Empirical correlations between black carbon aerosol and carbon monoxide in the...

Spackman, R., J. Schwarz, R. Gao, L. Watts, D. S. Thomson, D. Fahey, J. Holloway, J. A. de Gouw, M. Trainer, and T. B. Ryerson (2008), Empirical correlations between black carbon aerosol and carbon monoxide in the lower and middle troposphere, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L19816, doi:10.1029/2008GL035237.
Abstract: 

Single-particle measurements of black carbon (BC) aerosol and simultaneous measurements of carbon monoxide (CO) were acquired aboard the NOAA WP-3D aircraft during the 2006 Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS). Observed average BC mass loadings, estimated to account for ~90% of the ambient BC mass, decreased by more than 2 orders of magnitude from the polluted boundary layer to the clean middle troposphere (6 km). A strong positive, but non-linear, correlation was observed between simultaneous measurements of BC and CO. Based on an analysis of all the data below 1 km, we report a compact relationship between BC and CO with a slope of 5.8 ± 1.0 ng BC (kg dry air)-1 (ppb CO)-1 that is representative of regional urban and industrial emissions from Houston and Dallas. The BC/ CO emission ratio for a fresh biomass-burning plume was estimated at 9 ± 2 ng kg-1 ppb-1.

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Research Program: 
Radiation Science Program (RSP)
Upper Atmosphere Research Program (UARP)
Mission: 
TexAQS