Articles | Volume 22, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8009-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8009-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Characteristics and evolution of brown carbon in western United States wildfires
Linghan Zeng
School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, GA, USA
Jack Dibb
College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of New
Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
Eric Scheuer
College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of New
Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
deceased, 2022
Joseph M. Katich
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences,
University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
Chemical Sciences Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Boulder, CO, USA
Joshua P. Schwarz
Chemical Sciences Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Boulder, CO, USA
Ilann Bourgeois
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences,
University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
Chemical Sciences Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Boulder, CO, USA
Jeff Peischl
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences,
University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
Chemical Sciences Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Boulder, CO, USA
Tom Ryerson
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences,
University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
Chemical Sciences Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Boulder, CO, USA
now at: Scientific Aviation, Boulder, CO, USA
Carsten Warneke
Chemical Sciences Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Boulder, CO, USA
Anne E. Perring
Department of Chemistry, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, USA
Glenn S. Diskin
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Joshua P. DiGangi
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
John B. Nowak
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Richard H. Moore
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Elizabeth B. Wiggins
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Demetrios Pagonis
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences,
University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO,
USA
now at: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Weber State
University, Ogden, UT, USA
Hongyu Guo
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences,
University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO,
USA
Pedro Campuzano-Jost
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences,
University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO,
USA
Jose L. Jimenez
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences,
University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO,
USA
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of
Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
now at: Chemical Sciences Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Boulder, CO, USA and Cooperative Institute for Research in
Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, GA, USA
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Cited
50 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Measurements of brown carbon and its optical properties from boreal forest fires in Alaska summer K. Bali et al.
- Modeling the impacts of open biomass burning on regional O3 and PM2.5 in Southeast Asia considering light absorption and photochemical bleaching of Brown carbon M. Choi & Q. Ying
- Brown carbon emissions from laboratory combustion of Eurasian arctic-boreal and South African savanna biomass A. Mukherjee et al.
- The impact of particle size and volatile organics on the light absorption of wildfire-like brown carbon emissions from wood combustion C. Moularas et al.
- Modeling actinic flux and photolysis frequencies in dense biomass burning plumes J. Tirpitz et al.
- Influence of relative humidity and aging on the optical properties of organic aerosols from burning African biomass fuels M. McRee et al.
- Measurement report: Optical properties and sources of water-soluble brown carbon in Tianjin, North China – insights from organic molecular compositions J. Deng et al.
- Particle and Gas-Phase Evaluation of Air Cleaners Under Indoor Wildfire Smoke Conditions B. Stinson et al.
- A Review on Brown Carbon Aerosol in China: From Molecular Composition to Climate Impact X. Cao et al.
- Enhanced Light Absorption and Elevated Viscosity of Atmospheric Brown Carbon through Evaporation of Volatile Components D. Calderon-Arrieta et al.
- Recent Advances in Wildland Fire Smoke Dynamics Research in the United States Y. Liu et al.
- Impact of peri-urban forest fires on air quality and aerosol optical and chemical properties: The case of the August 2021 wildfires in Athens, Greece D. Kaskaoutis et al.
- Molecular analysis of secondary organic aerosol and brown carbon from the oxidation of indole F. Jiang et al.
- Decoding clues on dominant combustion phase and aerosol chemical regimes via key tracers of fire plumes E. Dovrou et al.
- A multi-site passive approach to studying the emissions and evolution of smoke from prescribed fires R. El Asmar et al.
- Comparative analysis of ambient, in-home, and personal exposures reveals associations between breathing zone pollutant levels and asthma exacerbations in high-risk children C. Moore et al.
- Examination of brown carbon absorption from wildfires in the western US during the WE-CAN study A. Sullivan et al.
- Changes in Light Absorption and Chemical Properties for Biomass Burning Organic Aerosol over Long Time Scales R. O’Brien et al.
- Understanding the mechanism and importance of brown carbon bleaching across the visible spectrum in biomass burning plumes from the WE-CAN campaign Y. Shen et al.
- Enhanced light absorption by ambient brown carbon aerosols in the eastern Himalayas B. Arun et al.
- Impact of wildfires on regional ozone and PM2.5: Considering the light absorption of Brown carbon M. Choi et al.
- Brown Carbon Optical Variability in U.S. Urban Aerosols Revealed by an Enhanced Spectral/Mass Balance Approach L. Chen et al.
- Brown carbon absorption and radiative effects under intense residential wood burning conditions in Southeastern Europe: New insights into the abundance and absorptivity of methanol-soluble organic aerosols D. Paraskevopoulou et al.
- Seasonal variations in photooxidant formation and light absorption in aqueous extracts of ambient particles L. Ma et al.
- Multiphase Guaiacol Photooxidation: Fenton Reactions, Brown Carbon, and Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation in Suspended Aerosol Particles D. De Haan et al.
- Emission factors and optical properties of black and brown carbon emitted at a mixed-conifer forest prescribed burn J. Butler et al.
