Apportioning light absorption of ambient aerosols to black carbon, brown carbon, and lensing effect using a PAX-ISS hybrid method: insights into  absorption enhancement

Shen, Yi; Zhi, Guorui; Jin, Wenjing; Kong, Yao; Zhang, Yuzhe; Li, Zhengying; Sun, Jianzhong; Wang, Yuankai; Liang, Zhijian

doi:10.5194/acp-26-13303-2026

Articles | Volume 26, issue 18

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-13303-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-13303-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 26, issue 18

Research article

|

22 Sep 2026

Research article |

| 22 Sep 2026

Apportioning light absorption of ambient aerosols to black carbon, brown carbon, and lensing effect using a PAX-ISS hybrid method: insights into absorption enhancement

Yi Shen, Guorui Zhi, Wenjing Jin, Yao Kong, Yuzhe Zhang, Zhengying Li, Jianzhong Sun, Yuankai Wang, and Zhijian Liang

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-13303-2026-supplement

Data sets

Beijing air quality and light absorption coefficients dataset 2023 Yi Shen, Guorui Zhi, Wenjing Jin, Yao Kong, Yuzhe Zhang, Zhengying Li, Jianzhong Sun, Yuankai Wang, and Zhijian Liang https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18552344

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Short summary

A novel PAX-ISS method apportions aerosol light absorption to black carbon (BC), brown carbon (BrC), and the lensing effect. Field measurements reveal BC dominance, ~10 % annual BrC contribution, and a 40.0 % average lensing role in light absorption with strong spectral-seasonal variations. We provide observational indications of BrC's shortwave "blocking effect", which offsets lensing. This approach offers robust constraints for aerosol optics and climate modeling.