Climate Effects of Black Carbon Aerosols in China and India

Menon, Surabi; Hansen, James E.; Nazarenko, Larissa; Luo, Yunfeng

doi:10.1126/science.1075159

Cited by 1,970 publications

(1,406 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The Indian Ocean and monsoon exhibit a coupled relationship 32,42,43 , and it is also possible that a feedback from a weak monsoon accelerates the warming in the Indian Ocean 22 . Some studies have suggested a role for anthropogenic aerosols in weakening the monsoon circulation during the recent decades 40,[44][45][46][47][48] . It is possible that such a weakened circulation amplifies the SST warming due to a decreased evaporation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drying of Indian subcontinent by rapid Indian Ocean warming and a weakening land-sea thermal gradient

et al. 2015

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There are large uncertainties looming over the status and fate of the South Asian summer monsoon, with several studies debating whether the monsoon is weakening or strengthening in a changing climate. Our analysis using multiple observed datasets demonstrates a significant weakening trend in summer rainfall during 1901-2012 over the central-east and northern regions of India, along the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basins and the Himalayan foothills, where agriculture is still largely rain-fed. Earlier studies have suggested an increase in moisture availability and land-sea thermal gradient in the tropics due to anthropogenic warming, favouring an increase in tropical rainfall. Here we show that the land-sea thermal gradient over South Asia has been decreasing, due to rapid warming in the Indian Ocean and a relatively subdued warming over the subcontinent. Using long-term observations and coupled model experiments, we provide compelling evidence that the enhanced Indian Ocean warming potentially weakens the land-sea thermal contrast, dampens the summer monsoon Hadley circulation, and thereby reduces the rainfall over parts of South Asia.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drying of Indian subcontinent by rapid Indian Ocean warming and a weakening land-sea thermal gradient

et al. 2015

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“…The various effects that particles have on the atmosphere and clouds in a region may result in regional climate changes. For instance, Menon et al suggest that the observed trend toward increased summer floods in southern China and drought in the north may be linked to absorbing particles that alter the regional atmospheric circulation and contribute to regional climate change (22). Finally, climate change and air quality are linked through the chemistry of the atmosphere, as some air pollutants influence the lifetimes of GHGs.…”

Section: Climate-change and Air-pollution Linksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change and Air Quality—Measures with Co-Benefits in China

Aunan

Fang²,

Hu³

et al. 2006

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Climate Changeand Air Quality-Measures with Co-Benefits in CHINA A lthough the Kyoto Protocol is an important step, its impact on global warming, seen in isolation, will be small. Broader participation and deeper cuts in greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions are essential for any post-Kyoto agreement to have a significant effect. Particularly important are the prospects for curbing GHG emissions in large developing countries, such as China and India, whose CO 2 emissions are projected to grow dramatically over the next few decades. Here we focus on China, which is second only to the U.S. in CO 2 emissions (although the per capita emissions are less than one-sixth of those of the U.S.) and which is expected to become the largest single emitter of GHGs in the coming decades. Several studies carried out in China over the past 5-10 years, including our own work, have found that many measures aimed primarily at reducing local air pollution decrease GHG emissions as a cobenefit. Conversely, a range of CO 2 -mitigating policies entail reductions in air pollution as a co-benefit. This implies that the real costs of climate policies in China may be lower than anticipated by the government. In this article, we describe the links between climate change and air-quality issues as well as the health and environmental benefits accruing from alternative measures and policies for CO 2 mitigation in China. We argue that the tremendous potential to cut GHG emissions while simultaneously reducing air pollution should make cooperation on climatecontrol strategies more attractive to China and other countries in a similar position. Controls aimed atreducing greenhouse-gas emissions also decrease air pollution.

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“…Atmospheric particles have an influence on the global climate system, providing an adverse effect on human health and visibility (Huebert et al, 2003;Kaufman et al, 2002;Menon et al, 2002;Richter et al, 2005). Severe droughts in northern China and enhanced summer floods in southern China may be associated with the anthropogenic atmospheric particles that modify the regional air circulation (Menon et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Severe droughts in northern China and enhanced summer floods in southern China may be associated with the anthropogenic atmospheric particles that modify the regional air circulation (Menon et al, 2002). Dicarboxylic acids are ubiquitously present in atmospheric aerosols and they are in general the dominant class of organic components.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diurnal and temporal variations of water-soluble dicarboxylic acids and related compounds in aerosols from the northern vicinity of Beijing: Implication for photochemical aging during atmospheric transport

He¹,

Kawamura²,

Okuzawa³

et al. 2014

Science of The Total Environment

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Abstract:Aerosol samples were collected in autumn 2007 on day-and nighttime basis in the northern receptor site of Beijing, China. The samples were analyzed for total carbon (TC) and water-soluble dicarboxylic acids (C 2 -C 12 ), oxocarboxylic acids (C 2 -C 9 ), glyoxal and methylglyoxal to better understand the photochemical aging of organic aerosols in the vicinity of Beijing. Concentrations of TC are 50% greater in daytime when winds come from Beijing than in nighttime when winds come from the northern forest areas. Most diacids showed higher concentrations in daytime, suggesting that the organics emitted from the urban Beijing and delivered to the northern vicinity in daytime are subjected to photo-oxidation to result in diacids.However, oxalic acid (C 2 ), which is the most abundant diacid followed by C 3 or C 4 , became on average 30% more abundant in nighttime together with azelaic, ω-oxooctanoic and ω-oxononanoic acids, which are specific oxidation products of biogenic unsaturated fatty acids.Methylglyoxal, an oxidation product of isoprene and a precursor of oxalic acid, also became 29% more abundant in nighttime. Based on a positive correlation between C 2 and glyoxylic acid (ωC 2 ) in nighttime when relative humidity significantly enhanced, we propose a nighttime aqueous phase production of C 2 via the oxidation of ωC 2 . We found an increase in the contribution of diacids to TC by 3 folds during consecutive clear days. This study demonstrates that diacids and related compounds are largely produced in the northern vicinity of Beijing via photochemical processing of organic precursors emitted from urban center and forest areas.

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Climate Effects of Black Carbon Aerosols in China and India

Cited by 1,970 publications

References 23 publications

Drying of Indian subcontinent by rapid Indian Ocean warming and a weakening land-sea thermal gradient

Drying of Indian subcontinent by rapid Indian Ocean warming and a weakening land-sea thermal gradient

Climate Change and Air Quality—Measures with Co-Benefits in China

Diurnal and temporal variations of water-soluble dicarboxylic acids and related compounds in aerosols from the northern vicinity of Beijing: Implication for photochemical aging during atmospheric transport

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