- Brown Carbon Emissions from Biomass Burning under Simulated Wildfire and Prescribed-Fire Conditions C. Glenn et al.
- Global Health and Climate Effects of Organic Aerosols from Different Sources D. Jo et al.
- Unraveling the absorption properties and driving mechanisms of atmospheric brown carbon in coastal air masses S. Li et al.
- New Analytical Paradigm to Determine Concentration of Brown Carbon and Its Sample-by-Sample Mass Absorption Efficiency K. Liao et al.
- Beyond the Ångström Exponent: Probing Additional Information in Spectral Curvature and Variability of In Situ Aerosol Hyperspectral (0.3–0.7 μm) Optical Properties C. Jordan et al.
- Characterization of water-soluble brown carbon chromophores from wildfire plumes in the western USA using size-exclusion chromatography L. Azzarello et al.
- Factors controlling short-term variability of light-absorption characteristics at a Mediterranean city impacted by severe residential wood burning emissions D. Kaskaoutis et al.
- Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality (FIREX‐AQ) C. Warneke et al.
- Brown Carbon Aerosol Formation by Multiphase Catechol Photooxidation in the Presence of Soluble Iron D. De Haan et al.
- Agricultural fire impacts on brown carbon during different seasons in Northeast China Y. Cheng et al.
- Connecting the Light Absorption of Atmospheric Organic Aerosols with Oxidation State and Polarity X. Jiang et al.
- Brown Carbon from Photo-Oxidation of Glyoxal and SO2 in Aqueous Aerosol D. De Haan et al.
- Characterization of atmospheric water-soluble brown carbon in the Athabasca oil sands region, Canada D. Blanchard et al.
- Modeling atmospheric brown carbon in the GISS ModelE Earth system model M. DeLessio et al.
- Dark brown carbon from biomass burning contributes to significant global-scale positive forcing X. Wang et al.
- Measurement report: Diurnal variations of brown carbon during two distinct seasons in a megacity in northeast China Y. Cheng et al.
- Occurrence, abundance, and formation of atmospheric tarballs from a wide range of wildfires in the western US K. Adachi et al.
- Atmospheric Evolution of Brown Carbon from Wildfires in North America J. Chen et al.
- Decoupling the Evolution of the Light-Absorption Properties of Primary and Secondary Organic Aerosol Produced from Duff Burning M. Abdurrahman et al.
- The complexation of atmospheric Brown carbon surrogates on the generation of hydroxyl radical from transition metals in simulated lung fluid Y. Lyu et al.
- Exploring the sources of light-absorbing carbonaceous aerosols by integrating observational and modeling results: insights from Northeast China Y. Cheng et al.
- Shortwave absorption by wildfire smoke dominated by dark brown carbon R. Chakrabarty et al.
- Chromophores and chemical composition of brown carbon characterized at an urban kerbside by excitation–emission spectroscopy and mass spectrometry F. Jiang et al.
- Wildfires significantly enhance light absorption of black carbon and brown carbon aerosols in Moscow urban atmosphere F. Xie et al.
50 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Measurements of brown carbon and its optical properties from boreal forest fires in Alaska summer K. Bali et al.
- Modeling the impacts of open biomass burning on regional O3 and PM2.5 in Southeast Asia considering light absorption and photochemical bleaching of Brown carbon M. Choi & Q. Ying
- Brown carbon emissions from laboratory combustion of Eurasian arctic-boreal and South African savanna biomass A. Mukherjee et al.
- The impact of particle size and volatile organics on the light absorption of wildfire-like brown carbon emissions from wood combustion C. Moularas et al.
- Modeling actinic flux and photolysis frequencies in dense biomass burning plumes J. Tirpitz et al.
- Influence of relative humidity and aging on the optical properties of organic aerosols from burning African biomass fuels M. McRee et al.
- Measurement report: Optical properties and sources of water-soluble brown carbon in Tianjin, North China – insights from organic molecular compositions J. Deng et al.
- Particle and Gas-Phase Evaluation of Air Cleaners Under Indoor Wildfire Smoke Conditions B. Stinson et al.
- A Review on Brown Carbon Aerosol in China: From Molecular Composition to Climate Impact X. Cao et al.
- Enhanced Light Absorption and Elevated Viscosity of Atmospheric Brown Carbon through Evaporation of Volatile Components D. Calderon-Arrieta et al.
- Recent Advances in Wildland Fire Smoke Dynamics Research in the United States Y. Liu et al.
- Impact of peri-urban forest fires on air quality and aerosol optical and chemical properties: The case of the August 2021 wildfires in Athens, Greece D. Kaskaoutis et al.
- Molecular analysis of secondary organic aerosol and brown carbon from the oxidation of indole F. Jiang et al.
- Decoding clues on dominant combustion phase and aerosol chemical regimes via key tracers of fire plumes E. Dovrou et al.
- A multi-site passive approach to studying the emissions and evolution of smoke from prescribed fires R. El Asmar et al.
- Comparative analysis of ambient, in-home, and personal exposures reveals associations between breathing zone pollutant levels and asthma exacerbations in high-risk children C. Moore et al.
