silicate surfaces. We find that the reaction is slower and takes place according to a mechanism that is different than the one in the gas phase. It is especially interesting to note that the reaction final products, which are the formyl radical attached to the cluster surface, and a water molecule, are much more stable than those formed in the gas phase, the overall reaction being highly exothermic in the presence of the surface model. This suggests that the silicate surface is a good trap for the formed formyl radical. In addition, we have noted that, if a second hydroxyl radical approaches the adsorbed formyl radical, the formation of carbonic acid on the silicate surface is a highly exothermic and exergonic process. The carbonic acid molecule remains strongly attached to the surface, thus blocking CO2 formation in the formic acid oxidation reaction. The spectroscopic properties of the systems involved in the reaction have been calculated, and interesting frequency shifts have been identified in the main vibration modes.

scholarly journals Regional effects of atmospheric aerosols on temperature: an evaluation of an ensemble of on-line coupled models

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rocío Baró ◽  
Laura Palacios-Peña ◽  
Alexander Baklanov ◽  
Alessandra Balzarini ◽  
Dominik Brunner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Aerosols ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Atmospheric Aerosol ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Coupled Models ◽  
Climate Effect ◽  
On Line ◽  
Simulation Results ◽  
Radiative Feedbacks ◽  
Aerosol Radiative

Abstract. The climate effect of atmospheric aerosols is associated to their influence on the radiative budget of the Earth due to direct aerosol-radiation interactions (ARI) and indirect effects, resulting from aerosol-cloud interactions (ACI). On-line coupled meteorology-chemistry models permit the description of these effects on the basis of simulated atmospheric aerosol concentrations, although there is still some uncertainty associated to the use of these models. In this sense, the objective of this work is to assess whether the inclusion of atmospheric aerosol radiative feedbacks of an ensemble of on-line coupled models improves the simulation results for maximum, mean and minimum temperature over Europe. The evaluated model outputs originate from EuMetChem COST Action ES1004 simulations for Europe, differing in the inclusion (or omission) of ARI and ACI in the various models. The case studies cover two important atmospheric aerosol episodes over Europe in the year 2010, a heat wave and forest fires episode (July–August 2010) and a more humid episode including a Saharan desert dust outbreak in October 2010. The simulation results are evaluated against observational data from E-OBS gridded database. The results indicate that, although there is only a slight improvement in the bias of the simulation results when including the radiative feedbacks, the spatio-temporal variability and correlation coefficients are improved for the cases under study when atmospheric aerosol radiative effects are included, especially for those areas closest to emissions sources of atmospheric aerosols.

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