Black carbon (BC) contributes to Arctic climate warming, yet source attributions are inaccurate due to lacking observational constraints and uncertainties in emission inventories. Year-round, isotope-constrained observations reveal strong seasonal variations in BC sources with a consistent and synchronous pattern at all Arctic sites. These sources were dominated by emissions from fossil fuel combustion in the winter and by biomass burning in the summer. The annual mean source of BC to the circum-Arctic was 39 +/- 10% from biomass burning. Comparison of transport-model predictions with the observations showed good agreement for BC concentrations, with larger discrepancies for (fossil/biomass burning) sources. The accuracy of simulated BC concentration, but not of origin, points to misallocations of emissions in the emission inventories. The consistency in seasonal source contributions of BC throughout the Arctic provides strong justification for targeted emission reductions to limit the impact of BC on climate warming in the Arctic and beyond.
1.Stockholm Univ, ACES Dept Appl Environm Sci, Svante Arrhenius Vag 8, S-10691 Stockholm, Sweden 2.Stockholm Univ, Bolin Ctr Climate Res, Svante Arrhenius Vag 8, S-10691 Stockholm, Sweden 3.Baylor Univ, Inst Ecol Earth & Environm Sci, Waco, TX 76798 USA 4.Baylor Univ, Dept Environm Sci, Waco, TX 76798 USA 5.Environm & Climate Change Canada, Atmospher Sci & Technol Directorate, Climate Res Div, 4905 Dufferin St, Toronto, ON M3H 5T4, Canada 6.Stockholm Univ, Dept Geosci, Svante Arrhenius Vag 8, S-10691 Stockholm, Sweden 7.NILU Norwegian Inst Air Res, Inst Veien 18, N-2027 Kjeller, Norway 8.Int Inst Appl Syst Anal, Schlosspl 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria 9.Russian Acad Sci, Pacific Oceanol Inst, 43 Baltiyskaya St, Vladivostok 690041, Russia 10.Univ Alaska Fairbanks, Int Arctic Res Ctr, 930 Koyukuk Dr, Fairbanks, AK USA 11.Tomsk Natl Res Polytech Univ, 43 A Lenina Ave, Tomsk 634034, Russia 12.Vrije Univ Amsterdam, Dept Earth Sci, NL-1081 HV Amsterdam, Netherlands
Recommended Citation:
Winiger, P.,Barrett, T. E.,Sheesley, R. J.,et al. Source apportionment of circum-Arctic atmospheric black carbon from isotopes and modeling[J]. SCIENCE ADVANCES,2019-01-01,5(2)