Articles | Volume 21, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9417-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9417-2021
Research article
 | 
21 Jun 2021
Research article |  | 21 Jun 2021

Rapid transformation of ambient absorbing aerosols from West African biomass burning

Huihui Wu, Jonathan W. Taylor, Justin M. Langridge, Chenjie Yu, James D. Allan, Kate Szpek, Michael I. Cotterell, Paul I. Williams, Michael Flynn, Patrick Barker, Cathryn Fox, Grant Allen, James Lee, and Hugh Coe

Related authors

The importance of burning conditions on the composition of domestic biomass-burning organic aerosol and the impact of atmospheric ageing
Rhianna L. Evans, Daniel J. Bryant, Aristeidis Voliotis, Dawei Hu, Huihui Wu, Sara Aisyah Syafira, Osayomwanbor E. Oghama, Gordon McFiggans, Jacqueline F. Hamilton, and Andrew R. Rickard
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4367–4389, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4367-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4367-2025, 2025
Short summary
Data supporting the North Atlantic Climate System Integrated Study (ACSIS) programme, including atmospheric composition; oceanographic and sea-ice observations (2016–2022); and output from ocean, atmosphere, land, and sea-ice models (1950–2050)
Alex T. Archibald, Bablu Sinha, Maria R. Russo, Emily Matthews, Freya A. Squires, N. Luke Abraham, Stephane J.-B. Bauguitte, Thomas J. Bannan, Thomas G. Bell, David Berry, Lucy J. Carpenter, Hugh Coe, Andrew Coward, Peter Edwards, Daniel Feltham, Dwayne Heard, Jim Hopkins, James Keeble, Elizabeth C. Kent, Brian A. King, Isobel R. Lawrence, James Lee, Claire R. Macintosh, Alex Megann, Bengamin I. Moat, Katie Read, Chris Reed, Malcolm J. Roberts, Reinhard Schiemann, David Schroeder, Timothy J. Smyth, Loren Temple, Navaneeth Thamban, Lisa Whalley, Simon Williams, Huihui Wu, and Mingxi Yang
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 135–164, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-135-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-135-2025, 2025
Short summary
The transport history of African biomass burning aerosols arriving in the remote Southeast Atlantic marine boundary layer and their impacts on cloud properties
Huihui Wu, Fanny Peers, Jonathan W. Taylor, Chenjie Yu, Steven J. Abel, Paul A. Barrett, Jamie Trembath, Keith Bower, Jim M. Haywood, and Hugh Coe
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3975,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3975, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary
Deep Convective Microphysics Experiment (DCMEX) coordinated aircraft and ground observations: microphysics, aerosol, and dynamics during cumulonimbus development
Declan L. Finney, Alan M. Blyth, Martin Gallagher, Huihui Wu, Graeme J. Nott, Michael I. Biggerstaff, Richard G. Sonnenfeld, Martin Daily, Dan Walker, David Dufton, Keith Bower, Steven Böing, Thomas Choularton, Jonathan Crosier, James Groves, Paul R. Field, Hugh Coe, Benjamin J. Murray, Gary Lloyd, Nicholas A. Marsden, Michael Flynn, Kezhen Hu, Navaneeth M. Thamban, Paul I. Williams, Paul J. Connolly, James B. McQuaid, Joseph Robinson, Zhiqiang Cui, Ralph R. Burton, Gordon Carrie, Robert Moore, Steven J. Abel, Dave Tiddeman, and Graydon Aulich
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 2141–2163, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2141-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2141-2024, 2024
Short summary
Biomass-burning smoke's properties and its interactions with marine stratocumulus clouds in WRF-CAM5 and southeastern Atlantic field campaigns
Calvin Howes, Pablo E. Saide, Hugh Coe, Amie Dobracki, Steffen Freitag, Jim M. Haywood, Steven G. Howell, Siddhant Gupta, Janek Uin, Mary Kacarab, Chongai Kuang, L. Ruby Leung, Athanasios Nenes, Greg M. McFarquhar, James Podolske, Jens Redemann, Arthur J. Sedlacek, Kenneth L. Thornhill, Jenny P. S. Wong, Robert Wood, Huihui Wu, Yang Zhang, Jianhao Zhang, and Paquita Zuidema
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13911–13940, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13911-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13911-2023, 2023
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Aerosols | Research Activity: Field Measurements | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
Measurement report: Aircraft observations of aerosol and microphysical quantities of stratocumulus in autumn over Guangxi Province, China – daylight variation, vertical distribution, and aerosol–cloud interactions