- Examination of brown carbon absorption from wildfires in the western US during the WE-CAN study A. Sullivan et al.
- Changes in Light Absorption and Chemical Properties for Biomass Burning Organic Aerosol over Long Time Scales R. O’Brien et al.
- Understanding the mechanism and importance of brown carbon bleaching across the visible spectrum in biomass burning plumes from the WE-CAN campaign Y. Shen et al.
- Enhanced light absorption by ambient brown carbon aerosols in the eastern Himalayas B. Arun et al.
- Impact of wildfires on regional ozone and PM2.5: Considering the light absorption of Brown carbon M. Choi et al.
- Brown Carbon Optical Variability in U.S. Urban Aerosols Revealed by an Enhanced Spectral/Mass Balance Approach L. Chen et al.
- Brown carbon absorption and radiative effects under intense residential wood burning conditions in Southeastern Europe: New insights into the abundance and absorptivity of methanol-soluble organic aerosols D. Paraskevopoulou et al.
- Seasonal variations in photooxidant formation and light absorption in aqueous extracts of ambient particles L. Ma et al.
- Multiphase Guaiacol Photooxidation: Fenton Reactions, Brown Carbon, and Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation in Suspended Aerosol Particles D. De Haan et al.
- Emission factors and optical properties of black and brown carbon emitted at a mixed-conifer forest prescribed burn J. Butler et al.
- Brown Carbon Emissions from Biomass Burning under Simulated Wildfire and Prescribed-Fire Conditions C. Glenn et al.
- Global Health and Climate Effects of Organic Aerosols from Different Sources D. Jo et al.
- Unraveling the absorption properties and driving mechanisms of atmospheric brown carbon in coastal air masses S. Li et al.
- New Analytical Paradigm to Determine Concentration of Brown Carbon and Its Sample-by-Sample Mass Absorption Efficiency K. Liao et al.
- Beyond the Ångström Exponent: Probing Additional Information in Spectral Curvature and Variability of In Situ Aerosol Hyperspectral (0.3–0.7 μm) Optical Properties C. Jordan et al.
- Characterization of water-soluble brown carbon chromophores from wildfire plumes in the western USA using size-exclusion chromatography L. Azzarello et al.
- Factors controlling short-term variability of light-absorption characteristics at a Mediterranean city impacted by severe residential wood burning emissions D. Kaskaoutis et al.
- Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality (FIREX‐AQ) C. Warneke et al.
- Brown Carbon Aerosol Formation by Multiphase Catechol Photooxidation in the Presence of Soluble Iron D. De Haan et al.
- Agricultural fire impacts on brown carbon during different seasons in Northeast China Y. Cheng et al.
- Connecting the Light Absorption of Atmospheric Organic Aerosols with Oxidation State and Polarity X. Jiang et al.
- Brown Carbon from Photo-Oxidation of Glyoxal and SO2 in Aqueous Aerosol D. De Haan et al.
- Characterization of atmospheric water-soluble brown carbon in the Athabasca oil sands region, Canada D. Blanchard et al.
- Modeling atmospheric brown carbon in the GISS ModelE Earth system model M. DeLessio et al.
- Dark brown carbon from biomass burning contributes to significant global-scale positive forcing X. Wang et al.
- Measurement report: Diurnal variations of brown carbon during two distinct seasons in a megacity in northeast China Y. Cheng et al.
- Occurrence, abundance, and formation of atmospheric tarballs from a wide range of wildfires in the western US K. Adachi et al.
- Atmospheric Evolution of Brown Carbon from Wildfires in North America J. Chen et al.
- Decoupling the Evolution of the Light-Absorption Properties of Primary and Secondary Organic Aerosol Produced from Duff Burning M. Abdurrahman et al.
- The complexation of atmospheric Brown carbon surrogates on the generation of hydroxyl radical from transition metals in simulated lung fluid Y. Lyu et al.
- Exploring the sources of light-absorbing carbonaceous aerosols by integrating observational and modeling results: insights from Northeast China Y. Cheng et al.
- Shortwave absorption by wildfire smoke dominated by dark brown carbon R. Chakrabarty et al.
- Chromophores and chemical composition of brown carbon characterized at an urban kerbside by excitation–emission spectroscopy and mass spectrometry F. Jiang et al.
- Wildfires significantly enhance light absorption of black carbon and brown carbon aerosols in Moscow urban atmosphere F. Xie et al.
Saved (final revised paper)
Discussed (final revised paper)
Latest update: 02 May 2026
Short summary
Wildfires emit aerosol particles containing brown carbon material that affects visibility and global climate and is toxic. Brown carbon is poorly characterized due to measurement limitations, and its evolution in the atmosphere is not well known. We report on aircraft measurements of brown carbon from large wildfires in the western United States. We compare two methods for measuring brown carbon and study the evolution of brown carbon in the smoke as it moved away from the burning regions.
Wildfires emit aerosol particles containing brown carbon material that affects visibility and...
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