%0 Journal Article
%A Xinghua Zhang 
%A Jianzhong Xu 
%A Shichang Kang 
%A Junying Sun 
%A Jinsen Shi 
%A Chongshui Gong 
%A Xuying Sun 
%A Haolin  Du 
%A Xinlei Ge 
%A Qi Zhang
%+ State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences Northwest Institute of Eco‐Environment and Resources Chinese Academy of Sciences ;Key Laboratory of Arid Climatic Change and Reducing Disaster of Gansu Province, Key Laboratory of Arid Climatic Change and Disaster Reduction of CMA Institute of Arid Meteorology China Meteorological Administration ;University of Chinese Academy of Sciences ;CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences ;Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry of CMA Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences ;Key Laboratory for Semi‐Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education College of Atmospheric Sciences Lanzhou University ;Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology School of Environmental Science and Engineering Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology ;Department of Environmental Toxicology University of California
%T Regional Differences in the Light Absorption Properties of Fine Particulate Matter Over the Tibetan Plateau: Insights From HR‐ToF‐AMS and Aethalometer Measurements
%J Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres
%D 2021
%N 24
%V 126
%X The Tibetan Plateau (TP) has received wide scientific concern in recent decades owing to its important impacts on regional climatic and cryospheric changes, hydrological cycles, and environments. However, our understanding of the spatial distribution of the chemical and optical properties of aerosols is still limited based on prior single‐site observations. In this study, aerosol light absorptions from black carbon (BC) and brown carbon (BrC) were explored and compared among three remote TP sites, including Qomolangma Station (QOMS) on the southern TP, Nam Co Station (NamCo) on the central TP, and Waliguan Observatory on the northeastern TP. Although the aerosol mass concentration at QOMS was less than half of that at Waliguan, the light absorption coefficient of aerosols at QOMS was nearly 5 times higher than that at Waliguan, mainly as a result of more light‐absorbing carbonaceous aerosols on the southern TP due to long‐range transported biomass burning emissions. Specifically, BC dominated aerosol light absorption at all wavelengths, whereas BrC contributed ∼30% of the light absorption at 370 nm at QOMS and ∼20% at Waliguan and NamCo. A major contributor to BrC light absorption at QOMS was biomass burning‐related organic aerosols apportioned from aerosol mass spectrometry measurements. Understanding the significant regional differences in aerosol light absorption properties on the TP is useful for evaluating the regional climatic and environmental effects and validating the model results on aerosol radiative forcing.(#br)Plain Language Summary(#br)Brown carbon (BrC) is a group of organic compounds that preferentially absorbs solar light at short wavelengths and has raised wide scientific concerns. However, understanding the physicochemical and optical properties of BrC is still limited, especially in remote regions. Combining two online instruments and adopting a novel approach, our study focuses on the absorption properties of BrC on the Tibetan Plateau (TP), which should be considered carefully in future climate models for evaluating the radiant energy budget and potential impacts on climatic and cryospheric changes over the TP.(#br)Key Points(#br)The aerosol light absorption coefficient in the southern region of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) was much higher than that in the northeastern TP(#br)Brown carbon contributed significantly to light absorption in the southern TP and was mainly related to biomass burning emissions
%@ 2169-897X
%W CNKI