Particles formed in boreal forests affect clouds in the troposphere
Date:
January 19, 2022
Source:
University of Helsinki
Summary:
Direct observations were made on the interactions between aerosol
particles formed in boreal forests and clouds in the atmospheric
boundary layer.
FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A new study shows that through aerosol formation and growth, the forests
are capable of mitigating climate change and have a regional effect
on the climate of an entire continent at the most. Prior research has
shown that boreal forests release gaseous compounds that form aerosol particles. Mixing upwards from the surface, these aerosol particles
have the ability to influence the properties of clouds (e.g., increasing
their reflectivity), potentially impacting the entire climate system by
cooling the climate.
==========================================================================
In the recently published study, new information was uncovered on how
cloud properties change when they are influenced by aerosol particles
produced by the boreal forests. Direct observations made it possible to
assess what kind of effects the volatile organic compounds from the boreal forests have over time on aerosol particles, the physical properties of
clouds, aerosol-cloud interactions and the properties of rainfall. The observations were limited to air masses originating in the Arctic Ocean,
where marine air has transformed into continental air by the time it
arrives at the measuring station.
A marked increase was seen in aerosol concentration in the lower boundary
layer within one to three days of the clean marine air arriving at and travelling in the boreal zone. The rise in concentration was found to
be consistent with the quantity of new aerosols originating in boreal
forests. Together with water evaporating from the soil and plants,
these particles were observed to alter the reflectivity of clouds in
the lower atmospheric boundary layer.
The results show that emissions of gaseous compounds from boreal forests
as well as aerosol-cloud interactions are interdependent processes. These processes take place over several days in air masses moving from the
sea across the boreal belt, and they are highly sensitive to change.
Moreover, the findings indicate that even minor changes in aerosol
precursor emissions and aerosol concentration can, either due to
a changing climate or human activity, significantly alter cloud
reflectivity.
========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Helsinki. Original
written by Paavo Ihalainen. Note: Content may be edited for style
and length.
========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. T. Peta"ja", K. Tabakova, A. Manninen, E. Ezhova, E. O'Connor, D.
Moisseev, V. A. Sinclair, J. Backman, J. Levula, K. Luoma,
A. Virkkula, M. Paramonov, M. Ra"ty, M. A"ija"la", L. Heikkinen,
M. Ehn, M. Sipila", T. Yli-Juuti, A. Virtanen, M. Ritsche,
N. Hickmon, G. Pulik, D.
Rosenfeld, D. R. Worsnop, J. Ba"ck, M. Kulmala,
V.-M. Kerminen. Influence of biogenic emissions from boreal forests
on aerosol-cloud interactions.
Nature Geoscience, 2021; 15 (1): 42 DOI: 10.1038/s41561-021-00876-0 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220119121403.htm
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