Effects of black carbon aging on air quality predictions and direct radiative forcing estimation

An aging scheme for black carbon (BC) aerosol was implemented into a regional air-quality forecast model to study the impact of BC aging on air quality predictions. Three different assumptions for the mixing state of BC-external mixture, internal mixture and gradual aging-were used to simulate the distribution of BC particles over North America in April 2002. Cloud - condensation nuclei number and BC wet deposition rate increased significantly and BC mass column loading decreased as a result of BC aging. With the gradual aging process incorporated into the model, the comparison of ground level BC concentration predictions with surface observations was slightly improved. Estimation of the average direct radiative forcing of BC over the spatial domain of this study showed that the factor of direct forcing enhancement by BC aging was much smaller than the mixing state effect factor. The effect of increased wet deposition due to aging compensated partially for the effect of increased absorbance suggesting that the change in the hygroscopic properties of BC due to aging must be taken into account to quantify accurately the effect of BC aging on climate.