TY - JOUR
T1 - A European aerosol phenomenology – 9
T2 - Light absorption properties of carbonaceous aerosol particles across surface Europe
AU - Rovira, Jordi
AU - Savadkoohi, Marjan
AU - Chen, Gang I.
AU - Močnik, Griša
AU - Aas, Wenche
AU - Alados-Arboledas, Lucas
AU - Artiñano, Begoña
AU - Aurela, Minna
AU - Backman, John
AU - Banerji, Sujai
AU - Beddow, David
AU - Brem, Benjamin
AU - Chazeau, Benjamin
AU - Coen, Martine Collaud
AU - Colombi, Cristina
AU - Conil, Sebastien
AU - Costabile, Francesca
AU - Coz, Esther
AU - de Brito, Joel F.
AU - Eleftheriadis, Kostas
AU - Favez, Olivier
AU - Flentje, Harald
AU - Freney, Evelyn
AU - Gregorič, Asta
AU - Gysel-Beer, Martin
AU - Harrison, Roy
AU - Hueglin, Christoph
AU - Hyvärinen, Antti
AU - Ivančič, Matic
AU - Kalogridis, Athina-Cerise
AU - Keernik, Hannes
AU - Konstantinos, Granakis
AU - Laj, Paolo
AU - Liakakou, Eleni
AU - Lin, Chunshui
AU - Listrani, Stefano
AU - Luoma, Krista
AU - Maasikmets, Marek
AU - Manninen, Hanna E.
AU - Marchand, Nicolas
AU - dos Santos, Sebastiao Martins
AU - Mbengue, Saliou
AU - Mihalopoulos, Nikos
AU - Nicolae, Doina
AU - Niemi, Jarkko V.
AU - Norman, Michael
AU - Ovadnevaite, Jurgita
AU - Petit, Jean-Eudes
AU - Platt, Stephen
AU - Prévôt, André S.H.
AU - Pujadas, Manuel
AU - Putaud, Jean-Philippe
AU - Riffault, Véronique
AU - Rigler, Martin
AU - Rinaldi, Matteo
AU - Schwarz, Jaroslav
AU - Silvergren, Sanna
AU - Teinemaa, Erik
AU - Teinilä, Kimmo
AU - Timonen, Hilkka
AU - Titos, Gloria
AU - Tobler, Anna
AU - Vasilescu, Jeni
AU - Vratolis, Stergios
AU - Yttri, Karl Espen
AU - Yubero, Eduardo
AU - Zíková, Naděžda
AU - Alastuey, Andrés
AU - Petäjä, Tuukka
AU - Querol, Xavier
AU - Yus-Díez, Jesús
AU - Pandolfi, Marco
PY - 2025/1
Y1 - 2025/1
N2 - Carbonaceous aerosols (CA), composed of black carbon (BC) and organic matter (OM), significantly impact the climate. Light absorption properties of CA, particularly of BC and brown carbon (BrC), are crucial due to their contribution to global and regional warming. We present the absorption properties of BC (bAbs,BC) and BrC (bAbs,BrC) inferred using Aethalometer data from 44 European sites covering different environments (traffic (TR), urban (UB), suburban (SUB), regional background (RB) and mountain (M)). Absorption coefficients showed a clear relationship with station setting decreasing as follows: TR > UB > SUB > RB > M, with exceptions. The contribution of bAbs,BrC to total absorption (bAbs), i.e. %AbsBrC, was lower at traffic sites (11–20 %), exceeding 30 % at some SUB and RB sites. Low AAE values were observed at TR sites, due to the dominance of internal combustion emissions, and at some remote RB/M sites, likely due to the lack of proximity to BrC sources, insufficient secondary processes generating BrC or the effect of photobleaching during transport. Higher bAbs and AAE were observed in Central/Eastern Europe compared to Western/Northern Europe, due to higher coal and biomass burning emissions in the east. Seasonal analysis showed increased bAbs, bAbs,BC, bAbs,BrC in winter, with stronger %AbsBrC, leading to higher AAE. Diel cycles of bAbs,BC peaked during morning and evening rush hours, whereas bAbs,BrC, %AbsBrC, AAE, and AAEBrC peaked at night when emissions from household activities accumulated. Decade-long trends analyses demonstrated a decrease in bAbs, due to reduction of BC emissions, while bAbs,BrC and AAE increased, suggesting a shift in CA composition, with a relative increase in BrC over BC. This study provides a unique dataset to assess the BrC effects on climate and confirms that BrC can contribute significantly to UV–VIS radiation presenting highly variable absorption properties in Europe.
AB - Carbonaceous aerosols (CA), composed of black carbon (BC) and organic matter (OM), significantly impact the climate. Light absorption properties of CA, particularly of BC and brown carbon (BrC), are crucial due to their contribution to global and regional warming. We present the absorption properties of BC (bAbs,BC) and BrC (bAbs,BrC) inferred using Aethalometer data from 44 European sites covering different environments (traffic (TR), urban (UB), suburban (SUB), regional background (RB) and mountain (M)). Absorption coefficients showed a clear relationship with station setting decreasing as follows: TR > UB > SUB > RB > M, with exceptions. The contribution of bAbs,BrC to total absorption (bAbs), i.e. %AbsBrC, was lower at traffic sites (11–20 %), exceeding 30 % at some SUB and RB sites. Low AAE values were observed at TR sites, due to the dominance of internal combustion emissions, and at some remote RB/M sites, likely due to the lack of proximity to BrC sources, insufficient secondary processes generating BrC or the effect of photobleaching during transport. Higher bAbs and AAE were observed in Central/Eastern Europe compared to Western/Northern Europe, due to higher coal and biomass burning emissions in the east. Seasonal analysis showed increased bAbs, bAbs,BC, bAbs,BrC in winter, with stronger %AbsBrC, leading to higher AAE. Diel cycles of bAbs,BC peaked during morning and evening rush hours, whereas bAbs,BrC, %AbsBrC, AAE, and AAEBrC peaked at night when emissions from household activities accumulated. Decade-long trends analyses demonstrated a decrease in bAbs, due to reduction of BC emissions, while bAbs,BrC and AAE increased, suggesting a shift in CA composition, with a relative increase in BrC over BC. This study provides a unique dataset to assess the BrC effects on climate and confirms that BrC can contribute significantly to UV–VIS radiation presenting highly variable absorption properties in Europe.
KW - Air quality
KW - European overview
KW - Light absorption
KW - Long-term datasets
KW - Organic aerosols
KW - 114 Physical sciences
U2 - 10.1016/j.envint.2024.109185
DO - 10.1016/j.envint.2024.109185
M3 - Article
C2 - 39673871
AN - SCOPUS:85211715807
SN - 0160-4120
VL - 195
JO - Environment International
JF - Environment International
M1 - 109185
ER -