Articles | Volume 20, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4561-2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4561-2020
Research article
 | 
20 Apr 2020
Research article |  | 20 Apr 2020

Seasonal source variability of carbonaceous aerosols at the Rwanda Climate Observatory

August Andersson, Elena N. Kirillova, Stefano Decesari, Langley DeWitt, Jimmy Gasore, Katherine E. Potter, Ronald G. Prinn, Maheswar Rupakheti, Jean de Dieu Ndikubwimana, Julius Nkusi, and Bonfils Safari

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Cited articles

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Andersson, A., Deng, J., Du, K., Zheng, M., Yan, C., Sköld, M., and Gustafsson, Ö.: Regionally-varying combustion sources of the January 2013 severe haze events over Eastern China, Environ. Sci. Technol., 49, 2038–2043, https://doi.org/10.1021/es503855e, 2015. 
Andreae, M. O.: Emission of trace gases and aerosols from biomass burning – an updated assessment, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 8523–8546, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8523-2019, 2019. 
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Short summary
Large-scale biomass burning events seasonally cover sub-Saharan Africa with air particles. In this study, we find that the concentrations of these particles at a remote mountain site in Rwanda may increase by a factor of 10 during such dry biomass burning periods, with strong implications for the regional climate and human health. These results provide quantitative constraints that could contribute to reducing the large uncertainties regarding the environmental impact of these fires.
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