Articles | Volume 22, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4827-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4827-2022
Research article
 | 
12 Apr 2022
Research article |  | 12 Apr 2022

The optical properties and in-situ observational evidence for the formation of brown carbon in clouds

Ziyong Guo, Yuxiang Yang, Xiaodong Hu, Xiaocong Peng, Yuzhen Fu, Wei Sun, Guohua Zhang, Duohong Chen, Xinhui Bi, Xinming Wang, and Ping'an Peng

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Subject: Aerosols | Research Activity: Field Measurements | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Chemistry (chemical composition and reactions)
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Cited articles

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Bianco, A., Passananti, M., Deguillaume, L., Mailhot, G., and Brigante, M.: Tryptophan and tryptophan-like substances in cloud water: Occurrence and photochemical fate, Atmos. Environ., 137, 53–61, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2016.04.034, 2016b. 
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Birdwell, J. E. and Valsaraj, K. T.: Characterization of dissolved organic matter in fogwater by excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy, Atmos. Environ., 44, 3246–3253, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2010.05.055, 2010. 
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We show that in-cloud aqueous processing facilitates the formation of brown carbon (BrC), based on the simultaneous measurements of the light-absorption properties of the cloud residuals, cloud interstitial, and cloud-free particles. While extensive laboratory evidence indicated the formation of BrC in aqueous phase, our study represents the first attempt to show the possibility in real clouds, which would have potential implications in the atmospheric evolution and radiation forcing of BrC.
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