Global impacts of aerosols from particular source regions and sectors

Abstract

We study the impacts of present‐day aerosols emitted from particular regions and from particular sectors, as predicted by the Goddard Institute for Space Studies GCM. We track the distribution and direct radiative forcing of aerosols, including sulfate and black and organic carbon, emitted from major source regions (North America, Europe, south Asia, Southeast Asia, South America, and Africa). We also partition the emissions by sector, including industrial, power, residential, transport, biomass burning, and natural. Southeast Asia produces 15% and 10% of the world's black carbon and sulfate and exports over 2/3 of this burden over the Northern Hemisphere. About 1/2 of the SO 2 emitted by Southeast Asia and Europe is not converted to sulfate because of oxidant limitation. Although Africa has the largest biomass burning emissions, South America generates a larger (about 20% of the global carbonaceous) aerosol burden; about 1/2 of this burden is exported and dominates the carbonaceous aerosol load in the Southern Hemisphere. Calculated direct anthropogenic radiative forcings are −0.29, −0.06, and 0.24 W m−2 for sulfate, organic, and black carbon, respectively. The largest BC radiative forcings are from residential (0.09 W m−2) and transport (0.06 W m−2) sectors, making these potential targets to counter global warming. However, scattering components within these sectors reduce these to 0.04 and 0.03 W m−2, respectively. Most anthropogenic sulfate comes from power and industry sectors, and these sectors are responsible for the large negative aerosol forcings over the central Northern Hemisphere.