Influx of African biomass burning aerosol during the Amazonian dry season through layered transatlantic transport of black carbon-rich smoke

Bruna A. Holanda; Mira L. Poehlker; David Walter; Jorge Saturno; Matthias Soergel; Jeannine Ditas; Florian Ditas; Christiane Schulz; Marco Aurelio Franco; Qiaoqiao Wang; Tobias Donth; Paulo Artaxo; Henrique M. J. Barbosa; Stephan Borrmann; Ramon Braga; Joel Brito; Yafang Cheng; Maximilian Dollner; Johannes W. Kaiser; Thomas Klimach; Christoph Knote; Ovid O. Krueger; Daniel Fuetterer; Jost Lavric; Nan Ma; Luiz A. T. Machado; Jing Ming; Fernando G. Morais; Hauke Paulsen; Daniel Sauer; Hans Schlager; Johannes Schneider; Hang Su; Bernadett Weinzierl; Adrian Walser; Manfred Wendisch; Helmut Ziereis; Martin Zoeger; Ulrich Poeschl; Meinrat O. Andreae; Christopher Poehlker

doi:10.5194/acp-20-4757-2020

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Influx of African biomass burning aerosol during the Amazonian dry season through layered transatlantic transport of black carbon-rich smoke

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Influx of African biomass burning aerosol during the Amazonian dry season through layered transatlantic transport of black carbon-rich smoke

Bruna A. Holanda, Mira L. Poehlker, David Walter, Jorge Saturno, Matthias Soergel, Jeannine Ditas, Florian Ditas, Christiane Schulz, Marco Aurelio Franco, Qiaoqiao Wang, …

Atmospheric chemistry and physics, Vol.20(8), pp.4757-4785

24/04/2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4757-2020

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Black carbon (BC) aerosols influence the Earth's atmosphere and climate, but their microphysical properties, spatiotemporal distribution, and long-range transport are not well constrained. This study presents airborne observations of the transatlantic transport of BC-rich African biomass burning (BB) smoke into the Amazon Basin using a Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) as well as several complementary techniques. We base our results on observations of aerosols and trace gases off the Brazilian coast onboard the HALO (High Altitude and LOng range) research aircraft during the ACRIDICON-CHUVA campaign in September 2014. During flight AC19 over land and ocean at the northeastern coastline of the Amazon Basin, we observed a BC-rich layer at ∼3.5 km altitude with a vertical extension of ∼0.3 km. Backward trajectories suggest that fires in African grasslands, savannas, and shrublands were the main source of this pollution layer and that the observed BB smoke had undergone more than 10 d of atmospheric transport and aging over the South Atlantic before reaching the Amazon Basin. The aged smoke is characterized by a dominant accumulation mode, centered at about 130 nm, with a particle concentration of cm−3. The rBC particles account for ∼15 % of the submicrometer aerosol mass and ∼40 % of the total aerosol number concentration. This corresponds to a mass concentration range from 0.5 to 2 µg m−3 (1st to 99th percentiles) and a number concentration range from 90 to 530 cm−3. Along with rBC, high cCO (150±30 ppb) and (56±9 ppb) mixing ratios support the biomass burning origin and pronounced photochemical aging of this layer. Upon reaching the Amazon Basin, it started to broaden and to subside, due to convective mixing and entrainment of the BB aerosol into the boundary layer. Satellite observations show that the transatlantic transport of pollution layers is a frequently occurring process, seasonally peaking in August/September. By analyzing the aircraft observations together with the long-term data from the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO), we found that the transatlantic transport of African BB smoke layers has a strong impact on the northern and central Amazonian aerosol population during the BB-influenced season (July to December). In fact, the early BB season (July to September) in this part of the Amazon appears to be dominated by African smoke, whereas the later BB season (October to December) appears to be dominated by South American fires. This dichotomy is reflected in pronounced changes in aerosol optical properties such as the single scattering albedo (increasing from 0.85 in August to 0.90 in November) and the BC-to-CO enhancement ratio (decreasing from 11 to 6 ng m−3 ppb−1). Our results suggest that, despite the high fraction of BC particles, the African BB aerosol acts as efficient cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), with potentially important implications for aerosol–cloud interactions and the hydrological cycle in the Amazon.

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Title: Influx of African biomass burning aerosol during the Amazonian dry season through layered transatlantic transport of black carbon-rich smoke
Creators: Bruna A. Holanda - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Mira L. Poehlker - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
David Walter - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Jorge Saturno - Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Matthias Soergel - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Jeannine Ditas - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Florian Ditas - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Christiane Schulz - Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research
Marco Aurelio Franco - Universidade de São Paulo
Qiaoqiao Wang - Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Tobias Donth - Leipzig University
Paulo Artaxo - Universidade de São Paulo
Henrique M. J. Barbosa - Universidade de São Paulo
Stephan Borrmann - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Ramon Braga - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Joel Brito - Universidade de São Paulo
Yafang Cheng - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Maximilian Dollner - German Aerospace Center
Johannes W. Kaiser - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Thomas Klimach - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Christoph Knote - Meteor
Ovid O. Krueger - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Daniel Fuetterer - German Aerosp Ctr DLR, Inst Atmospher Phys, D-82234 Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Jost Lavric - Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Nan Ma - Jinan University
Luiz A. T. Machado - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Jing Ming - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Fernando G. Morais - Universidade de São Paulo
Hauke Paulsen - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Daniel Sauer - German Aerospace Center
Hans Schlager - German Aerospace Center
Johannes Schneider - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Hang Su - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Bernadett Weinzierl - German Aerospace Center
Adrian Walser - German Aerospace Center
Manfred Wendisch - Leipzig University
Helmut Ziereis - German Aerospace Center
Martin Zoeger - German Aerosp Ctr DLR, Flight Expt, D-82234 Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Ulrich Poeschl - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Meinrat O. Andreae - Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Christopher Poehlker - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Publication Details: Atmospheric chemistry and physics, Vol.20(8), pp.4757-4785
Publisher: Copernicus Gesellschaft Mbh
Number of pages: 29
Grant note: Max Planck Society; Foundation CELLEX 640458 / European Commission; European Commission Joint Research Centre 200723/2015-4 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq, Brazil); Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPQ) 169842/2017-7 / CNPq; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPQ) FP7-AAT-2012-3.5.1-1 / EU Project HAIC 01LB1001A; 01LK1602A; 01LK1602B; 01LG1205E / Bundesministerium fur Bildung und Forschung (BMBF); Federal Ministry of Education & Research (BMBF) 2017/17047-0 / FAPESP (Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo); Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP) SPP 1294; VO1504/4-1; JU 3059/1-1; SCHN1138/1-2 / German Science Foundation within DFG; German Research Foundation (DFG) Max Planck Graduate Center; Max Planck Society 01.11.01248.00 / Brazilian Ministerio da Ciencia, Tecnologia e Inovacao (MCTI/FINEP); Financiadora de Inovacao e Pesquisa (Finep) 88887.368025/2019-00 / CAPES; Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES) Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (MPGC)
Identifiers: 991013092667602368
Academic Unit: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

Influx of African biomass burning aerosol during the Amazonian dry season through layered transatlantic transport of black carbon-rich smoke

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