Pyrocumulonimbus affect average stratospheric aerosol composition

J M Katich^{1

2}, E C Apel³, I Bourgeois^{1

2}, C A Brock¹, T P Bui⁴, P Campuzano-Jost^{2

5}, R Commane⁶, B Daube⁷, M Dollner⁸, M Fromm⁹, K D Froyd^{1

2}, A J Hills³, R S Hornbrook³, J L Jimenez^{2

5}, A Kupc^{1

2

8}, K D Lamb^{1

2}, K McKain¹⁰, F Moore^{2

10}, D M Murphy¹, B A Nault^{2

5

11}, J Peischl^{1

2}, A E Perring¹², D A Peterson¹³, E A Ray^{1

2}, K H Rosenlof¹, T Ryerson¹, G P Schill^{1

2}, J C Schroder^{2

5

14}, B Weinzierl⁷, C Thompson^{1

2}, C J Williamson^{1

2}, S C Wofsy⁷, P Yu¹⁵, J P Schwarz¹

Affiliations

¹ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL), Boulder, CO, USA.
² Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
³ Atmospheric Chemistry Observations and Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA.
⁴ NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
⁶ Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA.
⁷ Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
⁸ Aerosol Physics and Environmental Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
⁹ Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA.
¹⁰ NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA.
¹¹ Center for Aerosol and Cloud Chemistry, Aerodyne Research Inc., Billerica, MA, USA.
¹² Department of Chemistry, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, USA.
¹³ Naval Research Laboratory, Monterey, CA, USA.
¹⁴ Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, CO, USA.
¹⁵ Institute of Environmental and Climate Research, Jinan University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.

PMID: 36821693
DOI: 10.1126/science.add3101

Pyrocumulonimbus affect average stratospheric aerosol composition

J M Katich et al. Science. 2023.

. 2023 Feb 24;379(6634):815-820.

doi: 10.1126/science.add3101. Epub 2023 Feb 23.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL), Boulder, CO, USA.
² Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
³ Atmospheric Chemistry Observations and Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA.
⁴ NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
⁶ Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA.
⁷ Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
⁸ Aerosol Physics and Environmental Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
⁹ Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA.
¹⁰ NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA.
¹¹ Center for Aerosol and Cloud Chemistry, Aerodyne Research Inc., Billerica, MA, USA.
¹² Department of Chemistry, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, USA.
¹³ Naval Research Laboratory, Monterey, CA, USA.
¹⁴ Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, CO, USA.
¹⁵ Institute of Environmental and Climate Research, Jinan University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.

PMID: 36821693
DOI: 10.1126/science.add3101

Abstract

Pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) are wildfire-generated convective clouds that can inject smoke directly into the stratosphere. PyroCb have been tracked for years, yet their apparent rarity and episodic nature lead to highly uncertain climate impacts. In situ measurements of pyroCb smoke reveal its distinctive and exceptionally stable aerosol properties and define the long-term influence of pyroCb activity on the stratospheric aerosol budget. Analysis of 13 years of airborne observations shows that pyroCb are responsible for 10 to 25% of the black carbon and organic aerosols in the "present-day" lower stratosphere, with similar impacts in both the North and South Hemispheres. These results suggest that, should pyroCb increase in frequency and/or magnitude in future climates, they could generate dominant trends in stratospheric aerosol.

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Pyrocumulonimbus affect average stratospheric aerosol composition

Affiliations

Pyrocumulonimbus affect average stratospheric aerosol composition

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract