Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net 1680-7367 1680-7375 8 3 2008 10.5194/acpd-8-10913-2008 http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/8/10913/2008/ http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/8/10913/2008/acpd-8-10913-2008.html http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/8/10913/2008/acpd-8-10913-2008.pdf 10913 10954 2008-06-06 Attribution of aerosol light absorption to black carbon, brown carbon, and dust in China – interpretations of atmospheric measurements during EAST-AIRE M. Yang mingxi@hawaii.edu S. G. Howell J. Zhuang B. J. Huebert Department of Oceanography, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA Black carbon, brown carbon, and mineral dust are three of the most important light absorbing aerosols. Their optical properties differ greatly and are distinctive functions of the wavelength of light. Most optical instruments that quantify light absorption, however, are unable to distinguish one type of absorbing aerosol from another. It is thus instructive to separate total absorption from these different light absorbers to gain a better understanding of the optical characteristics of each aerosol type. During the EAST-AIRE (East Asian Study of Tropospheric Aerosols: an International Regional Experiment) campaign near Beijing, we measured light scattering using a nephelometer, and light absorption using an aethalometer and a particulate soot absorption photometer. We also measured the total mass concentrations of carbonaceous (elemental and organic carbon) and inorganic particulates, as well as aerosol number and mass distributions. We were able to identify periods during the campaign that were dominated by dust, biomass burning, fresh (industrial) chimney plumes, other coal burning pollution, and relatively clean (background) air for Northern China. Each of these air masses possessed distinct intensive optical properties, including the single scatter albedo and Ångstrom exponents. 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