Significance of anthropogenic black carbon in modulating atmospheric and cloud properties through aerosol-radiation interaction during a winter-time fog-haze

Abstract

The present study investigated the aerosol-radiation-cloud interaction of anthropogenic black carbon (BC) during a severe fog-haze event by utilizing WRF-Chem, multi-satellite and in-situ observations, reanalyses datasets, and HYSPLIT model. The WRF-Chem model adequately captured the regional distribution of aerosol, cloud, and meteorological variables over the study domain. The maximum BC surface concentration (≥7 μg m−3) was predominantly evident over densely populated central and lower Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) regions. Although smoke aerosols usually persisted within 4 km above the surface at daylight hours, they reached as high as 6 km during nighttime, specifically over the central IGP regions. The heavily influenced areas by BC aerosols expanded to almost the entire landmass and the continental outflow region upon doubling the anthropogenic emission. The geographical distribution of maximum perturbations in net shortwave radiation flux at the surface closely matched the spatial patterns of the highest BC concentration, indicating a crucial role of BC in directly preventing the incoming sunlight from reaching the surface. Consequently, the reduced solar radiation at the ground might result in substantial surface cooling (between −0.3 and −0.5 °C), eventually prohibiting surface evapotranspiration and diminishing the outgoing sensible and latent heat fluxes. Also, more amplified cooling in the polluted atmosphere can prevent further development of the planetary boundary layer (PBL), increasing particle entrapment near the surface via an ‘aerosol-radiation-PBL’ feedback loop. However, the most striking contrast between the two scenarios (typical and polluted) was the prolonged and intensified warming (0.5–0.8 °C) in the mid-troposphere, causing a remarkable drop in moisture (more than two to three times) and hence burn-off of liquid cloud droplets due to the semi-direct effect of increased BC aerosols. The intense mid-tropospheric heating could remarkably enhance the updraft velocity, supporting the vertical transport of the additional moisture to higher altitudes, forming more ice clouds at night. Therefore, the current study highlighted the urgency of mitigating anthropogenic BC emissions in highly polluted regions since increased emissions could considerably worsen severe fog-haze conditions and influence both liquid water and ice clouds, depending on the atmospheric conditions.