Sihan Liu, Honglei Wang, Delong Zhao, Wei Zhou, Yuanmou Du, Zhengguo Zhang, Peng Cheng, Tianliang Zhao, Yue Ke, Zihao Wu, and Mengyu Huang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4151–4165, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4151-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4151-2025, 2025
Short summary
Hygroscopic aerosols amplify longwave downward radiation in the Arctic
Denghui Ji, Mathias Palm, Matthias Buschmann, Kerstin Ebell, Marion Maturilli, Xiaoyu Sun, and Justus Notholt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3889–3904, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3889-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3889-2025, 2025
Short summary
Measurement report: Optical and structural properties of atmospheric water-soluble organic carbon in China – insights from multi-site spectroscopic measurements
Haibiao Chen, Caiqing Yan, Liubin Huang, Lin Du, Yang Yue, Xinfeng Wang, Qingcai Chen, Mingjie Xie, Junwen Liu, Fengwen Wang, Shuhong Fang, Qiaoyun Yang, Hongya Niu, Mei Zheng, Yan Wu, and Likun Xue
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3647–3667, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3647-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3647-2025, 2025
Short summary
Measurement report: The variation properties of aerosol hygroscopic growth related to chemical composition during new particle formation days in a coastal city of Southeast China
Lingjun Li, Mengren Li, Xiaolong Fan, Yuping Chen, Ziyi Lin, Anqi Hou, Siqing Zhang, Ronghua Zheng, and Jinsheng Chen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3669–3685, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3669-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3669-2025, 2025
Short summary
In situ vertical observations of the layered structure of air pollution in a continental high-latitude urban boundary layer during winter
Roman Pohorsky, Andrea Baccarini, Natalie Brett, Brice Barret, Slimane Bekki, Gianluca Pappaccogli, Elsa Dieudonné, Brice Temime-Roussel, Barbara D'Anna, Meeta Cesler-Maloney, Antonio Donateo, Stefano Decesari, Kathy S. Law, William R. Simpson, Javier Fochesatto, Steve R. Arnold, and Julia Schmale
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3687–3715, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3687-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3687-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Abel, S. J., Haywood, J. M., Highwood, E. J., Li, J., and Buseck, P. R.: Evolution of biomass burning aerosol properties from an agricultural fire in southern Africa, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30, 1783, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003GL017342, 2003. 
Adler, G., Wagner, N. L., Lamb, K. D., Manfred, K. M., Schwarz, J. P., Franchin, A., Middlebrook, A. M., Washenfelder, R. A., Womack, C. C., Yokelson, R. J., and Murphy, D. M.: Evidence in biomass burning smoke for a light-absorbing aerosol with properties intermediate between brown and black carbon, Aerosol Sci. Tech., 53, 976–989, https://doi.org/10.1080/02786826.2019.1617832, 2019. 
Ahern, A. T., Robinson, E. S., Tkacik, D. S., Saleh, R., Hatch, L. E., Barsanti, K. C., Stockwell, C. E., Yokelson, R. J., Presto, A. A., Robinson, A. L., Sullivan, R. C., and Donahue, N. M.: Production of secondary organic aerosol during aging of biomass burning smoke from fresh fuels and its relationship to VOC precursors, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 124, 3583–3606, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JD029068, 2019. 
Akagi, S. K., Craven, J. S., Taylor, J. W., McMeeking, G. R., Yokelson, R. J., Burling, I. R., Urbanski, S. P., Wold, C. E., Seinfeld, J. H., Coe, H., Alvarado, M. J., and Weise, D. R.: Evolution of trace gases and particles emitted by a chaparral fire in California, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 1397–1421, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-1397-2012, 2012. 
Download
Short summary
Seasonal biomass burning over West Africa is a globally significant source of carbonaceous particles in the atmosphere, which have important climate impacts but are poorly constrained. We conducted in situ airborne measurements to investigate the evolution of smoke aerosol properties in this region. We observed absorption enhancement for both black carbon and brown carbon after emission, which provides new field results and constraints on aerosol parameterizations for future climate models.
Share
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint