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The Effects of Black Carbon and Sulfate Aerosols in ChinaRegions on East Asia Monsoons...

by Bai Yang, Yu Liu, Jiaren Sun
Publication Type
Journal
Journal Name
Tellus Series B - Chemical and Physical Meteorology
Publication Date
Page Numbers
642 to 652
Volume
61
Issue
4

In this paper we examine the direct effects of sulfate and black carbon aerosols in China on East Asia monsoons and its precipitation processes by using the CAM3.0 model. It is demonstrated that sulfate and black carbon aerosols in China both have the effects to weaken East Asia monsoons in both summer and winter seasons. However, they certainly differ from each other in affecting vertical structures of temperature and atmospheric circulations. Their differences are expected because of their distinct optical properties, i.e., scattering vs. absorbing. Even for a single type of aerosol, its effects on temperature structures and atmospheric circulations are largely season-dependent. Applications of T-test
on our results indicate that forcing from black carbon aerosols over China is relatively weak and limited. It is also evident from our results that the effects of synthetic aerosols (sulfate and black carbon together) on monsoons are not simply a linear summation between these two types of aerosols. Instead, they are determined by their integrated optical properties. Synthetic aerosols to a large degree resemble effects of sulfate aerosols. This implies a likely scattering property for the integration of black carbon and sulfate aerosols in China.