Climate Effects of Black Carbon Aerosols in China and India
Abstract
In recent decades, there has been a tendency toward increased summer floods in south China, increased drought in north China, and moderate cooling in China and India while most of the world has been warming. We used a global climate model to investigate possible aerosol contributions to these trends. We found precipitation and temperature changes in the model that were comparable to those observed if the aerosols included a large proportion of absorbing black carbon (``soot''), similar to observed amounts. Absorbing aerosols heat the air, alter regional atmospheric stability and vertical motions, and affect the large-scale circulation and hydrologic cycle with significant regional climate effects.
- Publication:
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Science
- Pub Date:
- September 2002
- DOI:
- 10.1126/science.1075159
- Bibcode:
- 2002Sci...297.2250M
- Keywords:
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- ATMOS