Articles | Volume 16, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2507-2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2507-2016
Research article
 | 
01 Mar 2016
Research article |  | 01 Mar 2016

Interpreting the ultraviolet aerosol index observed with the OMI satellite instrument to understand absorption by organic aerosols: implications for atmospheric oxidation and direct radiative effects

Melanie S. Hammer, Randall V. Martin, Aaron van Donkelaar, Virginie Buchard, Omar Torres, David A. Ridley, and Robert J. D. Spurr

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Subject: Aerosols | Research Activity: Atmospheric Modelling and Data Analysis | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
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Cited articles

Andreae, M. O. and Gelencsér, A.: Black carbon or brown carbon? The nature of light-absorbing carbonaceous aerosols, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 6, 3131–3148, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-6-3131-2006, 2006.
Arola, A., Schuster, G., Myhre, G., Kazadzis, S., Dey, S., and Tripathi, S. N.: Inferring absorbing organic carbon content from AERONET data, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 215–225, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-215-2011, 2011.
Arola, A., Schuster, G. L., Pitkänen, M. R. A., Dubovik, O., Kokkola, H., Lindfors, A. V., Mielonen, T., Raatikainen, T., Romakkaniemi, S., Tripathi, S. N., and Lihavainen, H.: Direct radiative effect by brown carbon over the Indo-Gangetic Plain, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 12731–12740, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-12731-2015, 2015.
Bergstrom, R. W., Russell, P. B., and Hignett, P.: Wavelength Dependence of the Absorption of Black Carbon Particles: Predictions and Results from the TARFOX Experiment and Implications for the Aerosol Single Scattering Albedo, J. Atmos. Sci., 59, 567–577, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(2002)059<0567:WDOTAO>2.0.CO;2, 2002.
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We interpret satellite observations to infer the global absorption properties of brown carbon (BrC) aerosols. We incorporate these BrC absorption properties into a chemical transport model to estimate global direct radiative effects and changes in hydroxyl radical (OH) concentrations. To our knowledge, this is the first time the effect of BrC absorption on atmospheric photochemistry has been considered in a global chemical transport model.
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