HR: 09:00h
AN: A51B-03    [Abstracts]
TI: Disparity and partnership: black carbon aerosols in the global climate picture
AU: * Bond, T C
EM: yark@uiuc.edu
AF: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering 205 N. Mathews Ave. NCEL MC-250, Urbana, IL 61801 United States
AU: Sun, H
EM: hsun4@uiuc.edu
AF: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering 205 N. Mathews Ave. NCEL MC-250, Urbana, IL 61801 United States
AB: Field measurements and model results have recently highlighted the large climatic impacts of aerosols. One line of inquiry has suggested that reducing emissinos of climate-warming "soot" or "black carbon" particles can form a viable component of mitigating global climate change. We explore this possibility in the context of current understanding of emission sources and modeling results. We discuss the scientific arguments against considering aerosols and greenhouse gases in a common framework, including uncertainties and the vast differences in climatic impacts. We draw on the language of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change to inquire whether aerosols should be considered at all. Next, we synthesize results from published climate-modeling studies, showing that much of the apparent variability in radiative forcing estimates results from choices of input parameters. We estimate a direct global warming potential for black carbon relative to carbon dioxide, based on the model comparison and on a thorough review of optical properties. This calculation enables a discussion of cost-effectiveness for mitigating the largest sources of black carbon, and we show that many reductions are either expensive or difficult to enact, even compared with greenhouse gases. Finally, we propose a role for black carbon in climate mitigation strategies that may be consistent with the apparently conflicting arguments raised during this discussion.
DE: 0305 Aerosols and particles (0345, 4801)
DE: 0345 Pollution--urban and regional (0305)
DE: 1610 Atmosphere (0315, 0325)
DE: 6304 Benefit-cost analysis
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly