PNNL

Abstract

Iron (Fe) oxides on aerosols are known to absorb sun light and heat the atmosphere. However, light-absorbing aerosols of pyrogenetic Fe oxides are ignored for radiative forcing (RF) in climate models. Here, we use a global chemical transport model and a radiative transfer model to estimate RF by light-absorbing aerosols of pyrogenetic Fe oxides. The model results suggest that strongly absorbing Fe oxides (magnetite) contribute a RF that is about 10% of the RF due to black carbon (BC) over East Asia. The seasonal averages of RF due to dark Fe-rich mineral particles over East Asia (0.4 – 1.0 W m–2) are comparable to those over the major biomass burning regions. This additional warming effect to BC is amplified over the air polluted regions where iron and steel industry has been developed recently. These findings may have important implications for the projection of the climate change, due to a rapid growth in energy consumption of the heavy industry in newly developing countries.