Calculations of solar shortwave heating rates due to black carbon and ozone absorption using in situ measurements

Results for the solar heating rates in ambient air due to absorption by black-carbon (BC) containing particles and ozone are presented as calculated from airborne observations made in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) in January -February 2006. The method uses airborne in situ observations of BC particles, ozone and actinic flux. Total BC mass is obtained along the flight track by summing the masses of individually detected BC particles in the range 90 to 600-nm volume-equivalent diameter, which includes most of the BC mass. Ozone mixing ratios and upwelling and partial downwelling solar actinic fluxes were measured concurrently with BC mass. Two estimates used for the BC wavelength-dependent absorption cross section yielded similar heating rates. For mean altitudes of 16.5, 17.5, and 18.5 km (+/- 0.5 km) in the tropics, average BC heating rates were near 0.0002 K d(-1). Observed BC coatings on individual particles approximately double derived BC heating rates. Ozone heating rates exceeded BC heating rates by approximately a factor of 100 on average and at least a factor of 4, suggesting that BC heating rates in this region are negligible in comparison.

To Access Resource:

Questions? Email Resource Support Contact:

  • opensky@ucar.edu
    UCAR/NCAR - Library

Resource Type publication
Temporal Range Begin N/A
Temporal Range End N/A
Temporal Resolution N/A
Bounding Box North Lat N/A
Bounding Box South Lat N/A
Bounding Box West Long N/A
Bounding Box East Long N/A
Spatial Representation N/A
Spatial Resolution N/A
Related Links N/A
Additional Information N/A
Resource Format PDF
Standardized Resource Format PDF
Asset Size N/A
Legal Constraints

An edited version of this paper was published by the American Geophysical Union. Copyright 2008 AGU.


Access Constraints None
Software Implementation Language N/A

Resource Support Name N/A
Resource Support Email opensky@ucar.edu
Resource Support Organization UCAR/NCAR - Library
Distributor N/A
Metadata Contact Name N/A
Metadata Contact Email opensky@ucar.edu
Metadata Contact Organization UCAR/NCAR - Library

Author Gao, R.
Hall, Samuel
Swartz, W.
Schwarz, J.
Spackman, J.
Watts, L.
Fahey, D.
Aikin, K.
Shetter, R.
Bui, T.
Publisher UCAR/NCAR - Library
Publication Date 2008-07-17T00:00:00
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) Not Assigned
Alternate Identifier N/A
Resource Version N/A
Topic Category geoscientificInformation
Progress N/A
Metadata Date 2023-08-18T18:42:22.833104
Metadata Record Identifier edu.ucar.opensky::articles:6161
Metadata Language eng; USA
Suggested Citation Gao, R., Hall, Samuel, Swartz, W., Schwarz, J., Spackman, J., Watts, L., Fahey, D., Aikin, K., Shetter, R., Bui, T.. (2008). Calculations of solar shortwave heating rates due to black carbon and ozone absorption using in situ measurements. UCAR/NCAR - Library. http://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d7bc3zpq. Accessed 30 January 2025.

Harvest Source